Daniel Victorino
Galaxies was selected in July 2026 as one of the 12 startups in the first Google AI Board Academy cohort, from more than 170 applicants, in the martech pillar, with a focus on AI for enterprise marketing decisions before spend.
From 170 startups that applied from across Brazil, 12 will spend the next five months in direct contact with a group of executives who rarely sit in the same room: the president of Google Brazil, the CEO of one of the world’s leading strategy and technology consultancies, and innovation leaders from companies such as BTG Pactual, Embraer, Stone and Uber. Galaxies is one of those 12.
The announcement was first published by PEGN on July 20, 2026 and marks the debut of AI Board Academy, the first program to run inside the new Google Campus, located at the Institute for Technological Research (IPT), in Cidade Universitária, São Paulo. Galaxies was selected in the martech pillar, one of the program’s three thematic fronts, alongside deep techs and agentic solutions.
The composition of the program matters as much as Galaxies’ presence in it. Google chose to treat martech as its own strategic category, not as an appendix to generative AI or marketing automation. This article explains what the program is, who sits on the board, which startups joined and why the category Galaxies competes in — marketing decision-making before spend — is being recognized as a frontier, not a niche. To understand how this layer connects to the product, explore our solutions.
What is AI Board Academy?
AI Board Academy is the inaugural program of the new Google Campus in São Paulo, created by Google for Startups to connect applied AI founders with an executive mentor board. It brings together 12 startups selected from more than 170 applications, organized into three pillars — martechs, deep techs and agentic solutions — with monthly in-person meetings from August to December 2026.
The three pillars: martechs, deep techs and agentic solutions
The program does not treat applied AI as a single block. It separates the cohort into three fronts: martechs, companies that use AI for marketing decision-making and execution; deep techs, science-based advanced technology; and agentic solutions, autonomous agent systems integrated into operations. Galaxies competes in the martech pillar.
The new Google Campus at IPT/USP
The program takes place at Google’s second Engineering Center in Latin America. The roughly 100-year-old restored building operates inside the IPT campus at USP and also houses the region’s first GSEC and first ADC. Planned capacity is 400 engineers and 120 startup founders per week, in a rotating model.
Duration and format
The program runs for five months, from August to December 2026, with monthly in-person meetings between the 12 startups and the mentor board. Applications closed on June 17 and the cohort was announced on July 20.
Who is on the mentor board?
The board brings together seven executives from companies such as Google, BTG Pactual, Embraer, Stone, Uber and Falconi, as well as an international reference in technology strategy. The mix combines Big Tech leadership, financial markets, industry and consulting, a profile designed to cover different types of decisions faced by a startup in traction stage.
Fábio Coelho, president of Google Brazil for more than 15 years.
Amy Webb, CEO of Future Today Strategy Group, professor at NYU Stern, Visiting Fellow at Oxford Saïd and former Nieman Fellow at Harvard.
Daniel Moczydlower, head of Embraer-X; Roberto Sallouti, CEO of BTG Pactual; Augusto Lins, executive at Stone; Silvia Penna, executive at Uber; and Márcio Fróes, executive at Falconi.
On the program’s goal, Thais Melendez, Google Campus Program Manager, said the success of Brazilian startups depends on a solid ecosystem capable of connecting cutting-edge science to real corporate market demands in order to generate relevant economic impact in the country.
Which startups were selected?
The first AI Board Academy cohort has 12 startups, chosen from more than 170 applications, a selection rate of approximately 7%. The full list is: Galaxies, Klike.ai, Nama, Huna, Amadeus AI, Insula AI, Mantis-AI, Neomed, Abundance Brasil, Core AI, EvcomX and SIWI, distributed across the program’s three pillars.
The program builds on Google for Startups’ track record in Brazil: more than 470 companies accelerated over ten years, around 48,000 jobs created, US$ 13 billion raised in investment rounds and 12 Brazilian unicorns that went through its programs.
Why was Galaxies selected?
Galaxies was selected in the martech pillar because it operates in marketing decision-making before spend, the layer where a CMO needs to approve or reject a creative bet before burning budget, not after. While much of the martech market positions itself as data, analytics or automation platforms, Galaxies builds the system that supports that decision with evidence. See how this connects to our discussion about marketing decision speed.
The martech pillar and what it represents
Google explicitly chose to place martech as one of the program’s three thematic blocks, alongside deep techs and agentic solutions. That is a signal in itself: the category is no longer being treated as an appendix to generative AI and now occupies its own place in Google’s view of where applied AI is advancing in Brazil.
Marketing decision-making before spend, the category Galaxies is building
Most Brazilian martechs describe their product as a data platform or automation layer. Galaxies builds the layer that comes before both: the moment when the CMO is still deciding whether it is worth investing in a campaign, a creative asset or a product positioning, before the budget is committed.
Market proof
The selection is not based on a paper thesis. Galaxies already operates measurable cases with enterprise CMOs in Brazil, including a project with Meta focused on reducing customer acquisition cost (CAC), which resulted in 52% savings in acquiring new users and a 70% increase in creative improvement speed. Explore other client cases.
What does this mean for the AI market in Brazil?
Galaxies’ selection happens within a broader context: according to Google, Brazil is already among the five countries in the world with the highest AI adoption, and the new Google Campus is an explicit bet on this moment.
Brazil among the five countries with the highest AI adoption
Maurício Martiniano, Head of Google Campus, summarized the context behind the investment in the new site: Brazil is living a new economy driven by AI and ranks among the five countries in the world in AI adoption. Fábio Coelho, president of Google Brazil, reinforced the role of the new space in fostering new entrepreneurs.
The applied AI generation coming out of USP
Installing the program inside IPT, on the USP campus, is not a logistical detail. It is a choice of proximity to academic research and engineering education. Amy Webb, the board’s international mentor, described the program’s purpose as empowering Brazil’s most promising AI startup leaders and guiding strategic debates that shape the future of AI in the country.
What comes next
Monthly meetings with the board start in August and continue through December 2026. For Galaxies, the program works as a strategic validation table with executives who have already made decisions about budget, traction and scale at levels far larger than any Brazilian growth-stage martech.
Follow Galaxies’ journey on Galaxies’ LinkedIn.
Frequently asked questions
What is AI Board Academy?
It is the inaugural program of the new Google Campus in São Paulo, connecting 12 AI startups to a board of seven executive mentors through monthly meetings from August to December 2026.
How many startups were selected?
Twelve, chosen from more than 170 applications received from across Brazil, a selection rate of around 7%.
Who is on the mentor board?
Seven executives: Fábio Coelho, Amy Webb, Daniel Moczydlower, Roberto Sallouti, Augusto Lins, Silvia Penna and Márcio Fróes.
Where do the meetings take place?
At the new Google Campus, located at the Institute for Technological Research (IPT), inside the USP campus in São Paulo.
When does the program start?
The monthly in-person meetings start in August 2026 and continue until December.
What are the three program pillars?
Martechs, deep techs and agentic solutions. Galaxies was selected in the martech pillar.
Why was Galaxies selected?
Because it operates in the martech pillar with a focus on marketing decision-making before spend, backed by measurable cases with enterprise CMOs, such as the Meta project that reduced CAC by 52%.
Galaxies