Brazil unveils $444 million AI plan, splits key projects between China and US firms
Brazil announced 2.3 billion reais in AI investments, partnering with Chinese firms in Rio and expecting a US chipmaker for a new supercomputer.
Brazil's government has announced a 2.3 billion reais ($444.2 million) investment package to strengthen its artificial intelligence ecosystem, deliberately dividing major projects between Chinese and American companies. The move highlights Brasilia's effort to maintain balanced relations with both global powers.
More than half of the funds, 1.3 billion reais, will support a supercomputing infrastructure project in Rio de Janeiro developed in partnership with China's Huawei Technologies and iFlytek. The government stated this infrastructure will primarily be used to build large language models for general and sector-specific applications.
A separate allocation of about 1 billion reais will go through a tender for a supercomputer expected to rank among the world's ten most powerful AI processing machines. This machine will be installed in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte, selected for its energy potential. Government officials, speaking anonymously, anticipate that US chipmaker Nvidia will win the tender, a view echoed by Science and Technology Minister Luciana Santos in a recent interview.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration said the strategy is designed to avoid dependence on any single company, technology, or country, aiming to strengthen national sovereignty over data. The investments will be funded by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development through phased disbursements.
The supercomputer is expected to begin operating by the end of next year, while the cooperation agreement with the Chinese companies is scheduled to start in July 2027. The announcement also included a partnership with Spain to develop semiconductors using the open-source RISC-V architecture, plans for a Brazilian cloud-computing service, and the creation of a national center for algorithmic transparency and trustworthy AI at the Federal University of Minas Gerais.
The investment comes as Lula, who is running for re-election, has stressed the need for strategic autonomy. China is Brazil's largest trading partner, while the US remains the biggest source of foreign direct investment despite recent tariff disputes.