RIAC and the Brazil — Russia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Held a Roundtable “Brazil and Russia: New Opportunities for Technological Cooperation”

September 11, 2026

413

Читать на русском

Topic: Technology, Economy

Region: Russia, Latin America-Caribbean

Type: News

Rate this article

(votes: 2, rating: 5)

(2 votes)

Read RIAC in

Short version of the article

Full version of the article

On September 1, 2026, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), jointly with the Brazil — Russia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, held a roundtable on “Brazil and Russia: New Opportunities for Technological Cooperation”, timed to coincide with the release of the RIAC report “Brazil’s Information Technology Market: Entry Points for Russia”.

Welcoming remarks were delivered by RIAC Deputy Director General Dmitry Kiku and President of the Brazil — Russia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Gilberto Ramos. The findings of the study were presented by RIAC Program Coordinator Alexandra Terzi.

The discussion featured Arthur Carvalho, CPO of Bloquo Pagamentos Internacionais; Mario Montenegro, Founder and CEO of Instituto Montenegro Ltda, Founder of NewEllo Tecnologia Ltda, CEO of InovaNex Ltda Innovation Center; Márlyson Silva, Chairman and Co-founder of Transfero Group; Alexey Glagolev, Director of Business Development at TELMA STUDIUM LLC; Carlos Roberto Siqueira Castro, Senior Partner at SiqueiraCastro Advogados; Vinícius Cervantes, Partner at SiqueiraCastro Advogados; Gustavo Pessoa, Professor of Economics at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV); Bruno Maia, Co-founder and COO of Zeom; Phelipe Leite Bueno, Co-founder of Go Latam!; and Christian Souza, Incident Response and Digital Forensics Specialist at Kaspersky Brazil. The session was moderated by RIAC Program Coordinator Alexandra Terzi.

During the event, experts discussed the approaches of Brazil and Russia to technological sovereignty, the potential of diversifying partnerships to reduce dependence on American infrastructure, the role of BRICS as a platform for strengthening bilateral cooperation, segments with the greatest synergy potential, the division of functions between the state and the private sector, as well as the feasibility of creating alternative payment mechanisms in the medium term.

Gilberto Ramos

The world is changing rapidly, the geopolitical landscape and economic ties are being reshaped at an unprecedented speed. Brazil-Russia relations have deep historical roots: the two countries are approaching the 200th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The anniversary is planned to be marked by joint cultural and business events involving the foreign ministries of both countries.
In 2024, an interbank agreement was signed between Brazilian and Russian banks, enabling settlements in national currencies. However, the dollar remains the main currency for international transactions. At the same time, its use as a tool of political pressure on countries of the global majority is a growing concern.
Cryptocurrencies and alternative payment systems are no longer a hypothetical trend, they are an irreversible reality. This topic was discussed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum with the participation of major bankers and entrepreneurs. The key conclusion is the need to consolidate new financial mechanisms.

Dmitry Kiku

Structural changes in the global economy, the rapid spread of modern technologies, digitalization and the energy transition open up additional opportunities for expanding Russian-Brazilian cooperation. The presidents of the two countries have launched an initiative to create a Technology Alliance for joint projects in knowledge-intensive fields. Russia is ready to share its expertise in areas such as peaceful uses of nuclear technology, artificial intelligence, digital public services and automated solutions across a wide range of sectors.

