The American whose mission is to “sell” Brazilian AI data centers to Big Tech

Recently hired as vice president of international affairs for the Rio firm, Elena will be based in Seattle and one of her main missions will be to “sell” Rio AI City, a data processing center created in the Olympic Park by Elea and supported by the municipality.

How is Brazil seen by “hyperscaler” companies (Big Tech that offer large-scale cloud infrastructure)?

As an important player in the field of cheap and renewable energy. It has become a differentiator for hyperscalers looking to meet their low carbon goals. So over the last four or five years, we’ve seen an explosion in the data center market in Latin America, particularly in Brazil. And Redata will help incentivize companies to build cloud and infrastructure for AI. The market has evolved a lot.

At what stage of development is this market in Brazil?

Any market in the segment begins to develop at the points of arrival of submarine cables. Here it all started with São Paulo and Rio, which are also large metropolitan areas with many Internet users. We will now start to see entries in other parts of the country. We are at the threshold of growth through AI, which is already present in the United States and will begin to occur in Brazil. The Rio AI City project offers the opportunity to participate in this growth on a large scale and with 100% renewable energy.

What will be your mission in the company?

Connect Elea infrastructure with hyperscalers. Being based in Seattle will be strategic, given its proximity to big tech in Silicon Valley and the Pacific Northwest (where Microsoft and Amazon are headquartered). I just called buy sideso I know that what companies are looking for most is a reliable partner. It is not enough to have access to energy and land; you need the ability to deliver.

Will Redata be decisive?

This will be an important factor in decision making. Many hyperscalers evaluated other countries because the tax burden was an obstacle for Brazil. With Redata, the door opens for better use of Brazil’s renewable and cheaper energy.

Is the companies’ plan to set up data centers for AI “training” here?

This is a complex question. Today, much of the training still takes place in the United States. What we’ll see here is the migration of some applications and discussion of what data can be sent from the US to here and vice versa. We will also see more inference AI (execution phase) happening locally in Brazil.

Are you involved in attracting hyperscalers to Rio AI City?

Yes. My plan is to work on this project directly with them, and most of them already know about it. Rio AI City is a great opportunity to combine large AI “workloads” with 100% renewable energy and modern infrastructure, with large available capacity. In the medium term, we will have a capacity of 1.5 GW, with the possibility of scaling up to 3.2 GW.

Data center companies complain that it is difficult to connect to this cheap energy in Brazil, due to infrastructure bottlenecks and bureaucracy…

Distribution, transportation and production problems are a global problem. The United States also faces capacity constraints across regions.

Some analysts suggest Brazil has already missed much of the opportunity to become an AI data center powerhouse. Do you agree?

No. Brazil is very well placed to attract hyperscalers. It’s a question of time, opportunity and preparation. This is why a project like Rio AI City is so important. Now it remains to find the right partners. The opportunity is still on the table: nothing has been lost.

Many questions arise about the environmental impact of data centers. Are “hyperscalers” sensitive to this subject?

I would say this: Some of the problems that “hyperscalers” face in the United States – around energy or sustainability – may not completely disappear in Brazil, but access to renewable energy here is a huge differentiator. Brazil has wind, sun and water. That makes energy more attractive than in many global markets and could ease concerns.