Credit: Ricardo Stuckert

The Brazilian government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a set of strategic measures to strengthen Brazil's technological autonomy at an official event held on August 20 at the Augusto Severo Science and Technology Park in Macaíba, Rio Grande do Norte. The information was published by Brasil 247.

The central focus of the ceremony was the implementation of the "PAX RN" supercomputer, a structure designed for artificial intelligence, computational modeling, and scientific, technological and productive-sector applications. A R$1 billion ($194 million) public tender will be launched to acquire the equipment, which will be based in Rio Grande do Norte. The purchase of the supercomputer represents the first major delivery under the initiative, increasing Brazil's processing capacity to a new level.

The measures announced are part of the Brazilian Artificial Intelligence Plan (PBIA), formulated in 2024. The national strategy is based on three main pillars: computational processing capacity, development of domestic AI models, and secure data management. The plan aims to establish a national ecosystem capable of promoting the creation of domestic technologies, addressing bottlenecks such as infrastructure limitations and the global shortage of trained human resources in research and development.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Luciana Santos, who attended the event, defended the need for "digital sovereignty at the core." The minister stressed the importance of Brazil developing native technologies and expanding its domestic processing capacity amid international pressure for access to strategic data. "We also need greater technological autonomy in the Global South," Luciana said, adding that the project's counterpart measures "involve structural benefits."

The ceremony was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Rio Grande do Norte Governor Fátima Bezerra and Chamber of Deputies President Hugo Motta.

During the event, Bezerra highlighted Rio Grande do Norte's enormous potential for clean energy and said the announcement "puts the state on the map of Brazil and the world." On the same occasion, Motta drew attention to the vulnerability of data storage in Brazil, warning that Pix data are currently located in California, which could create "problems."

The expansion of storage infrastructure and information security were detailed by Management and Innovation in Public Services Minister Esther Dweck. She said that, historically, most Brazilian data were hosted abroad, especially in the US, under the control of an oligopoly made up of five US companies and one Chinese company. According to Dweck, the creation of the Brazilian Cloud is part of an effort to repatriate data to structures managed by public companies, ensuring the ability to recover information in the event of legal disputes or seizures.

The Brazilian Cloud is an evolution of the existing government infrastructure — a plus version using national technology and operated by public agencies. The project will result from technical cooperation between the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services, the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI) and Serpro. The proposal seeks to ensure autonomous management of public services and reduce dependence on foreign hardware, with the system's design expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Addressing the geopolitical competition surrounding innovation, Chief of Staff Minister Miriam Belchior warned of the risks posed by technological delays. "The opportunities are there, but they do not develop themselves," Belchior said. She contrasted the former extractive economy based on raw materials with the current scenario, in which technological dominance determines economic control. "With AI, we are at a crossroads between following an extractive logic or the path of sovereignty, with partners, but with the direction being defined by the Brazilian people," the minister said, stressing that the country does not intend to act in isolation.

In the model-development pillar, the government is working on international partnerships to create Large Language Models (LLMs) in Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish as part of a pan-American project. 

At the same time, Brazil will invest in open and non-proprietary architecture technologies, such as RISC-V processors, developed by a global consortium that brings together the US, Europe, India and China. The open technology will allow integration with supercomputer architecture, diversifying suppliers and reducing dependence on the closed market.

In the area of governance and ethics, the government will establish the National Center for Algorithmic Transparency and Trustworthy AI in cooperation with the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). The center will focus on establishing guidelines to ensure "good AI," ahead of direct dialogue with major technology companies.

Although NVIDIA's platform currently dominates the software and hardware market, the government indicated that the Brazilian ecosystem will remain open to competing high-performance solutions, including those processed by AMD and Intel chips, following the evolution of global competition.

The projects presented will receive funding from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT) and may also attract investment from the private sector.

(Reported by Brasil 247 on August 20, 2026)