Primary Job Title Founder & CEO Primary Organization Zarv
Location São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil Regions Latin America Gender Male Also Known As Joao Costa
Investor Type Investor Stage
Website joaocosta.com LinkedIn View on LinkedIn X (Twitter) View on X
João Costa is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and technology leader with over 25 years of experience in building and scaling high-growth companies in insurtech, fintech, AI, and urban mobility.
He is the Co-Founder & CEO of Zarv, a cutting-edge Risk Management Platform for insurers and financial institutions. Zarv leverages AI, IoT, and big
data to optimize risk assessment, pricing, and asset recovery, helping major clients like Ambev, Creditas, Santander, Brinks, and C6 Bank manage over $150M in assets.
Previously, João co-founded Kovi, Latin America’s largest car rental startup for e-hailing drivers, which was recognized as a Top Y Combinator company in 2021, raised $164M (Series B), and was acquired by Moove Group in 2025. He also co-founded Rudra and was an early partner at Chaordic, an AI-driven recommendation platform acquired by Linx Group in 2015.
João has held executive leadership roles in some of Brazil’s most successful tech companies, including Product Director at 99 (Brazil’s first unicorn, acquired by Didi Chuxing) and VP of Product at Beleza na Web (acquired by Boticário Group)
For two decades, João has been developing large-scale systems across diverse industries, from e-commerce and urban mobility to fintech and insurtech. As an angel investor, he has backed startups such as StarkBank, Mecanizou, Pantore, and Salvy, among others.
A Stanford MSx graduate and Y Combinator alum, João brings deep expertise in risk management, embedded insurance, AI-driven products, and venture scaling.