Alexandra Terzi

The Brazilian IT market is worth $58.7 billion, representing 35% of the total Latin American market. In terms of market volume, the country ranks 10th in the world with a share of 1.58%. There are more than 18,000 registered startups and 18 unicorn companies in Brazil. The State AI Development Plan (PBIA) for 2024–2028 provides for 23 billion reais of investments. The scale of the market creates conditions for long-term investment, the state is a major buyer of technology solutions, and the local ecosystem has reached a level of maturity sufficient for partnerships.
Brazil and Russia share the same challenge of reducing dependence on a single technology hub, but they are taking different paths. Brazil pursues an “open” or “soft” sovereignty model: supporting local technologies and the DeepTech ecosystem, declared openness to international partners, data and model localization requirements, and regulation focused on human rights protection. Russia has followed a path of forced import substitution, building its own cloud platforms, search engines, cybersecurity solutions and national payment infrastructure. Despite the differences in approach, the problem is the same, which creates a basis for dialogue.
Russian competencies include cryptography and cybersecurity, applied AI for finance, industry, security and public administration, as well as end-to-end solutions (infrastructure, ML, MLOps) with competitive price-to-quality ratio. Brazil has its own AI and DeepTech ecosystem, including local models and thousands of startups, an advanced fintech sector (PIX, neobanks, decentralized finance), an established model of open innovation in collaboration with universities and technology parks, as well as renewable energy infrastructure for data centers. This is not a “technology vs. market” equation — both sides possess comparable technological potential, making joint development, shared R&D and joint ventures the most natural form of cooperation.
Six verticals with the greatest potential for cooperation were identified: cybersecurity and anti-fraud; industrial AI and computer vision; LegalTech and RegTech; GovTech and smart cities; FinTech and InsurTech based on AI; MLOps and data engineering. The focus is on verticals rather than horizontal platforms, because in these segments industry expertise matters more than infrastructure scale.
Cooperation already has practical examples. Under an agreement with Skolkovo, signed with the participation of Instituto Montenegro, three Russian companies have started operations in Brazil, and a facial recognition project is at the localization stage. The FIBBRA.org platform, created by EBX.Tech together with the Brazil—Russia Chamber, provides blockchain technology access to BRICS+ associations and companies. A cybersecurity pilot project was also implemented. The scale remains limited, but cooperation is gradually acquiring institutional forms.
An effective market entry strategy involves five sequential stages: selecting a vertical, finding a local partner (startup, integrator, university, technology park), adapting the product to Portuguese language, local data and regulatory requirements, launching a 3–6-month pilot with measurable KPIs, and only then scaling through a joint venture, white label, or participation in PBIA consortia. Entering the market with a ready-made off-the-shelf product without prior adaptation is ineffective.
The first group of barriers concerns payments: Brazilian banks block transactions with sanctioned Russian companies; current practice involves settlements through third countries in dollars or euros. Tokenization and stablecoins are being considered as alternatives, but in Brazil cryptocurrencies are permitted for payments, while in Russia they are not. The second barrier is language, the third is business culture: Russian companies often expect the Brazilian partner to invest first—this model needs to be revisited; investment should come from both sides. The fourth barrier is regulatory and fiscal: the three-tier tax system, costly certification of equipment, logistical challenges, and the need to comply with LGPD requirements from the very start of operations.
Cooperation is not limited to Russian companies entering the Brazilian market. About 60% of Brazilian startups express a desire to internationalize, but only 11% have started the process, indicating demand but a lack of tools. Russia and Eurasian markets could become one direction for expansion. Formalized partnership opens access both ways: Brazilian companies gain entry to Eurasian markets, Russian companies to Latin America.

Arthur Carvalho

Bloquo has accumulated ten years of experience in the digital assets market in Brazil. The company specializes in building international payment infrastructure using blockchain and stablecoins. The main objective is to provide cost-effective settlements independent of SWIFT, which is subject to political influence and used in the interests of individual countries.
Bloquo currently handles significant payment volumes, particularly between Brazil and China, facilitating settlements for importers and exporters. The company actively participates in Brazil’s largest industry events (Blockchain Rio, Febraban Tech), where major Brazilian banks approach it for assistance in organizing international payment flows.
The company engages in dialogue with key development institutions, BNDES in Brazil and its Russian counterpart, VEB.RF. These channels are important not only for trade finance but also for investment projects. Entering the Eurasian market requires the development not only of agricultural exports but also of technology, capital goods, equipment, logistics and shipbuilding infrastructure.
The company sees significant potential in technological cooperation between Brazil and Russia, especially in international payments. Bloquo is ready to participate in creating payment corridors between the two countries. Its ten years of experience in digital assets, despite the youth of the sector itself, represents a significant competitive advantage.

