Web Summit Rio showcases advancements in artificial intelligence, innovation, and digital transformation.

The Web Summit solidified Rio's position as a benchmark in innovation, artificial intelligence, and the digital economy. Photo: Press Release/City Hall

The Web Summit Rio 2026 consolidated the Rio de Janeiro City Hall's strategy to position the city as a global reference in innovation, artificial intelligence, and the digital economy. Throughout the event, the municipality presented structuring projects, established strategic partnerships, and announced initiatives that combine attracting investments. The main announcement was the advancement of Rio AI City, a project to transform the capital of Rio de Janeiro into one of the ten largest global hubs for artificial intelligence by 2032. Elea Data Centers received US$550 million for investment in its infrastructure platform, which includes Rio AI City. This investment is part of the acquisition process of Elea by the I Squared fund and paves the way for an expansion cycle that could reach US$10 billion in the coming years.

– Rio has unique assets to become a global benchmark in innovation. We have talent, universities, research centers, the capacity to attract investment, and a management committed to digital transformation. Rio AI City is the largest digital sovereignty project in our country. At Web Summit 2026, we announced how the initiative has progressed, with the first investment from the fund. With this, Rio de Janeiro will become the epicenter of connectivity, energy, and strategic logistics in the global south – stated Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere.

The initiative foresees total investments of approximately US$65 billion over the next decade. Rio AI City will have an initial energy capacity of 1,5 GW, with expansion planned to up to 3 GW by 2032. It is expected to generate more than 10 skilled jobs, strengthen the local innovation ecosystem, and attract startups, research centers, and global technology companies to the city.

At the Web Summit, the Rio de Janeiro City Hall signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Elea Data Centers, through the Companhia Carioca de Parcerias e Investimentos (CCPar), formalizing the cooperation for the implementation of a data center complex focused on artificial intelligence in the Olympic Park area, in Barra da Tijuca.

Artificial intelligence at the service of citizens.
The Web Summit also hosted the presentation of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall's artificial intelligence agent on WhatsApp, an initiative developed by IplanRio and winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies' Mayors Challenge 2025-2026 award. The tool uses artificial intelligence and municipal databases to offer personalized service to citizens, identify needs, and connect the population to available public services.

The proposal inaugurates a new logic for public power, which will identify needs, anticipate demands, and offer solutions before problems worsen. In the first stage, the system will serve 135 people in situations of greater vulnerability, focusing on pregnant women and children up to six years old. Tests are already showing significant results, with increased school attendance, reduced dropout rates, and expanded access to social programs.

In the area of ​​health, the City Hall also announced a partnership between the Municipal Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation and AICUBE to test a new generation of artificial intelligence in public administration. With an investment of R$ 2 million from the company, the initiative will use AI agents capable of executing complex administrative processes, increasing productivity and reducing operational bottlenecks in public health units.

The project places Rio among the pioneering cities in Latin America in adopting artificial intelligence to support public management and represents another step in incorporating new technologies into the provision of services to the population.

Strengthening the innovation ecosystem
Another highlight of the event was the launch of Rio.IA Saúde, a program that connects artificial intelligence startups to research institutions, university hospitals, and companies in the sector to develop solutions aimed at the Unified Health System (SUS). The initiative brings together partners such as the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI), Fiocruz, PUC-Rio, the Ministry of Health, Firjan, and HU Brasil.

The program is part of a strategy to strengthen the Economic-Industrial Complex of Health and seeks to transform scientific knowledge into solutions applied to the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), focusing on improving services, generating jobs, and promoting economic development. The first call for proposals will be launched during FISWeek 2026.

The City Hall also launched the Carioca Innovation Map, a platform developed by the Municipal Secretariat of Science and Technology and Invest Rio to gather and give visibility to the city's main innovation assets. The tool integrates universities, research centers, technology parks, companies, and institutions linked to knowledge production, offering a broad view of local options and facilitating the attraction of investments.

The announcements presented during the Web Summit reinforce a strategy that combines innovation, economic development, and the digital transformation of public administration. By attracting large-scale investments, strengthening the innovation environment, and incorporating artificial intelligence into municipal services, Rio is advancing in building a knowledge- and technology-based economy, expanding its global competitiveness and creating new opportunities for the population.