By Marcela Ayres
BRASILIA, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Brazil's government announced on Thursday investments of about 2.3 billion reais ($444.2 million) to bolster its artificial intelligence ecosystem, splitting projects between U.S. and Chinese companies in a move that underscores its effort to navigate relations with both powers.
Just over half the total, 1.3 billion reais, will fund a supercomputing infrastructure project in Rio de Janeiro developed in partnership with China's Huawei Technologies and iFlytek.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government said the infrastructure will be used primarily to develop large language models for general and sector-specific applications.
Separately, about 1 billion reais will be allocated through a tender for a supercomputer that Brazil expects to rank among the world's 10 most powerful AI processing machines.
The machine will be installed in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte, chosen for its energy potential. Lula attended an announcement ceremony in the state on Thursday.
Government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they expect U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to win the tender. Science and Technology Minister Luciana Santos told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper last week that she anticipated the company would be the supplier.
"The strategy is not to depend on a single company, technology or country," Lula's administration said in a statement, adding that the investments are aimed at strengthening national sovereignty over data.
LULA HAS PUSHED FOR STRATEGIC AUTONOMY
China, a leading player in AI, has expanded its role as Brazil's largest trading partner. The U.S., meanwhile, remains the biggest source of foreign direct investment in Latin America's largest economy despite losing market share in trade and recently imposing additional tariffs on Brazilian goods.
The investments will be funded by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT) through phased disbursements. The government expects the supercomputer to begin operating by the end of next year, while the cooperation agreement with the Chinese companies is scheduled to start in July 2027.
Lula, a leftist who has repeatedly stressed the need for strategic autonomy, is running for re-election later this year. His main rival, right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, has pledged closer ties with U.S. President Donald Trump if elected.
The government also announced a partnership with Spain based on the open-source RISC-V architecture to develop semiconductors, plans for a Brazilian cloud-computing service through public-private partnerships, and the future creation of a national center for algorithmic transparency and trustworthy AI, to be operated by the Federal University of Minas Gerais.
($1 = 5.1774 reais)
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Paul Simao)
