Lula Announces Major Partnership with Chinese Firms to Boost Brazil's AI and Supercomputing
President Lula reveals a billion-real partnership with Chinese firms to boost Brazil’s AI development and supercomputing power by 2027, including plans for a top-ten global supercomputer and advanced language models in Portuguese.
- • Lula announced a R$ 1.276 billion partnership with Chinese firms Huawei and iFlytek to develop AI and supercomputing in Brazil.
- • A supercomputer ranked among the world's top ten, delivering 7.2 Petaflops, will be installed in Rio Grande do Norte by late 2027.
- • Brazil plans to bolster chip development with Barcelona to reduce technological dependency using open-source RISC-V architecture.
- • The government will create a Brazilian Cloud and a National Center for Algorithmic Transparency at UFMG to support reliable AI systems.
Key details
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has unveiled a far-reaching technological collaboration with Chinese companies Huawei and iFlytek to advance Brazil's artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and supercomputing infrastructure. This initiative involves an investment of approximately R$ 1.276 billion over five years and is set to begin operations in July 2027.
The project, executed by the National Education and Research Network (RNP), aims to develop large-scale language models tailored specifically for Portuguese speakers. An essential component is the acquisition of a high-performance supercomputer, valued at around R$ 1 billion, designed to achieve 7.2 Petaflops — positioning it among the world's top ten most powerful supercomputers. This machine will be installed at the Augusto Severo Technology Park within the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN).
Beyond AI and computing power, Brazil is also seeking to strengthen its semiconductor industry through cooperation with Barcelona's innovation ecosystem. Adopting the open-source RISC-V architecture, the plan intends to reduce Brazil's dependence on a few dominant technology suppliers over the next 15 years.
Further emphasizing transparency and governance, the government will establish the National Center for Algorithmic Transparency and Reliable AI at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). Concurrently, the creation of a "Nuvem Brasileira" (Brazilian Cloud) will facilitate cooperation among government entities to foster reliable AI deployment.
In his announcement, Lula highlighted Brazil's potential in the global AI market, noting, "Today, the United States has 65% of all this AI stuff. China might have around 15% to 30%. But neither the Chinese nor the Americans are better than us; we will enter this market."
The comprehensive plan positions Brazil to become a formidable player in AI development and high-performance computing, with a focus on language-specific models and reducing technological dependency internationally. The supercomputing infrastructure is slated to be operational by late 2027, marking a significant step in Brazil’s technological advancement.
This article was translated and synthesized from Brazilian sources, providing English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
