The Brazilian government has unveiled plans to invest roughly 2.3 billion reais (≈ $444 million) to accelerate its artificial‑intelligence ecosystem, allocating funds across projects with both U.S. and Chinese technology partners.
Published On 21 Aug 2026
More than half of the budget—1.3 billion reais (≈ $251 million)—will finance a supercomputing hub in Rio de Janeiro, built in collaboration with China’s Huawei Technologies and iFlytek, the Lula administration announced on Thursday.
The facility will primarily support the development of large language models for broad and industry‑specific uses.
A separate tender worth about 1 billion reais (≈ $193 million) will fund a standalone supercomputer expected to rank among the world’s ten most powerful AI processors. The machine will be sited in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte, selected for its energy advantages, and President Lula attended a ceremony there.
Government officials, speaking anonymously to Reuters, indicated that U.S. chipmaker Nvidia is likely to win the tender, a view echoed by Science and Technology Minister Luciana Santos in a recent interview with Folha de S Paulo.
“Our strategy is to avoid dependence on any single company, technology, or country,” the administration stated, emphasizing that the investments aim to bolster national data sovereignty.
The initiative reflects Brazil’s broader diplomatic balancing act. China has become Brazil’s largest trading partner and a key AI collaborator, while the United States remains the top source of foreign direct investment in Latin America’s biggest economy, despite recent tariff disputes and a shrinking trade share.
Funding will come from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT) and be disbursed in phases. The new supercomputer is slated to begin operations by the end of next year, with the partnership with the Chinese firms set to launch in July 2027.