Key facts
- Brazil is investing approximately 2.3 billion reais ($444.2 million) in its artificial intelligence ecosystem.
- A significant portion will fund a supercomputing project with China's Huawei and iFlytek to develop large language models.
- Another tender for a supercomputer is expected to be won by U.S. chipmaker Nvidia.
- The government aims to avoid dependence on a single technology provider and strengthen data sovereignty.
- The new supercomputer is anticipated to be operational by the end of next year.
Brazil's government has announced a significant investment of approximately 2.3 billion reais ($444.2 million) aimed at bolstering its artificial intelligence capabilities, with a strategic approach that involves partnerships with both U.S. and Chinese technology firms. This move highlights Brazil's effort to balance its relationships with the two global powers while pursuing technological autonomy.
The largest portion of the funding, 1.3 billion reais, will be directed towards a supercomputing infrastructure project in Rio de Janeiro. This initiative is a collaboration with China's Huawei Technologies and iFlytek, and it is intended to facilitate the development of large language models for various applications.
An additional 1 billion reais will be allocated through a tender process for another supercomputer, which Brazil anticipates will be among the world's top 10 most powerful AI processing machines. This second supercomputer is slated for installation in Rio Grande do Norte, a state chosen for its energy potential. Government officials indicated that U.S. chipmaker Nvidia is the expected winner of this tender.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration stated that the strategy is to avoid reliance on any single company, technology, or country, emphasizing that these investments are crucial for strengthening national sovereignty over data. The government expects the new supercomputer to become operational by the end of next year, while the cooperation agreement with the Chinese companies is set to commence in July 2027.
Beyond supercomputing, Brazil also revealed plans for developing semiconductors based on the open-source RISC-V architecture through a partnership with a Spanish entity. Additionally, the country intends to establish a Brazilian cloud-computing service via public-private partnerships and create a national center for algorithmic transparency and trustworthy AI, to be managed by the Federal University of Minas Gerais.