Microsoft announced today the largest single investment ever made in Brazil, totaling R$ 14.7 billion in cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) over three years. This initiative aims to promote the development of the AI ecosystem in Brazil, accelerating AI innovation in the country. Microsoft will also promote the country's long-term competitive advantage through the ConectAI program, which will provide training for 5 million people over the next three years in AI skills, creating long-term benefits for the Brazilian economy.
Microsoft will expand its cloud and AI infrastructure across several data center campuses in the state of São Paulo. This new investment aligns with the company's goal of supporting innovation and increasing the country's competitiveness, and it is in line with the government's vision to improve public sector efficiency, national resilience, and promote sustainability. Microsoft already has two Azure regions locally: Brazil South, headquartered in the state of São Paulo and announced in 2014, and Brazil Southeast, headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, launched in 2020.
"We are committed to supporting the transformation of AI in Brazil and ensuring that it benefits everyone," said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. Our new investments in cloud and AI infrastructure and training in Brazil will help ensure broad access to both technology and the skills needed for the Brazilian population and economy to thrive in this AI era.
ConectAI: empowering 5 million Brazilians with essential AI skills
Microsoft is launching ConectAI, a program that will provide AI skills training to 5 million people, with the goal of addressing the AI-driven workforce shift and ensuring an equitable future for all by delivering AI fluency at scale.
A study commissioned by Microsoft and conducted by the consulting firm FrontierView in 2020 shows that if Brazil adopts AI massively, it could add 4.2 percentage points to the country's GDP growth by 2030. Even with minimal AI adoption, Brazil could see a 1.8 percentage point increase in GDP during the same period.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates Microsoft’s commitment to supporting inclusive economic growth in Brazil. We are empowering individuals, companies and society to increase innovation and democratize the use of AI through skills development, knowledge sharing and access to cutting-edge technology and digital infrastructure, while meeting our sustainability goals,” said Tania Cosentino, president of Microsoft Brazil.
The ConectAI program makes this premise tangible and will support the Brazilian population in reaping the benefits of AI adoption. The company is collaborating with 26 organizations, including governments, educational institutions, and NGOs, to achieve this goal. Microsoft has established a new collaboration with SENAI São Paulo (National Service for Industrial Training) to offer AI fluency courses and training for the AI-900 certification to its students, teachers, and the community.
Furthermore, Microsoft will continue collaborating with the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE) to provide AI skills training through the "Worker School 4.0" program, which aims to provide access to digital skills so that Brazilians can stay updated on the technologies demanded by the world of work.“The MTE has been working with Microsoft for years to build digital skills training to support the Brazilian population in becoming qualified in current technologies. The new initiatives we are developing together to disseminate knowledge in artificial intelligence will be essential to promote the inclusion of people in the digital environment and generate more employment opportunities in the country, supporting the economic and professional growth of citizens,” says Luiz Marinho, Minister of Labor and Employment.
Additionally, Microsoft, in collaboration with Nova Escola, a non-profit organization focused on supporting Brazilian teachers, will provide AI skills training for educators. This initiative aims to empower teachers with resources to simplify lesson planning and improve public education through innovative tools and training. To reach young people, Microsoft is partnering with UNICEF to bring AI skills to the 1MiO program, aiming to reduce the number of people aged 18 to 25 who are not studying and not working. Another important audience is government workers. To train public servants to be more productive and, in turn, improve the services provided to society, Microsoft is partnering with ENAP to provide both fluency and productivity content as well as technical skills to foster technological innovation in the public sector.
In addition to the initiatives carried out through the 26 ConectAI partners, Brazilians will also have access to a Microsoft website (https://aka.ms/conectAIwhere they will be able to access more than 130 free learning paths. These tracks will cover topics such as digital literacy, productivity, AI, and technical training. These courses cover topics such as Microsoft 365 applications, the history of AI, generative artificial intelligence, prompt engineering (commands/questions for AI), and how to use Microsoft Copilot. More technical courses will also be made available, focusing on providing knowledge about cloud AI fundamentals.
Microsoft has already helped many Brazilians acquire digital skills through programs that are part of the Mais Brasil plan, ConectAI (formerly Conecta+), and partner initiatives. From January 2021 to August 2024, we impacted 12.7 million people to learn more about digital literacy and productivity, and trained and certified 2.8 million people in digital skills.
Fostering the AI Ecosystem in Brazil
To support the growing demand for cloud and AI services in Brazil, we have been investing in the Brazilian AI ecosystem, including developers and startups. Today, the GitHub developer community in Brazil has over 4.8 million people*. The country is the sixth largest community of developers, contributing to generative AI projects, and Brazil is expected to surpass China in the number of developers by 2028, becoming the third largest population of these professionals globally. Microsoft is also supporting the local startup community by providing over USD 9 million in Azure credits to around 3,300 local startups since July 2023 through the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub.
