São Paulo, Brazil – February 15th, 2024 – Global web innovator Opera has established a firm foothold in Latin America: Brazil. The software company from Norway has flourished in South America’s biggest economy, capping a tremendous year in which the number of monthly active users of Opera for Android soared over 280%*, the total number of active users across all products grew 50%, and brand awareness doubled so that now fully three quarters of Brazilians say they are familiar with Opera and its products.** Providing popular and user-friendly products and campaigns, Opera has also invested significantly in strategic leadership changes and better understanding the needs of the local market – investments that appear to be paying off handsomely.
Opera is known in Brazil for its innovative browsers and solutions, in 2023 launching its own native browser AI, Aria – a bold new step in the company’s adoption of AI services. Based on Opera’s own “Composer” infrastructure, Aria connects to OpenAI’s GPT technology and is enhanced by additional capabilities, such as live results from the web. Aria brings users access to a leading generative AI service free of charge. A web and browser expert, Aria lets users collaborate with AI while looking for information on the web, generating text or code, or getting product queries answered.
“We’ve been so thrilled with the adoption of Aria by Brazilian users,” said Juliana Psaros, Head of Regional Marketing for LATAM. “Opera has users around the world, but it’s here in Brazil that they’re getting the most out of this revolutionary AI tool. It signals a real hunger for the type of AI-driven solutions for which Opera is leading the charge.”
Opera took its AI strategy a step further by redesigning its flagship desktop browser to become AI-ready with Opera One, which natively integrates Aria. Not just a facelift, Opera One was a bold declaration that AI isn’t merely an addition, but a fundamental component of the browsing present and future. With Opera One, users can seamlessly interact with AI through a brand-new command line, as well as through the browser sidebar and directly from websites with AI Prompts. Opera One also showcases a whole new way of working with tabs called Tab Islands, an innovative feature that addresses the challenge of managing multiple tabs. Expandable and collapsible, Tab Islands automatically groups related tabs together based on context so that users have greater flexibility in tab management. Driven by such innovation, Opera’s desktop browser has outmuscled Edge, Firefox, and Safari to claim the second-largest market share in Brazil.
Aria is also available on Opera’s speedy and secure flagship mobile browsers, Opera for Android and Opera for iOS. Both browsers are blazing fast and packed with security features, such as free browser VPN and device-wide VPN Pro services, plus built-in ad and tracker blockers. Brazilians so flocked to Opera for Android, in particular, that it became the most downloaded mobile browser in the Google Play Store across the country in 2023, according to data.ai. With user-friendly and data saving features like light and dark modes, a built-in Newsfeed, and Speed Dials, Opera for Android is the perfect browser for those who seek a seamless and personalized browsing experience – and Brazilians clearly did, increasing the browser’s active user base by a stunning 280% in 2023.
Another popular Opera product in Brazil is Opera GX – the first browser tailored specifically for the needs of gamers – which was most recently reported as having more than 26 million monthly active users. At the start of 2023, Opera announced the launch of the game show, Hot Tab Hero, which was recorded in Brazil for the first time with big names from the gamer scene – such as LubaTV, Jean Luca, Calango, and Gusang – and hosted by Otaviano Costa and the streamer Gab Zuski. Opera GX is constantly innovating new features that are both useful and clever, such as the RGX update – which enables users to enhance videos and images to premium quality without spending a cent – and Panic Button – a new feature that closes the browser with the click of a button, acting as an indispensable defense against prying observers and unexpected drop-ins.
In addition to pioneering cutting-edge solutions, Opera also brought fun to Brazilians this year in the form of “Shake and Win” – known locally as “Chacoalhe & Concorra.” First getting in on the festive spirit of Carnival, Opera launched four campaigns in total which featured over 36,500 prizes worth more than R$260,000 – all Opera for Android users had to do was shake their phones to win! And that they did, with the four editions generating over 4 million shakes in total – a powerful testament to the animation of an eager and growing user base.
While Opera has brought innovative products and fun contests to the Brazilian market, much of the company’s success in 2023 is a result of changes in strategy. Opera’s Head of Marketing for LATAM, Juliana Psaros, is passionate about the company’s vision and objectives – and is furthermore well-placed to communicate them to her fellow Brazilians, as she comes with a wealth of experience in marketing leadership, business development, and strategic partnerships.
Concurrent with Opera’s growth strategy in Brazil has been the introduction of Opera Ads, Opera’s online advertising platform that offers exclusive, premium inventory and a reach of more than 90% of Brazilian internet users. Opera Ads helps advertisers optimize campaigns from start to finish, developing partnerships to support brands to market from within the Opera browser and partner inventories. The platform boasts powerful algorithms and cutting-edge technology tailored for performance, ensuring precise targeting and effective results. Opera Ads provides advertisers with an extensive and influential presence across a diverse online landscape. In Brazil the division is headed by Marcos Mendez, who has joined Opera as the Business Development Director after 15 years of experience in Ad Tech, Digital Marketing, and Computer Science with juggernauts like Amazon and Yahoo.
Opera’s multifaceted growth has gathered pace in Brazil this year and is clearly bearing fruit – no other browser is more often downloaded in the country, and Opera’s AI tool, Aria, has been a sensation with users there. Opera plans to go from strength to strength in 2024, rolling out more exciting, user-centric contests and products while supplementing efforts with careful, locally-informed strategic expansion.
About Opera
Opera is a user-centric and innovative software company focused on enabling the best possible internet browsing experience across all devices. Hundreds of millions use Opera web browsers for their unique and secure features on their mobile phones and desktop computers. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Opera is a public company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol “OPRA.” Download the Opera web browsers and access other Opera products from opera.com. Learn more about Opera at investor.opera.com and on X @InvestorOpera
*According to data.ai, comparing the number of smartphone monthly active users of Opera Browser with AI (Google Play) in Brazil between 1 January and 31 December 2023.
**The survey was conducted by Opera between 28 November and 4 December 2023 via Pollfish. The total number of respondents was 1,092 people. The target population was identified as 16-64 years old, all genders, located in Brazil.