By Quintino Gomes Freire – Diário do Rio
The City of Rio de Janeiro has launched the Rio Innovation Map, a digital platform designed to identify, organize, and showcase the city’s main innovation assets. The initiative is led by the Municipal Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation and Invest.Rio, the city’s investment promotion and attraction agency.
The launch took place during Web Summit Rio 2026, one of the world’s leading technology and innovation events. The initiative goes beyond simply mapping startups. The platform brings together research centers, universities, research and innovation institutions (ICTs), technology parks, innovation hubs, technology-based companies, innovative industries, and organizations involved in knowledge production across Rio de Janeiro.
The goal is to demonstrate, through a single tool, the strength and diversity of Rio’s science, technology, and innovation ecosystem. The map is also intended to facilitate connections among companies, researchers, universities, investors, and government agencies.
Platform Aims to Connect Investors with Rio’s Innovation Ecosystem
The Rio Innovation Map was developed to provide an integrated view of the city’s technological assets. Through the platform, the City Hall aims to support investment attraction, public policy planning, and the promotion of the municipality’s technological capabilities.
According to the municipal administration, the tool also helps highlight Rio de Janeiro’s position as one of Brazil’s leading centers for science, technology, and innovation.
*”With the Rio Innovation Map, we are taking a concrete step toward connecting our research centers, universities, companies, and innovation environments, making visible the opportunities and talent that drive the city’s development. Launching this platform at Web Summit means presenting to the world the strength and diversity of Rio’s ecosystem and affirming our ambition to attract investments and strategic partnerships,”* said Gabriel Medina, Municipal Secretary of Science, Technology and Innovation.
During Web Summit Rio 2026, the launch was accompanied by an immersive experience at the Invest.Rio booth. The presentation used the map to showcase the city from an innovation perspective, highlighting the collaboration between public and private initiatives focused on research, development, and economic transformation.
*”Launching the Rio Innovation Map at Web Summit Rio is not a coincidence—it is a strategy. This is the moment when we bring together the world’s leading innovation and technology players in one place, allowing us to showcase, with data and depth, the ecosystem that Rio is building. The platform gives investors an integrated view of the city: where the talent, institutions, companies, and opportunities are located. This shortens the path between interest and the decision to invest,”* said Sidney Levy, President of Invest.Rio.
The Rio Innovation Map is part of the City Hall’s strategy to strengthen innovation, technology, and economic development. The platform also reinforces the municipality’s commitment to public policies focused on research, entrepreneurship, and attracting new investments.