Thiago Nogueira

Co-founded 99, Brazil's leading ride-hailing platform challenging global competitors in Latin America

Thiago Nogueira (born 1987) is a Brazilian entrepreneur and co-founder of 99, Latin America's largest ride-hailing company competing with Uber and滴滴. Growing up in Brasília, he developed an early passion for technology and entrepreneurship. After studying computer science at the University of Brasília, he co-founded 99 in 2012 with Guilherme Sposito and Pedro Horita. The platform's innovative approach included a focus on motorcycle taxis ('mototaxis') and partnerships with local drivers, enabling rapid expansion across 1,000+ cities in Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. Under Nogueira's leadership as CTO, 99 introduced features like cash payments and real-time traffic optimization systems tailored to Latin America's unique transportation needs. The company's 2018 acquisition by滴滴 made it the largest tech exit in Brazilian history. Nogueira now serves as Chief Product Officer at 99, driving expansion into new markets like Colombia. His work has created over 1 million jobs for drivers and enabled affordable transportation access for millions. Read in-depth analysis in 99's official blog and explore his TEDx talk Building Tech for the Brazilian Reality. His story is featured in Startupi's entrepreneur profiles.