Brazil’s R$959 Million AI Supercomputer Tender Moves to 4 November, With Scoring Now Favouring National Production

Brazil’s public tender to choose the supplier of an AI supercomputer has been pushed from 8 October to 4 November 2026, and its scoring changed, ConvergenciaDigital reported on 8 October. The new date falls after the presidential runoff on 25 October [4]. No supplier has been chosen.

Who runs it, and what the number means

Reported (ConvergenciaDigital); the date and score change are also on the tender page. The tender, “Seleção Pública 27/2026”, is run by FACC, a foundation that supports the National Scientific Computing Laboratory (LNCC), using money from Finep, a state innovation funder, under the Brazilian AI Plan [1][2]. R$959,040,959.04 is the tender’s estimated value [1]. That is an estimate, not money spent or committed, and the article says the documents alone cannot show whether it is adequate [1]. FACC’s page lists 4 November at 10:00 [2].

What changed

The original scoring gave 70% to technical merit and 30% to price. Errata 01 keeps 70% for technical merit, adds 20% for national production and cuts price to 10% [1][3]. National production means meeting a Brazilian rule on which manufacturing steps happen in the country; the article notes this does not mean Brazil would design the chips [1]. The errata also adds a benchmark for agentic AI, AI that carries out multi-step tasks [3].

Payment would come in three equal instalments of about R$319.7 million, depending on Finep releasing the money [1]. The machine would be installed at a science park in Macaíba, Rio Grande do Norte [1].

Sovereignty conditions, as reported

ConvergenciaDigital lists perpetual licences for essential software, models exportable in open formats, control of remote updates, a ban on unauthorised data transfers to outside servers, operation without external connectivity, and mandatory confidential computing, which protects data while it is being processed [1].

What this does not show

No winner, vendor or chips are named. The article warns the documents still contain inconsistencies: some formulas keep a 30% price weight, and the performance guarantee appears as both 10% and 5% [1]. It links the delay to the changes in the documents and raises politics only as a possible factor [1]. This is a tender, not an order or a purchase.

Related on TSN: Britain Bets £500 Million on Sovereign AI: What the Fund Launching April 16 Actually Means

Sources

1. Ana Paula Lobo, “Governo modifica edital e adia entrega de propostas para a compra do supercomputador de Inteligência Artificial”, ConvergenciaDigital, 8 October 2026 (trade press, in Portuguese; source of the value, funding, instalments, site, sovereignty clauses and caveats). https://convergenciadigital.com.br/governo/governo-modifica-edital-e-adia-entrega-de-propostas-para-a-compra-do-supercomputador-de-inteligencia-artificial/
2. FACC, “Processos de Seleção Pública”, entry for Seleção Pública 27/2026, read 10 October 2026 (tender page; shows 4 November 2026, 10:00). https://www.facc.org.br/?page_id=7592
3. FACC, “Errata nº 01 ao Termo de Referência, Seleção Pública nº 27/2026” (tender document, in Portuguese; 70/20/10 scoring, agentic AI benchmark, instalment amount). https://www.facc.org.br/docs/EditaisCarregados/42234798366d574f0502ebb68b2befaf.pdf?583003110
4. Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, “Eleições 2026: confira as principais datas do calendário eleitoral” (official election calendar; second round, if needed, on 25 October 2026). https://www.tse.jus.br/comunicacao/noticias/2026/Marco/eleicoes-2026-confira-as-principais-datas-do-calendario-eleitoral