Additionally, the company has an ecosystem of 25,000 partners and hundreds of thousands of customers in Brazil. Microsoft empowers Brazilian organizations to benefit from the power of AI. This investment in infrastructure and skills development aims to foster innovation in established companies, new ventures, and the renowned Brazilian startup community, and also addresses the critical need for training in AI competencies.
“The use of generative AI combined with a responsible AI discipline allowed the delivery of a unique cloud native solution for digital service to our customers with resolution rates above 90%”, comments Rafael Cavalcanti, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Bradesco.
Driving sustainable, secure, world-class cloud and AI infrastructure
Sustainability is fundamentally important to Microsoft and is reflected in our ambitious corporate goals to become a carbon-negative, water-positive, and zero-waste company that protects ecosystems by 2030. At Microsoft, we design, build, and operate a cloud computing infrastructure spanning the entire chain, from data centers to servers and custom silicon. With this expansion, Microsoft's cloud will cover more than 60 data center regions worldwide. This creates unique opportunities to orchestrate work that enhances both performance and efficiency and sustainability.
Microsoft continues to evaluate and actively work to meet the sustainability needs and resources associated with infrastructure growth. Microsoft has adopted a pioneering approach in its planning, making long-term investments to bring more carbon-free electricity to the networks where it operates. Our Power Purchase Agreements, or PPAs, are at the core of our approach. Today, we contracted over 34 GW of renewable energy in 24 countries, marking progress toward accelerating renewable energy markets and supporting the global energy transition. We continue to advocate for the expansion of clean energy solutions worldwide.
Furthermore, we continue with our goal of becoming Carbon Negative by 2030, being one of the largest buyers of carbon removal in the world. In the last fiscal year, Microsoft purchased tens of millions of tons of carbon removal, in a global portfolio of environmental initiatives, such as reforestation, and solutions like direct air capture andbiochar (charcoal).
In 2023, Microsoft signed a 15-year renewable energy contract with AES Brazil for a wind power project that began commercial operations in July 2024. The energy will be generated by the Cajuína Wind Complex, located in Rio Grande do Norte, approximately 130 kilometers from Natal. The project will be led by an operations and maintenance (O&M) team composed entirely of women. AES Brazil is the first company in the country to have a wind farm built and maintained locally by a female team.
In alignment with the goal of becoming Carbon Negative by 2030, Microsoft signed an agreement with the Amazon Reforestation Fund operated by a Brazilian startup called Mombak to provide high-quality carbon removal through reforestation projects of native biodiversity in the Amazon, totaling up to 1.5 million tons of carbon removal by 2032 from millions of trees planted. Based on this agreement, the World Bank issued a results bond (outcome bond, in English) linked to the USD 225M Amazon Reforestation – the first bond of its kind – to promote more investments in Mombak's reforestation efforts. A second agreement with another Brazilian company, re.green, provides for the delivery of approximately 3 million carbon removal credits over a 15-year period through forest restoration, using exclusively native species, including the planting of at least 10 million seedlings. The estimate of this purchase agreement is to support the restoration of over 16,000 hectares across Brazil, including the states of Maranhão and Bahia.
Finally, an agreement with BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG) plans to provide Microsoft with up to 8 million nature-based carbon removal credits by 2043 – the largest corporate carbon removal purchase announced to date. The credits will be made available through the reforestation and restoration strategy of USD 1 billion from TIG in Latin America, in which Conservation International acts as an impact advisor to help TIG achieve positive results in the environmental, climate, and social spheres. This strategy focuses on conservation, restoration, and planting in deforested and degraded areas in selected regions of Latin America, including the Brazilian Cerrado biome, one of the most seasonally dry and biodiverse ecosystems in the world.
Microsoft's infrastructure and cloud service suite are built from the ground up to protect data centers against unauthorized access, environmental risks, and other physical threats. The company uses a resilient architecture, business continuity plans, and disaster recovery steps to keep services available and meet high standards of security and privacy. Microsoft follows industry standards of excellence in implementing Responsible AI standards and in creating the AI Assurance Program, which aims to promote best practices for the use of this technology.
Promoting responsible advancement and community engagement
This infrastructure will operate under theMicrosoft AI Access Principles, which were created to foster innovation and healthy competition within the rapidly growing AI economy. They reflect Microsoft's growing role and responsibility as an AI leader and the company's commitment to making investments, forming business partnerships, and creating programs that ensure broad access to its AI technology, empowering organizations and individuals to develop and use AI in ways that benefit society as a whole.
Additionally, Microsoft reinforces itsGlobal Community Commitmentthe Data Centers, which recognizes your commitment to being a responsible company in Brazil and in the places where you operate, contributing positively to local economies and ecosystems while advancing global digital transformation. Microsoft will work closely with local governments, citizens, and decision-makers to ensure that its infrastructure is a resource that contributes to a sustainable future and advances the prosperity and well-being of the community.
