A5X, a company building a new derivatives exchange and clearing house in Brazil, said on September 14, 2026 that it had raised R$360m (about $70m) in a Series D round. The round valued the company at R$2.7bn (about $525m) after the money.
Three new investors led the round: Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and venture firm Kaszek. Existing strategic shareholders IMC, Jump Trading, Optiver, XTX Markets and ABN AMRO Clearing also took part, which the company said was the third consecutive investment for each of them. XP Inc. joined the shareholder base by exercising a purchase option during the round.
A5X said it has now raised more than R$730m (about $142m) across four rounds, including this one.
What A5X does
A5X is building a derivatives trading venue and a central counterparty for clearing, aimed at a market that the company describes as served by a single trading and post-trading infrastructure. Startups.com.br and Finsiders Brasil reported that the company intends to compete with B3, the incumbent Brazilian exchange, with an initial focus on interest-rate and currency contracts.
The platform combines trading and clearing technology from the London Stock Exchange Group with infrastructure A5X has built for the Brazilian market. Bloomberg Línea reported in May 2026 that the LSEG partnership covers trading, post-trade, risk management, market data and central counterparty systems.
The company was founded in 2023 by Carlos Ferreira Filho and Karel Luketic, both former partners and executives at XP, together with lawyer Julian Chediak and Nilson Monteiro, co-founder of brokerage Ideal, according to Startups.com.br. Ferreira Filho is chief executive. A5X said it has more than 200 employees.
Who invested
The investor list is weighted towards trading firms and banks that would be likely users of a new exchange. IMC, Jump Trading, Optiver and XTX Markets are market-making and trading firms, and ABN AMRO Clearing is a clearing provider. The company also named Ideal CTVM, a broker controlled by Itaú Unibanco, as a shareholder that has backed it since its creation; the announcement did not say whether Ideal took part in this round.
In the announcement, Ferreira Filho said that beyond the capital, A5X had brought together a world-class group of shareholders, and that its mission was to bring more innovation, transparency and efficiency to a sector it believed was ready for change. Startups.com.br reported that law firm Mattos Filho advised on the deal.
What the money is for
A5X said the round fully finances the company through its launch and its first years of operation, including the regulatory capital it needs as market infrastructure and the resources to scale until it reaches breakeven.
The company's announcement put the launch in the first half of 2027; Startups.com.br and Finsiders Brasil reported a target of the second quarter of 2027. The timetable has moved: Bloomberg Línea reported in May 2026 that A5X then expected to start operating in the fourth quarter of 2026, and Finsiders Brasil said that in July the company had pointed to the start of 2027.
The funding so far
A5X did not break down its earlier rounds. Startups.com.br reported that the previous round raised about R$200m in September 2025. Bloomberg Línea described that round as a Series C and reported that a BTG Pactual report at the time valued A5X at R$1.35bn, which means the new post-money valuation is twice that figure. Bloomberg Línea put the total raised across the first three rounds at R$385m.
The company's own press page cites an earlier report that its first round was led by Ideal and an unnamed investor.
Company website: a5x.com.br