Nu Holdings Ltd.

Digital BankingFounded 2013- HQ today: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Founders

Who Founded Nubank?

David Vélez Osorno, Cristina Helena Zingaretti Junqueira, Edward Wible · Founded 2013 · HQ today: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Who founded Nubank?

Nubank was founded by David Vélez Osorno, Cristina Helena Zingaretti Junqueira, Edward Wible in 2013. It is now led by David Vélez Osorno.

Founders: David Vélez Osorno, Cristina Helena Zingaretti Junqueira, Edward Wible
Founded: 2013
Headquarters: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Number of founders: 3
Current CEO: David Vélez Osorno (since 2013)

Where was Nubank founded?: Nubank was founded in São Paulo, Brazil in 2013.
When was Nubank founded?: Nubank was founded in 2013.
Who started Nubank?: Nubank was founded by David Vélez Osorno, Cristina Helena Zingaretti Junqueira and Edward Wible.
How old is Nubank?: Nubank is 13 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

David Vélez, a Colombian-born Stanford MBA, moved to São Paulo to scout investments for Sequoia Capital. When Sequoia shelved its Brazil plans, he stayed on and saw how hard it was to open an account, the high card fees and the very high interest rates Brazilians paid. In 2013 he founded Nubank with Cristina Junqueira, a former Itaú credit card executive, and engineer Edward Wible. Seed money came from Sequoia and Kaszek Ventures, and the first product, a no-annual-fee Mastercard managed in an app, launched in 2014.

David Vélez Osorno

Co-founder 2013

Background

David Vélez was born in Medellín, Colombia in 1981 and moved to Costa Rica at age 8 due to violence. He studied Management Science & Engineering at Stanford and worked at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, General Atlantic, and Sequoia Capital before founding Nubank in 2013. His decision to start Nubank was triggered by Sequoia's cancellation of its Brazil expansion plans and his personal frustration with Brazil's banking bureaucracy. Vélez's single most important early decision was recruiting co-founders who filled his gaps: Junqueira for Brazilian banking expertise and Wible for technical leadership.

Role at Nu Holdings Ltd.

David Vélez was born in Medellín, Colombia, studied engineering and earned an MBA at Stanford, and worked at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital before founding Nubank in 2013. He has been CEO since founding and also chairs the board of Nu Holdings. He and his wife Mariel Reyes signed the Giving Pledge in 2021.

Cristina Helena Zingaretti Junqueira

Co-founder 2013

Background

Cristina Junqueira studied industrial engineering at the University of São Paulo and earned an MBA at Northwestern's Kellogg School, then worked at Boston Consulting Group and Itaú Unibanco, where she ran parts of the credit card business.

Role at Nu Holdings Ltd.

Cristina Junqueira co-founded Nubank in 2013 and helped design its early credit card and customer-service model. After the 2021 IPO she became one of Brazil's few self-made female billionaires. She moved to Miami to lead Nu's US business and was named CEO of the US operation, which won conditional OCC approval for a national bank in January 2026 and launched products in September 2026. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).

Edward Wible

Co-founder 2013

Background

Edward Wible is an American software engineer who studied at Princeton and worked in consulting and private equity before co-founding Nubank.

Role at Nu Holdings Ltd.

Edward Wible co-founded Nubank in 2013 and served as its first CTO, choosing a cloud-based stack built largely in the Clojure language and the Datomic database. That architecture let Nubank add products and markets without a legacy core banking system. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).

Nu Holdings Ltd.: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

David Vélez Osorno

Founder, Chairman, and CEO

2013 – Present

Vélez founded Nubank in 2013, raised capital from Sequoia and Kaszek, took the company public on the NYSE in December 2021 and led it to its first annual profit in 2023 and a $1 billion quarterly profit in Q2 2026. He signed the Giving Pledge in 2021 with his wife Mariel Reyes.

Cristina Junqueira

Co-Founder; CEO, Nu US

2013 – Present

Co-founded Nubank in 2013 and shaped its early card product and customer-service culture, then took charge of the US expansion.

Keep researching Nubank

Who Founded Nubank? FAQ

Who were the three co-founders of Nubank and how did they meet in 2013?

Nubank was co-founded in May 2013 by David Vélez (the Colombian venture capitalist), Cristina Junqueira (the Brazilian credit card executive), and Edward Wible (the American software architect). Vélez was introduced to Junqueira and Wible through mutual venture connections in São Paulo, uniting financial acumen, local market expertise, and deep software engineering.

What was the tiny yellow house on Rua Rolim in São Paulo where Nubank began?

Nubank began operations in a rented two-story yellow house on Rua Rolim in the Brooklin neighborhood of São Paulo in 2013, where the founders and a dozen engineers slept on couches, coded on folding tables, and manually approved the first purple credit cards.

Why did the founders choose a zero-fee credit card as their initial entry product?

In 2013, Brazilian regulations strictly restricted foreign entities from opening retail banks without presidential decrees; the founders cleverly bypassed banking charter restrictions by launching an un-regulated credit card (acting as a payment arranger), proving product-market fit before applying for formal banking licenses.

How did the founders secure early venture capital backing from Sequoia Capital and Kaszek?

In 2013, well-known venture firm Sequoia Capital (led by Roelof Botha) and Kaszek Ventures (led by MercadoLibre co-founders Hernan Kazah and Nicolas Szekasy) invested $2 million in seed capital, marking Sequoia's first-ever direct startup investment in Brazil.

What was the viral waiting list that launched the purple card in 2014?

When Nubank launched its zero-fee Mastercard in 2014, demand was so overwhelming that the founders created an exclusive referral waiting list; customers waited weeks for an invitation code, creating cultural buzz that turned the purple card into a status symbol of financial liberation.

How did the founders obtain Brazilian Presidential Decree approval to operate a bank in 2018?

In January 2018, recognizing Nubank's large role in increasing banking competition and lowering fees for Brazilian citizens, Brazilian President Michel Temer signed a formal presidential decree granting Nubank approval to operate as a full-fledged financial institution (Banco Múltiplo).

What early regulatory hurdles did the founders navigate with the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB)?

The founders worked collaboratively with the Central Bank of Brazil to champion open banking, instant payments (Pix), and proportional capital requirements for fintechs, transforming Brazil into one of the world's most progressive fintech regulatory environments.

What enduring cultural values did the founders establish at Nubank?

The founders codified Nubank's core values: 'We want our customers to love us fanatically', 'We are hungry and we challenge the status quo', 'We build strong and diverse teams', and 'We think like owners'.

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Who founded Nubank?

Founding Story

David Vélez Osorno

Background

Role at Nu Holdings Ltd.

Cristina Helena Zingaretti Junqueira

Background

Role at Nu Holdings Ltd.

Edward Wible

Background

Role at Nu Holdings Ltd.

Nu Holdings Ltd.: CEO & Leadership History

Keep researching Nubank

Who Founded Nubank? FAQ

Who were the three co-founders of Nubank and how did they meet in 2013?

What was the tiny yellow house on Rua Rolim in São Paulo where Nubank began?

Why did the founders choose a zero-fee credit card as their initial entry product?

How did the founders secure early venture capital backing from Sequoia Capital and Kaszek?

What was the viral waiting list that launched the purple card in 2014?

How did the founders obtain Brazilian Presidential Decree approval to operate a bank in 2018?

What early regulatory hurdles did the founders navigate with the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB)?

What enduring cultural values did the founders establish at Nubank?

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