Mario Montenegro

Russia is practically absent from the Brazilian collective consciousness, with the exception of the association with cybersecurity, here Brazilians perceive Russia and Israel as the main providers of solutions. Moreover, the lack of knowledge is mutual: Brazilians know little about Russia, and Russians know little about Brazil. The main issues when entering the market are: how to organize sales, receive payments and set up a company in Brazil. More active presence and simpler communication are essential.
The main obstacles to cooperation are payment arrangements, the requirements of Brazil’s new fiscal framework (Novo Marco Fiscal), as well as sanctions risks and the question of trust in counterparties. The language barrier compounds the problem. Furthermore, Russian companies are unfamiliar with Brazil’s tax system and other conditions necessary for market entry.
Market participants do not always understand who should make the first move. The state must do its part in bilateral work, but negotiations and contacts themselves must take place between companies on an ongoing basis. Brazilian universities are too academic and slow to commercialize technology, unlike American ones. The contribution of all parties is needed: the state, research institutions and business.
Brazil is on the verge of a change of government, but this does not reduce the number of opportunities for both exports and imports of technology. The concept of technological sovereignty in Brazil is still poorly elaborated and communicated. There is a high dependence on American Big Tech and difficulties with European standards. Certification (especially in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors) remains a serious barrier; the possession of European or American certificates significantly simplifies the process.

Márlyson Silva

Brazil is a large and promising market. The main obstacle to cooperation is not the political situation, but the lack of information about existing solutions and limited access to them.
In 2024, a Transfero representative, invited by T-Bank, participated in an event in Russia where he encountered a request from a Brazilian citizen having difficulty transferring funds back home. He was offered stablecoin-based solutions, and as a result, operating costs were reduced from 10–14% to 3%. The successful solution led to scaling.
In 2019, Transfero launched BRZ, a stablecoin pegged to the Brazilian real. At one point, the company held over R$ 1 billion in bank accounts, corresponding to over 1 billion tokens in circulation worldwide. Transfero does not view other companies as competitors — the market is too large for any single player to cover alone. The growth of companies like Bloquo is seen positively, as it expands market access overall.
Petrobras discussed the possibility of purchasing diesel using stablecoins, as the company’s Chinese clients expressed interest in paying for Brazilian oil with this instrument. Although stablecoins are not a requirement for Petrobras itself, the existence of client demand is already shaping a new market reality.
The transactional barrier has practically been eliminated. Funds move between Brazil, Russia and China through legal means, via traditional banks and using stablecoins. In some cases, funds do not even leave the country: the stablecoin is issued in Brazil, accepted in another jurisdiction, and the transaction is completed without any physical movement of currency. The main problem today is a lack of market education, not a lack of technology or products. The key challenge is to find the right lawyers and accountants to structure operations in full compliance with the law.
A practical experiment is proposed: a Brazilian company needing to send R$100,000 reais to Russia distributes this amount between Bloquo and Transfero (50,000 each). Efficiency, bottlenecks, compliance challenges, operational costs and speed are compared for each model. Within 13–19 days, a comparative report can be produced. An alternative approach is to create a joint venture in Brazil that would localize Russian technologies for subsequent implementation in the Brazilian market, allowing for practical testing of taxation and profit repatriation issues.

Carlos Roberto Siqueira Castro

Brazil-Russia cooperation has significant potential, especially in legal and regulatory support for cross-border projects. Challenges exist, but the opportunities for developing bilateral relations outweigh the risks. SiqueiraCastro Advogados is already working with Bloquo on banking, tax and regulatory advisory in Brazil. The joint work is expected to achieve substantial progress in developing practical solutions, particularly in structuring payments and corporate entities.
The firm is ready to provide legal expertise to develop practical solutions, including on joint ventures and the removal of regulatory barriers. There is interest in participating in a working group on payment mechanisms using stablecoins.

