Disruptive AI solutions connect Sweden and Brazil

This is the event’s third year with a theme of AI for health and smart cities, as part of the ongoing Sweden-Brazil Innovation Initiative that aims to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

“The matchmaking provided not only a unique and exciting opportunity for Swedish startups to learn about challenges specific to Brazil, but also an excellent chance for Brazilian corporates to learn and engage with cutting edge startups that can lead to immense impact,” says Filip Tideman, Project Manager, International at Ignite Sweden. 

CISB’s Managing Director Alessandra Holmo agrees, saying the matchday allowed their members to not only connect with disruptive startups but learn more about the Swedish innovation ecosystem as a whole. She emphasizes that, particularly within this year’s theme, Sweden is a fantastic place for corporates to explore the latest AI technologies.

“Corporates are looking for AI solutions because they can solve their challenges, increase their competitiveness and also create new business models. Sweden is a country with a lot of scaleups and is a great place to find them.”

A win-win solution

Leading paper and pulp company, Suzano has attended all three Sweden-Brazil Startup Matchdays and Jacqueline Silva Batista, Senior Open Innovation Analyst at Suzano DigitalTech says there are a range of benefits for their company. 

“These events with Ignite have been of great value for us to promote the digital transformation movement and innovation culture,” says Jacqueline, adding that “Sweden’s ecosystem is an important innovation ecosystem to connect and meet startups with disruptive solutions. It is a plus that Sweden has a representative forestry base, so we can replicate and exchange best practices.”

Another prominent Brazilian corporation, Vale, also saw potential working with Sweden, saying they joined the matchday to find innovative solutions for their most pressing challenges, including safety where AI can play a big role. 

“The Swedish ecosystem is super advanced in new technologies for heavy industry, and we were interested in getting to know more about how some startups are developing their solutions and establishing meaningful partnerships,” says Cristiane Passos, Global Open Innovation Lead, Vale. 

She adds that “The benefits are numerous, I see it as a win-win situation. We want to innovate, seek disruptions, and have access to new technologies from our side. The startups can co-build solutions with us as well as have us as their customer at the journey’s end.”

Expanding to a large potential market

For Vaquita Technologies, a startup that monitors water quality, Brazil represents a large market for water quality applications. “It is a gateway to a continent with huge potential,” says Nour Akel, COO and interim CEO, Vaquita.

He continues that these types of potential collaborations are beneficial to everyone involved. “Allowing startups to use corporate infrastructure and use cases will provide us with a very important head start and cut some major costs, while also allowing corporates to get fresh input and solutions to the challenges they are working on.”

This matchday was organized as part of the Sweden Brazil Innovation Initiative, together with Vinnova – Sweden’s Innovation Agency, RISE, Business Sweden, CISB and the Swedish Embassy in Brazil.  

The participating corporations were Ache Laboratorios, BRF, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein,  Sabesp – Sao Paulo State Sanitation Company, Suzano, Vale SA and WEG.