Tech Roundup: Brazilian industry’s high-tech push

You’re reading The Brazilian Report‘s weekly tech roundup, a digest of the most important news on technology and innovation in Brazil. This week’s topics: Brazilian industry gambles on a high-tech update, Brazil wants a Latin America standard for Wi-Fi 6E, and Brazilian media outlets go after Google. 

Brazilian industry invests to go high-tech

Facing economic hurdles and a challenging business environment, Brazilian industry is losing its competitive edge. With large manufacturers shutting up shop across the country, the sector realized that investing has become a matter of survival. In the age of Industry 4.0, this revamp is set to have a technological focus. 

A recent survey by the Brazilian Equipment and Machinery Association (Abimaq) shows that domestic manufacturers aim to invest BRL 6.7 billion (USD 1.18 billion) in 2021, a 31.6-percent increase on 2020 levels. A whopping 34.2 percent of this investment will be spent on tech, just short of the total used to expand facilities. 

• Gianna Sagazio, Head of Innovation at the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), says that the increase in investment is linked to the digital transformation which gained steam during the pandemic. “There is an understood need to modernize Brazilian industry with disruptive technologies,” she said, in an emailed statement to The Brazilian Report.

Who is taking the lead? Abimaq data shows that 59 percent of big industries intend to invest more this year. The trend began in 2020, when major manufacturers such as Radon and WEG gambled on innovation ecosystems, as well as acquiring startups. 

• According to Uzi Scheffer, CEO of global innovation company SOSA, their interest is “the most important catalyst that will help the Brazilian (startup) ecosystem grow.” In his view, there are mutual benefits for startups and corporations, as “large enterprises, specifically in hardware and machine-driven product spaces, are the most substantial enablers of the sale of innovative technologies.”
• SOSA partnered with the CNI to provide the local industry with cutting-edge technologies. Mr. Scheffer says...