Alexey Glagolev

An interesting case study: a Russian company developing embedded and system software attempted to enter the Brazilian market and implemented a project to replace imported technology for a Brazilian company that collected gas and water sensor data for condominiums in São Paulo. The Brazilian company tried to find developers domestically, but due to the specificity of the competencies required, it turned to Russian specialists, who successfully solved the problem.
A shift in approach to technological cooperation is proposed: instead of asking “which Russian technologies can be sold in Brazil?” ask “which technologies can we adapt and develop together?” Many Russian companies have mature products and domestic clients, but the problem arises when entering a new jurisdiction—adaptation to the client, regulation, data and local infrastructure is required. It is at this stage that state institutional support is crucial. If Brazil is viewed merely as another export market, Russian companies will have to compete directly with global suppliers that have brands, channels, infrastructure and decades of local presence. The competitive position changes if the offer is based on technology, know-how, localization and co-development.
Partner diversification is of strategic importance for Brazil, provided that the new partner is willing to build technological capacity within the country, rather than simply replacing one foreign supplier with another. Russian companies are often ready to discuss more flexible cooperation formats than simple license sales: white label, technology integration, access to R&D, customization, knowledge transfer and joint development. This is particularly relevant for a country interested in strengthening its own technological capabilities.
A mature product is not the same as a product ready for the Brazilian market. Technology that works effectively for a major Russian client must still prove itself within the infrastructure of a Brazilian bank, industrial facility or government agency. Adaptation of models to Brazilian data, modification of integrations, compliance with LGPD, preparation of Portuguese-language documentation, certification and local support are all required.
There is a gap between interest and contract—the “Valley of Adaptation” (Vale da Adaptação). The Brazilian client, as a rule, does not want to finance the adaptation of foreign technology. The Russian developer company, in turn, is not prepared to finance months of engineering alone. As a result, there is a situation where the technology exists, interest exists, and even a potential client exists — but there is no sufficiently safe business case for both sides to assume the entire risk. In a high-cost capital environment, this problem becomes even more acute.
A small bilateral co-financing mechanism for technology projects is proposed—not a large fund to subsidize sales, but a disciplined three-stage instrument: analysis and adaptation (studying the client’s problem, regulation, data, architecture); partial funding of a PoC or pilot; and, for projects that prove results, certification and preparation for scaling. Each project should include a Russian company, a Brazilian partner and a clearly identified client. Public funding should complement corporate investment with specific milestones and decision-making criteria. The state purchases risk reduction, not artificial commercial success.

Vinícius Cervantes

Brazil should not be seen solely as a large consumer market for technology. The country has the conditions to serve as a platform for joint development of new technologies. Beyond market size, Brazil offers an environment for technology application: a highly digitalized financial system, a growing volume of government digital services, agribusiness, mining and energy sectors capable of generating and using large volumes of data, as well as universities, research centers and a startup ecosystem.
The simpler cooperation model—finding a Brazilian client or distributor—remains viable, but there is a more promising opportunity: identifying projects in which Russian technological competencies can be combined with Brazilian assets to create new technology. This model is particularly interesting in applied AI, industry, agribusiness, fintech and data analytics. In this case, Brazil ceases to be merely a sales market for ready-made solutions and becomes a participant in the innovation process.
In international R&D projects, intellectual property serves an additional function, it enables safe technology sharing. For example, a Brazilian and a Russian company interested in jointly developing an AI solution: the Russian side contributes algorithms, software and prior technical developments; the Brazilian side contributes its own technology, industry knowledge, data access and implementation capability. Before launching the project, it is important to distinguish what each party already had prior to cooperation from what will be created in the process, and to determine ownership rights to the new software, rights to improvements, commercial exploitation possibilities and protection of jointly used know-how. These issues should not be resolved post-factum; the legal architecture should be integrated into the project from the very beginning.
Brazil has a consolidated regulatory framework for data protection—the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) and the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD). In an information-based economy, this creates an environment of trust and predictability. For a foreign company intending to develop technology in Brazil, the system allows operations to be structured with legal certainty. The key challenge is to create mechanisms that allow data to be used for innovation without compromising constitutional rights and strategic interests—requiring specific legal support at the project level.
Brazil is in an interesting situation: on the one hand, a public AI development agenda with investments in infrastructure, research and training; on the other, active private initiative; and yet the country is still building its regulatory institutional framework for this technology. Concerns that overly stringent regulation could increase costs and reduce innovation incentives are justified (witness the European example), but quality regulation can reduce uncertainty, establish minimum standards, increase trust and create conditions for long-term investment. Russian experience could influence the formation of Brazilian regulation, and the exchange of views between the private sectors of the two countries at this stage is particularly valuable.
The main opportunity for Brazil and Russia lies not in jointly developing a horizontal AI model to compete with global platforms, but in creating niche vertical solutions: AI for predictive industrial diagnostics, intelligent data analysis in agribusiness, and specialized models in Portuguese. In these cases, complementarity is key: the Russian side contributes computational and engineering competencies, while the Brazilian side contributes industry knowledge, data and professional expertise. The result is a technology that neither side could have developed alone.

