Main initiatives

The largest technology and education hub in Latin America aims at bringing together companies, startups, investors, Academies, and research centers in the same space, providing connections and business between different agents of the innovation ecosystem. In addition, the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), one of the world’s greatest teaching references, will offer for the first time a Mathematics degree focused on technology. Innovation and opportunity walking hand-in-hand in the heart of the Rio port area

Developed by the Rio de Janeiro City Hall and the Federal Government in conjunction with Elea Data Centers, the Rio AI City project will transform the Olympic Park area into a data center hub, powered entirely by certified renewable energy and operating with waterless systems. With an initial energy capacity of 1.5 GW, the project has the potential to reach up to 3.2 GW in future phases. The initiative is integrated into the city’s urban infrastructure, which includes submarine cables connecting Rio to other cities and countries, available energy grids, and local connectivity. Furthermore, the hub will also utilize the robust electrical power infrastructure left as a legacy by the 2016 Olympics. It is estimated that Rio AI City will become one of the 10 largest data center hubs in the world, generating thousands of skilled jobs and billions of dollars in direct and indirect investments.

Sandbox.Rio is an experimental regulatory environment that allows testing, under temporary authorization and in a controlled environment, of innovative products, services, or processes that do not yet comply with the city’s current regulations. During the testing period, the activity is monitored to collect data that is useful for possible regulation. In other words, more legal security for the entrepreneur and more innovation for the city. The main benefits of the initiative are: reduced costs and time for innovative ideas to enter the market; greater legal security and, consequently, easier access to funding for innovative projects; and interaction with essential government agencies for the development of the activity at the municipal level.

The GET Program, Technological Educational Gymnasiums, was created with the aim of being a school focused on technological and pedagogical innovation. The gymnasiums offer hands-on activities, active methodologies, and a STEAM approach (areas of knowledge corresponding to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). To date, 200 GETs have been inaugurated in the 11 Regional Education Coordination offices, including 12 new units of the school factory model, 4 new units of the Olympic Legacy model, and 184 remodeled schools.

The Rio Challenge, the first program for contracting innovative projects, was created so that individuals and companies can bring solutions that will make the city better for those who live, work, and invest here. In addition to strengthening Rio’s innovation ecosystem and generating a positive impact on the city, participants in the call for proposals receive financial resources for real-world testing, mentoring and technical support from the City Hall, the possibility of being contracted through CPSI or ETEC, and the opportunity for large-scale implementation after testing.

A social and digital inclusion project that promotes training and qualification courses, mainly in the areas of technology and information. Located in the north and west zones of Rio, the centers also offer cultural events, workshops, and internet access, all free of charge. The initiative was created in 2012 and today has more than 35 units, which offer courses and workshops in Artificial Intelligence, Digital Marketing, Excel, among others. The project has already received international awards, such as the Visionary of the Year Award.

A hub that concentrates, manages, monitors, and integrates Rio’s urban operations, all in real time. The city was the first to operate NASA’s global landslide model. Today, it is used at the Rio Operations Center (COR) as one of its triggers to decide whether it is necessary to change the operational level during rainfall. The Operations Center has more than 3,000 cameras, 33 telemetry stations that generate real-time data every 15 minutes, as well as a team of meteorologists, engineers, geologists, and technicians available 24/7.

Concessions and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Rio de Janeiro serve as a way to finance and modernize services and infrastructure, attracting private capital and innovation to projects of great importance to the city. An example of this is the Light Rail Transit (VLT), which was developed through a PPP for the provision of services, including civil construction works, focusing on the implementation, operation, and maintenance of a light rail transit system in the Port and Central regions of Rio de Janeiro. Similarly, the public lighting concession between RioLuz and the SmartLuz consortium will expand through a PPP to promote a smart city infrastructure, with 10,000 security cameras, 5,000 Wi-Fi access points, 3,000 solid waste sensors in sewers, and 1,500 traffic light sensors, all integrated into the COR (Operations Center of Rio de Janeiro) and CIVITAS (a network of mobile technology companies).

Reviver Centro is an urban, cultural, social, and economic revitalization plan for downtown Rio de Janeiro. Its main objective is to attract new residents, making use of existing buildings and vacant land that has been empty for decades in a city area with abundant infrastructure and cultural heritage. The creation of new green spaces, promotion of clean urban mobility, and activation of public space through art are also part of the project. With the program’s success, the transformation also reached São Cristovão, with the launch of the Cartola Residential complex at the address of the former Ipiranga company headquarters. Another historical space that benefited from the revitalization was the Novo Mercado São José, which reopened in Laranjeiras with the aim of making the region an important gastronomic and cultural hub. Through the initiative, more than 50 licenses were issued for over 5,000 residential units and 70 non-residential units.