In September 2024, Brazil’s President Lula formerly launched the country’s industrial digital transformation programme. The president, accompanied by the country’s vice president and 12 other Brazilian government ministers, announced an investment of R$186.6 billion (US$32 billion) for developing IoT, AI and big data infrastructure to support the digital transformation of Brazil’s manufacturing and industrial sectors.

The programme, Missão 4: Indústria e Revolução Digital (Mission 4: Industry and Digital Revolution), aims to integrate Brazil more directly into global technology supply chains and boost manufacturing. The strategy aims to bolster established manufacturing sectors through digital transformation as well as encourage the growth of emerging tech sectors within Brazil.

The government has identified a number of key integration technologies that it seeks to expand within Brazil. These are principally: Cloud Computing; IoT; Big Data; and AI. The Government objectives are twofold. It sees these technologies as key growth industries. It wants Brazil to become a major global player in all four of these technologies, with active Brazilian sectors developing products and services across all these sectors. It also identifies these technologies as essential to the digital transformation of Brazil’s existing manufacturing, agricultural and energy sectors.

The country also has an active and expanding Smart City programme, and this infrastructure is required to support its further expansion.

In addition to expanding national Cloud, IoT, AI and Big Data infrastructures, and strengthening domestic providers for each technology segment, Brazil is also seeking to build its own domestic semiconductor industry as part of its Nova Indústria Brasileira (Brazilian New Industry) initiative. Domestic semiconductor production will be particularly geared to supporting the expansion of the country’s IoT infrastructure.

The Semicon programme, established in September 2024, will receive R$7 billion annually in government investments. The aim is to generate growth and innovation in computer and embedded devices supporting industrial automation, Industry 4.0, precision agriculture, IoT and edge computing, smart homes, and Smart City goals.

In addition to the direct government injections under the September 2024 law, it also extends incentives to the semiconductor industry under the Lei de TICs (Information Technology Law). These initiatives are expected to inject R$21 billion into Brazil’s semiconductor industry by 2026. The government is also opening credit lines for R$4.5 billion dedicated to the semiconductor industry. The funds will be available under the Government’s broader Plano Mais Produção (Greater Production Plan), the Government’s overarching strategy to modernise Brazil’s industrial base.

As a result of Brazilian government initiatives and coordination, Brazilian private firms have committed more than R$580 billion since 2023 to industrial modernisation and digital manufacturing in sectors including automotive, food production, paper and cellulose, steel and healthcare.