Rio AI City Project Takes Another Major Step Forward at Web Summit Rio 2026

The Rio AI City project has taken another decisive step toward becoming a reality. During the opening of Web Summit Rio on June 8, Rio Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere and Alessandro Lombardi, CEO of Elea Data Centers, announced a US$550 million investment in the company’s digital infrastructure platform, including the implementation of Rio AI City. The investment is part of the first phase of Elea’s acquisition by I Squared Capital, a global infrastructure investment firm, and paves the way for an expansion cycle that could reach US$10 billion in the coming years.

*”Last year, on this very stage, exactly one year ago, the City Hall presented the most ambitious and groundbreaking digital sovereignty project in our country: Rio AI City. Today, the initiative moves forward with the fund’s first investment. As a result, Rio de Janeiro will become the epicenter of connectivity, energy, and strategic logistics for the Global South,”* said Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere.

During the event’s opening ceremony, Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Elea Data Centers and the Rio Partnerships and Investments Company (CCPar), formalizing cooperation among the institutions for the implementation of the artificial intelligence complex that aims to position Rio among the world’s top ten AI hubs by 2032.

*”Rio de Janeiro is a vibrant, innovative city with unique characteristics. Rio AI City was born from the desire to leverage this environment to transform the Marvelous City into a major artificial intelligence acceleration hub. This is more than an AI project—it is a long-term vision to position Rio at the center of digital transformation by combining digital infrastructure, human capital, sustainability, and positive impact. We are building an ecosystem capable of attracting investments, generating opportunities, and placing the city—and Brazil—at the center of the global development agenda,”* said Alessandro Lombardi, CEO and founder of Elea Data Centers.

The Memorandum of Understanding establishes a joint cooperation agenda to support the implementation of Rio AI City, including institutional coordination, technical studies, resource mobilization, and the attraction of new public and private partners. The agreement will remain in effect for 36 months and reinforces Rio City Hall’s role as an institutional supporter of the project.

*”The signing of this memorandum represents another concrete step toward establishing Rio as an international benchmark in digital infrastructure. CCPar will continue working to structure partnerships and create the necessary conditions for this investment to generate economic development, innovation, and opportunities for the city,”* said Osmar Lima, Rio’s Municipal Secretary of Economic Development and head of CCPar.

Rio AI City is part of the city’s strategy to position Rio as a global leader in the digital economy. With projected total investments of approximately US$65 billion over the next decade, the project includes the development of an artificial intelligence-focused data center complex in the Olympic Park area of Barra da Tijuca.

The initiative seeks to meet the growing global demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure. The AI data center market has experienced significant growth in recent years, driven by the need to process applications such as ChatGPT and other advanced language models that require high-capacity supercomputing resources.

Rio de Janeiro offers conditions considered rare for this type of investment. The city is currently the only global megacity with approximately 3 GW of available power capacity for new developments, much of it accessible in the short term. This combination of energy availability, international connectivity, logistics, and a competitive urban environment distinguishes Rio from other major global centers.

The complex will have an initial power capacity of 1.5 GW, with planned expansion to 3 GW by 2032. The project already includes the RJO1 data center in operation and is now beginning construction of the new facilities that will form the Rio AI City expansion.

Following the completion of Elea’s acquisition by I Squared Capital, the company has entered a new phase of growth for its large-scale digital infrastructure platform, designed to meet artificial intelligence and cloud computing demands across Latin America.

In addition to the agreement signed with Elea and CCPar, Rio City Hall has been coordinating a broad institutional effort to support the project. The municipality has also signed memorandums of understanding with Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), as well as BNDES, Eletrobras, and Finep, bringing together strategic partners around the implementation of Rio AI City.

The project is expected to generate more than 10,000 skilled jobs, strengthen the local innovation ecosystem, and increase the attraction of startups, research centers, and global technology companies to the city.