AGP Executive Report

Pix & Payments: Brazil’s Pix keeps expanding, but cards aren’t going anywhere—credit card transactions still made up 35.1% of GDP in Q1 2026, while active payment cards jumped from 324M (2020) to 477M (end-2025), pointing to parallel growth in digital payments. Subsea Connectivity: Padtec plans to buy 85% of LEV Brazil and launch Padtec Marine Networks to support submarine cable projects end-to-end, from route studies to deployment—building on its earlier Google-linked Santos–Rio cable work. Biodiversity Tech: MBARI’s SURF Center developed portable eDNA sampling tools (ESP and FIDO) to bring lab-grade genetic monitoring to ocean fieldwork, including deployments off Brazil to map coastal and offshore life. AI’s Environmental Cost: A UN report warns AI data centers could consume huge electricity and water by 2030, with water use projected at 9.3T liters—raising pressure on “green AI” claims. Uber in Nepal: Uber officially launches in Nepal with Uber Go/Comfort and Uber Bike, testing multiple business models and eyeing expansion beyond rides. Health & Diplomacy: China and Brazil deepen public health cooperation, building on a COVID-era partnership with major public pharma labs. Space for Science in Brazil: Brazil was elected to the UN ECOSOC for 2027–2029, with diplomats citing roles in reducing inequality and advancing science and technology.

Climate & Environment: World Environment Day 2026 put extreme heat and El Niño risks front and center, with UN warnings that the planet is heading toward a temporary overshoot of 1.5°C and that faster emissions cuts and methane cuts are urgent. Cybersecurity & Critical Infrastructure: US agencies warned that attackers are targeting internet-connected automatic tank gauge systems, urging industrial operators to harden these devices. Brazil Tech/Policy: Brazil’s Lula vowed to seek alternative trade partners after new US tariff threats tied to claims about Pix and forced labor, signaling a push to diversify routes. Aerospace & Defense: Brazil may buy 20 more Saab Gripen jets to replace aging F-5s, boosting local aerospace work and long-term air power. Health Innovation (Brazil): Researchers in Brazil reported an experimental periodontitis biomaterial combining jackfruit latex, pomegranate peel extract, and simvastatin to fight inflammation and support tissue regeneration. Mobility/Platforms: Uber launched in Nepal (its 11th Asia-Pacific market), adding Uber Bike alongside car services. Society & Tech: Rio delivery riders are emerging as a political force as election-year debate intensifies over platform driver regulation.

Brazil Tech & Society: Delivery riders in Rio de Janeiro are turning into a political force as app-based work regulation stalls, highlighting how platform labor is reshaping rights debates ahead of the October election. Climate & Food Supply: China agreed to buy deforestation-free Brazilian beef, signaling growing demand for traceable, forest-friendly food even with a price premium. Energy Tech: Brazil launched a world-first ethanol-powered grid engine, pointing to new ways to integrate biofuel into power systems. Health & Biosecurity: Brazil is monitoring suspected Ebola cases as authorities test travelers returning from Africa, while the wider outbreak continues to evolve. Digital Infrastructure: India is attracting major data-center investment tied to AI capacity, a reminder of how compute buildouts are driving regional tech competition. AI & Media: Netflix is rolling out a FIFA World Cup phone-controlled game with daily updates, and Brazil gets a limited test ahead of the global launch.

AI & Society: A UN report warns AI’s boom has a big environmental footprint, with data centers’ water use potentially rivaling the needs of sub-Saharan Africa. Digital Identity: Google expands Google Wallet with digital IDs and age credentials, starting with EU passport-based passes and Sparkasse-backed age assurance. Enterprise AI: Meta rolls out its Business Agent globally across WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, aiming to automate customer support, scheduling and sales tasks for businesses (including Brazil). Brazil Tech & Media Infrastructure: GatesAir opens a new Brazil office in Minas Gerais to support DTV+ (ATSC 3.0) with local assembly, repairs and engineering support. Defense & Aerospace: Brazil signals interest in buying 20 more Saab Gripen E/F jets, with Saab planning an R&D unit in Brazil. Public Health Research: Brazil-based study finds older adults often add extra salt at the table, with men more likely than women. Health Tech Market Watch: A new report forecasts rapid growth for non-invasive blood glucose monitoring devices through 2034.

Brazil-Amazon climate experiment: The Amazon Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) project starts in Brazil’s Cuieiras reserve, releasing CO2 for a decade to test whether extra greenhouse gases will “fertilize” forests or trigger later dieback. Aerospace & defense: Saab unveiled the first co-developed two-seat Gripen F for Brazil’s Air Force, built on the Gripen E platform and tied to long-running Brazilian industrial training. AI for small business: Meta expands its Meta Business Agent globally, rolling it out to WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger to help shops answer customers, book appointments and recommend products. Health & society: A study using mobile phone location data across seven countries (including Brazil) finds people often retreat indoors during heatwaves, but malls and parks can act as cooling refuges—pushing for community cooling centers and flexible work. Environment & food tech: Chinese importers begin buying Brazil’s “deforestation-free” Beef on Track certified supply, aiming to cut illegal clearing and risky labor in cattle chains. Biodiversity: Brazilian and international researchers name three new poison dart frog species from the Amazon.

