Prosus Ventures Backs Ursula’s $4 M Bet on Emotionally Intelligent AI Characters

Prosus Ventures Backs Ursula’s $4 M Bet on Emotionally Intelligent AI Characters

(IN BRIEF) Prosus Ventures led part of a R$20 million (~$4 million USD) Series A round into Ursula, a Brazilian deep-tech company creating the “Artificial Life Engine.” Founded by an Emmy®-winning team from Pixar, Unity, Blizzard, and Google, Ursula’s platform fuses large language models, symbolic AI, and persistent memory to power digital characters that evolve emotionally and build relationships with users. Early traction on a mobile proof-of-concept shows high user retention, validating the concept. Ursula plans to license its infrastructure to original IP creators and established franchises alike. Prosus highlights the deal as part of its strategy to back transformative AI ventures in Latin America.

(PRESS RELEASE) AMSTERDAM, 13-Jul-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Prosus Ventures has announced its investment in Ursula, a Brazilian deep-tech startup that is redefining what AI characters can be. Ursula’s “Artificial Life Engine” combines large language models, symbolic reasoning, and long-term memory to create autonomous digital beings whose personalities evolve, who remember past interactions, and who respond with genuine emotional nuance. Far beyond conventional avatars or chatbots, these characters forge relationships with users and deepen engagement over time.

Today’s R$20 million (~$4 million USD) funding round was led by Village Global, Prosus Ventures, and Worldbuild.VC, with further backing from Betaworks, Norte Ventures, and a group of distinguished angel investors. Ursula was founded by an Emmy®-winning team whose résumés include Pixar, Unity, Blizzard, and Google, blending Hollywood-grade narrative design with cutting-edge AI research.

Early results from Ursula’s mobile proof-of-concept demonstrate exceptional user retention—underscoring the powerful sense of connection that emotionally aware characters can foster. As global demand for AI-driven content surges, Ursula is positioning itself as the premier infrastructure provider for emotionally rich characters, whether for wholly original IP or established franchises. The company is already in discussions with several international rights holders and plans to license its platform broadly.

“Emotional intelligence is the next frontier in human-technology interaction,” said Thiago Viana, Senior Director at iFood and Head of Prosus Ventures Latin America. “Ursula exemplifies how creative vision and deep tech rooted in Brazil can resonate on a global scale. We’re proud to support Pedro and the team as they lead this transformation.”

Pedro Lucca, Co-Founder and CEO of Ursula, added, “Securing partners who share our conviction in fusing creativity with deep technology accelerates our mission. We envision a future where lifelike AI characters enrich entertainment, education, and commerce by fostering authentic human connections.”

This investment further cements Prosus’ commitment to Latin America’s booming AI ecosystem. Prosus Ventures has previously backed breakout Brazilian innovators—such as iFood, Creditas, Facily, and Movile—helping them scale from local leaders into globally recognized powerhouses.

About Ursula

Ursula is a Brazilian deep tech company pioneering emotionally intelligent, AI-native characters designed to feel truly alive. Founded by an Emmy Award-winning team with backgrounds at Pixar, Unity, Blizzard, and Google, Ursula combines symbolic AI, large language models, and long-term memory to create autonomous digital beings that evolve, interact, and connect with users in deeply human ways. Backed by Village Global, Prosus Ventures, Betaworks, and Norte Ventures, Ursula is building the foundational infrastructure for emotionally aware characters across entertainment, education, and digital commerce. The company’s long-term vision is to power a new era of Artificial Life—where characters live, learn, and grow across any screen. Join the waitlist: www.ursula.ai/waitlist.

About Prosus

Prosus is the power behind the world’s leading lifestyle ecommerce brands, across Europe, India, and Latin America, unlocking an AI-first world for our 2 billion customers.

The Prosus technology ecosystem spans food delivery, payments, classifieds, travel, events, and mobility. Our integrated approach enhances user engagement and creates the foundation for unprecedented AI capabilities through proprietary data and cross-service intelligence.

Through Prosus Ventures, we invest in companies which inspire and support the Prosus ecosystem. We search for new opportunities at the leading edge of AI and ecommerce, the digital AI workforce and in frontier technologies, such as robotics, drones and synbio.

The team actively backs exceptional entrepreneurs who are using technology to improve people’s everyday lives.

To find out more, please visit www.prosus.com.

Media Contact:

Tel: +31202999777

SOURCE: PROSUS