Brazil Launches $444.2 Million AI Push as 2 Supercomputer Projects Split Between US and China
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 21
Brazil Launches $444.2 Million AI Push as 2 Supercomputer Projects Split Between US and China
1 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 21
Summary
2.3 billion reais ($444.2 million) will fund Brazil’s AI expansion, with Lula’s government dividing the plan between Chinese partners and a separate tender expected to favor a US supplier.
1.3 billion reais ($251 million) is earmarked for a Rio de Janeiro supercomputing project with Huawei and iFlytek, focused mainly on developing large language models for general and sector-specific use.
About 1 billion reais ($193.1 million) will go to a second supercomputer in Rio Grande do Norte that Brazil says could rank among the world’s 10 most powerful AI processing machines; officials expect Nvidia to win the bid.
The government said the strategy is to avoid dependence on any single company, technology or country and to strengthen national sovereignty over data.
FNDCT will disburse the funding in phases, with the new supercomputer targeted to start operating by end-2027 and the Chinese cooperation agreement set to begin in July 2027.