Gustavo Pessoa

In a country with high interest rates and expensive capital, a Brazilian company buys technology not because of its country of origin, but because it reduces costs, increases productivity, reduces fraud, improves security or solves a problem with measurable financial impact. The report rightly recommends starting with proof of concept and pilot projects. One or two projects with real clients are worth more than twenty signed memoranda of understanding. The most promising areas are anti-fraud, cybersecurity, industrial AI, risk analytics and RegTech, since the client already knows the cost of the problem to be solved.
Localization of technology is not just translating the interface into Portuguese—it is adapting the solution to LGPD, Brazilian data, the tax system, industry standards and the client’s operational reality, as well as providing local support. The proposal to work with Brazilian partners and create small adaptation and development structures is well founded. This also contributes to building technological sovereignty. Technological sovereignty does not mean replacing dependence on the US with dependence on Russia, China or any other country. Sovereignty means having choices. Russia’s best offer to Brazil is a competitive, secure, adaptable alternative open to joint development.
When discussing payments between Brazil and Russia, BRICS, national currencies, blockchain and stablecoins are usually mentioned. However, there is a more immediate question: if a Brazilian company buys Russian technology today, how will the invoice be paid? Which bank processes it? How is the foreign exchange handled? What documents are required? How are sanctions risks addressed? What happens if an intermediary refuses to complete the transaction? These questions may seem operational, but they often determine whether the deal goes ahead. The focus should be less on creating a new currency and more on making legitimate transactions between Brazilian and Russian companies simple, transparent, auditable and predictable. The key principle is compliance by design: compliance must be built into the structure of the operation from the start, not added at the final stage. This is where BRICS could make a concrete contribution — bringing regulators together, reducing the cost of cross-border payments, improving interoperability and creating clearer compliance standards.
Many bilateral relationships suffer from the same problem: good meetings, good ideas, but few actual projects. A small pilot technology program between Brazil and Russia is proposed. Each pilot project would bring together a Russian company with a specific technology, a Brazilian client with a real problem, a local partner, a financial or payment institution and legal-regulatory support. It would be evaluated by simple metrics: implementation time, cost savings generated, cost of the financial transaction and regulatory obstacles encountered.

