David Velez
About David Velez
David Velez is the founder, CEO and chairman of Nubank, the Brazilian digital bank. He was born in Medellin, Colombia, and holds a bachelor's degree in management science and engineering and an MBA, both from Stanford. Before Nubank he worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, in growth equity at General Atlantic, and in venture capital at Sequoia Capital.
He was a partner at Sequoia from 2011 to 2013, where he ran the firm's Latin American investments. He founded Nubank in 2013 with Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible, and Sequoia backed the company at seed. Nubank listed on the New York Stock Exchange as Nu Holdings in December 2021. Forbes reports that it has more than 100 million customers in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. Crunchbase also lists him as a board member at Despegar and Scanntech.
Velez invests in startups in a personal capacity, separate from Nubank. NFX Signal lists 38 investments on record for him as an angel, and Tracxn counts 19 portfolio companies. These counts come from third-party databases, and the sources disagree. NFX Signal tags his activity as pre-seed and seed, with fintech, cloud infrastructure, enterprise infrastructure and security among the categories.
Idilio closed a $5.5M seed round in June 2026, and Velez took part. Idilio is a Latin American microdrama platform for Spanish and Portuguese speakers. It uses an AI-powered engine to produce short-form drama series. Other investors in the round include WndrCo, a16z Speedrun, Goodwater Capital and Precursor Ventures. C21 Media reported that Velez invested personally rather than through Nubank.
NFX Signal also lists Telepatia, a $33M Series A in June 2026. Public sources reviewed here do not describe Velez's check size in either round.
NFX Signal lists his investing position as angel, with a range of $5K to $50K and a sweet spot of $25K. This is NFX's profile data, not a statement from Velez. The Signal categories point to pre-seed and seed rounds. Selva's directory describes him as backing early-stage startups, mainly in fintech and with a focus on Latin America. Tracxn lists Brazil and the United States among his top investment locations. I found no public statement from Velez about what he looks for in a pitch.
- Idilio: AI-powered microdrama platform for Spanish and Portuguese speakers; Velez took part in the $5.5M seed round in June 2026.
- Telepatia: listed by NFX Signal as a $33M Series A in June 2026 with Velez as an investor.
- signal.nfx.com/investors/david-velez
- crunchbase.com/person/david-velez
- forbes.com/profile/david-velez
- thetwentyminutevc.com/david-velez-2
- app.dealroom.co/news/feed/jeffrey-katzenberg-s-wndrco-backs-latin-amer
- c21media.net/news/colombias-idilio-raises-us5m-to-scale-microdrama-pla
- thesaasnews.com/news/idilio-raises-5-5m-seed
- tracxn.com/d/people/david-velez/__gC7Q6EHVwlggek7vBPB6KwZjUJma3iZkHXsn
Investing activity
David Velez appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $6M. The most recent is Idilio (Seed, $5.5M, Jun 2026).
David Velez most often invests alongside Goodwater Capital, Blitzscaling Ventures, Numundo Ventures and Graham Weaver, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about David Velez
Does David Velez invest in AI startups?
Yes. He took part in the June 2026 seed round of Idilio, an AI-powered microdrama platform. NFX Signal also lists his investment in Telepatia's Series A the same month.
What check size does David Velez write?
NFX Signal lists an investment range of $5K to $50K with a sweet spot of $25K. Velez has not published these figures himself, so treat them as indicative.
What stage does David Velez invest in?
NFX Signal tags his activity mainly as pre-seed and seed, in categories such as fintech, cloud infrastructure, enterprise infrastructure and security. His 2026 deals include a seed round (Idilio) and a Series A (Telepatia).
Is David Velez's angel investing separate from Nubank?
Yes. C21 Media reported that he joined the Idilio round in a personal capacity. He remains CEO and chairman of Nubank.
How can founders reach David Velez?
He posts on X as @velez_david and has a LinkedIn profile. I found no public pitch process or personal website. A warm introduction through a shared investor or co-investor is a common route.
What is David Velez's background before angel investing?
He worked at Morgan Stanley and General Atlantic, then was a Sequoia Capital partner from 2011 to 2013, running its Latin American investments. He then founded Nubank in 2013.
Is David Velez an angel investor?
Yes. David Velez invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has David Velez invested in?
David Velez's AI investments include Idilio. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does David Velez invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, David Velez has invested at Seed, with a median round of $6M.
Who does David Velez co-invest with?
David Velez's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Goodwater Capital (1 deal), Blitzscaling Ventures (1 deal), Numundo Ventures (1 deal), Graham Weaver (1 deal) and GSB 25 Fund (1 deal).