Brazil has announced a new investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The government said it will spend about 2.3 billion reais, or $444.2 million, to grow the country's AI ecosystem.
The plan splits the money between two separate projects. Officials say the split is meant to keep Brazil from depending on a single country or company.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration shared the details on Thursday. The announcement came during a ceremony in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte.
A Split Investment Strategy
More than half the total funding, about 1.3 billion reais ($251 million), will go toward a supercomputing project in Rio de Janeiro. That project will be built in partnership with Chinese firms Huawei Technologies and iFlytek.
The Rio de Janeiro infrastructure will focus on large language models. These models will support both general use and specific industries.
A second amount, about 1 billion reais ($193.1 million), will fund a separate supercomputer through a public tender. This machine is expected to rank among the ten most powerful AI processing systems in the world.
That second project will be built in Rio Grande do Norte. The government chose the state because of its energy capacity.
Nvidia's Expected Role
Unnamed government officials told Reuters they expect Nvidia to win the tender for the second supercomputer. Science and Technology Minister Luciana Santos also said last week that she expects Nvidia to be the supplier.
Nvidia has not confirmed its involvement in the project. The tender process is still underway.
Lula's government described its approach in a public statement. It said the strategy is not to depend on a single company, technology, or country for AI development.
The statement also linked the investment to data sovereignty. Officials said stronger AI infrastructure gives Brazil more control over its own technology systems.
Brazil's relationship with China has grown in recent years. China is now Brazil's largest trading partner.
The United States still holds a different kind of importance for Brazil's economy. It remains the top source of foreign direct investment in Latin America's largest economy.
That US role continues even as trade market share shifts toward China. The US has also placed new tariffs on some Brazilian goods in recent months.
Funding for both AI projects will come from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development. Brazil calls this fund the FNDCT.
Money will be released in phases rather than all at once. This matches how large infrastructure projects are typically funded in Brazil.
The government expects the Rio Grande do Norte supercomputer to start operating by the end of next year. That timeline puts the launch in late 2027.
The cooperation agreement with the Chinese companies has a separate start date. That partnership is scheduled to begin in July 2027.
Brazil's move places it among a group of countries building AI infrastructure with technology from more than one global power. The country's leaders have framed this as a way to protect long-term national interests.
For now, both projects remain in early stages. Construction and supplier agreements are expected to develop further over the coming months.