Bruno Maia

The key challenge of any collaboration, especially international, is overcoming inertia, moving from zero to one. Various barriers, the role of the state, regulatory issues—all of these are important at a certain stage, but launching projects and achieving tangible progress requires a more practical approach. A specific sequence of steps is proposed—some have already been started, others have yet to be implemented.
The first step is to identify the key problems each side can help solve. This stage has already been completed: there is a clear understanding of how Russia and Brazil can benefit each other. Russia has a strong development school and highly qualified IT professionals; Brazil offers a large consumer market, developed distribution and advanced banking and fintech infrastructure. The most promising areas of synergy are IT recruitment and payment mechanisms. The second step is to identify the barriers that prevent the launch of pilot projects in the short term. It is necessary to understand what exactly prevents a Brazilian company from hiring a Russian IT specialist—distrust of remote workers, payment difficulties, legal or labor restrictions. Each vertical requires an individual approach to solving these problems.
International collaborations are inherently complex. The recommendation is to start with simple but flawless execution. Attention is often focused on scale and the big picture, but moving from zero to one requires high-quality implementation of the basics, identifying barriers and systematically removing them. In the case of blockchain-based payments, the main obstacle is a lack of liquidity. The challenge is to provide liquidity and integrate it in a way that offers cost-competitive and accessible payment mechanisms. This is a clear and simple MVP from which scaling can begin.
In hiring IT specialists, trust in the provider is the key factor. Mechanisms for assessment and certification of specialists are needed, offering Brazilian companies a pool of verified, audited and qualified Russian professionals. These two verticals, hiring and payments, naturally intersect: blockchain-based payment mechanisms can be used to pay for the services of such specialists. Brazilian companies are interested in Russian developers, and Russian specialists are interested in opportunities to work in the Brazilian market. At the same time, there is a need for cross-border settlements, especially in commodity trade. Both tasks can be addressed through a single infrastructure: blockchain-based payment mechanisms can simultaneously pay for specialist services and service trade flows. Such integration creates additional value for all participants and can be implemented within existing pilot projects.

Phelipe Leite Bueno

Go Latam! specializes in bringing foreign companies to the Brazilian market and to Latin America as a whole, from market research and legalization to the “tropicalization” of the product or service in the region. The goal is not simply to sell Russian technology in Brazil or replace existing solutions with Russian or Chinese alternatives. The key task is to open up opportunities for joint development and expand the range of available technology solutions tailored to specific market needs. Ensuring complementarity is the practical meaning of technological sovereignty.
About five years ago, a Russian company developing messaging software entered the Brazilian market through a partner program. Partners acted as sales channels, providing access to various industry niches and helping build trust in the product in new segments. However, the open feedback channel led to partners returning not only with commercial offers but also with ideas for adapting the product to specific sectors (medicine, retail, industry). This resulted in joint development — partners adapted the product to their clients’ needs. Five years later, the solution is present in over 70 countries, with Brazil being the largest market. Success was achieved precisely through feedback and joint development with local partners. If a more effective communication channel is established to facilitate the exchange of information, experience and market knowledge, mutual growth can be significantly accelerated.
The issue of funding concerns both sides. Large-scale technology development at early stages represents a significant risk for private business — it is unclear whether the project will be profitable. The state can play a role at this stage through existing mechanisms for supporting research and development (in Brazil, these are FAPESP, FINEP, government grants). Private-sector partnerships can be effective for joint adaptation of existing solutions; however, funding for fundamentally new developments would require state participation.

Christian Souza

Brazil and Russia share similar characteristics in the field of cybersecurity. Both countries are major sources of cyber threats. Brazil is among the leaders in creating malware targeting bank theft and unauthorized transfers, exporting such threats both domestically and abroad. Kaspersky detects about 500,000 new malware samples daily, most of which are modifications of already known threats. At the same time, both countries have highly qualified cybersecurity professionals: Brazilian specialists are internationally recognized for their creativity and adaptability, while Russian specialists are among the most talented.
There is potential for cooperation between specialists from the two countries. Brazil is the most frequently attacked country in Latin America, while Russia is among the most attacked in the CIS. This creates a need for cooperation between the private sector and the state, as well as at the interagency level. The exchange of technologies and, in particular, threat intelligence is proposed: sharing data on Brazil’s threat landscape (which attackers are active, which malware is prevalent) that could also affect companies and government agencies in Russia, and vice versa.
Threat intelligence sharing benefits specialists, governments and law enforcement agencies in both countries. Kaspersky already cooperates with Interpol, providing data for global investigations. The question is why not expand such cooperation between countries in the field of cybersecurity. Systematic information sharing on attackers and attack vectors would allow both countries to strengthen their defenses against threats that do not respect state borders.

Video