Amazon Fires Watch: INPE reports May 2026 hotspots up 115% vs April, with 867 fires and a 44% rise in the first five months vs 2025, as El Niño concerns grow and illegal mining/logging plus pasture burns keep pressure on the rainforest. Climate Risk: Scientists warn a “Super El Niño” could intensify droughts, floods, cyclones and extreme heat, with climate change likely amplifying impacts on water, food and forests. AI Governance: Trump signed an executive order creating a national-security vetting framework for the most advanced AI systems before public release. Brazil-Asia Trade & Sustainability: Chinese importers began buying Brazil’s “Beef on Track” certified, zero-deforestation beef, aiming to decouple cattle ranching from illegal forest clearing. Power Grid Digitization (Brazil-linked region): Sharika Enterprises secured an ADMS/SCADA-OMS subcontract for India’s Ganga Corridor modernization, highlighting the global push toward smarter, faster outage management. Tech & Markets: Android’s June feature drop adds fake call detection and expanded safety features. Earthquake Alert: A 5.0 quake hit the Peru–Brazil border region.

Payments & Digital Commerce: Juspay joined Mastercard’s Engage network as a certified Click to Pay partner, building on a Brazil rollout and aiming to speed up secure one-click checkouts across Asia. Mobile Security: Google’s Android June Feature Drop is rolling out fake call detection (to warn about impersonation), plus expanded cross-platform sharing and other safety features. Biotech & Health Ethics: Global experts met at the Vatican to update ethics rules for biobanks, pushing for fairer inclusion of marginalized populations as AI and genomics reshape research. Gene Editing Market Watch: A new report estimates the CRISPR-based gene editing market could reach about USD 12.6B by 2034, growing near 13% annually. Agrifood Innovation: The F3 Fish Farm Challenge named its 2026 contestants for raising carnivorous fish on fish-free feeds, with a USD 90k grand prize. Industrial/Infrastructure: Saipem says it completed lifting operations for a gas recovery module at Libya’s Bouri project, a key step in its EPCIC work. Space/Tech Policy (Brazil-relevant): Brazil’s digital regulator invited comments on updates to age verification guidance.

Android Security & Personalization: Google’s June 2026 Android Feature Drop adds “fake call detection” in Phone by Google to spot AI voice scams impersonating your contacts, plus expanded Quick Share/AirDrop-style support and new outfit tools in Google Photos/Wardrobe (including Brazil). Cybercrime Watch: Silent Push reports DriveSurge, a mature malware delivery operation that hijacks thousands of legitimate sites to push ClickFix/FakeUpdate attacks via a pay-per-install model. Public Health Tech: Alphabet’s “Debug” program seeks U.S. approval to release 32 million Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes in California and Florida to suppress disease spread. Climate Risk: The WMO says El Niño is forming with an 80% chance between June-August and 90% it lasts to at least November, with climate change likely amplifying impacts. Brazil Energy & Industry: Sergipe plans an economic development fund tied to Petrobras’s deepwater investments (R$72.5B announced; R$60B+ for Seap) to prepare for the end of field life. AI in Sports Talent: Brazilian teen Leo Veiga got into an Italian club’s youth ranks after uploading phone videos analyzed by AI scouting apps. Payments: Juspay joins Mastercard Engage to scale Click to Pay globally, building on its Brazil rollout.

Rare Earths & Batteries: St George Mining says it brought Amperex Technology (ATL) onto its share register via a $2m investment, boosting ties around its Araxá rare earths and niobium project in Brazil. Public Health Tech: C2N Diagnostics and SouthGenetics will expand access to Precivity® blood tests for Alzheimer’s amyloid assessment across Latin America and the Caribbean, starting with multiple countries including Brazil. Ebola Watch (Brazil): Brazil ruled out a suspected Ebola case in São Paulo after lab tests found no viral genetic material, while authorities keep monitoring travelers. Digital Safety Regulation: Malaysia began enforcing a ban on social media accounts for children under 16, requiring age verification for major platforms—an approach that’s already being echoed in the region. AI Infrastructure Funding: Alphabet plans to raise up to $80bn to fund AI compute expansion, underscoring how fast AI spending is reshaping tech capacity. Energy & Wildlife Risk: Brazil’s environmental agency approved oil drilling near the Amazon River mouth despite concerns about rescuing manatees and other wildlife in spill scenarios.

Cerrado Fire Tech: Brazil’s Copaíbas program is equipping community fire brigades with real-time smoke monitoring towers, offline-capable apps, and training to cut response times and protect conservation areas in the cerrado. Ebola Watch: CEPI is funding Ebola vaccine trials with up to $60m for Bundibugyo candidates as Brazil investigates suspected cases and global contact tracing struggles. Brazil–China Space & Diplomacy: Brazil and China are partnering on a new radio telescope, while Vice President Han Zheng met Brazil’s FM Mauro Vieira to push science and tech cooperation. Rare Earth Supply Chain: Solvay and Viridis signed an LOI to source rare earth feedstocks from Brazil for processing in France starting in 2028, targeting EV and defense magnet demand. Health Data & AI: Brazil’s digital regulator ANPD opened public consultation on updated age-verification guidance, including biometric facial age estimation and related requirements. Cancer Genetics: A Brazilian study links TP53 mutations to worse lung cancer prognosis, using a large, region-diverse patient dataset. Payments Trend: A2A account-to-account instant transfers are spreading beyond Europe, supported by local payment rails and standards. World Cup Science for Women: FIFA launched an online Female Health and Performance education program to improve women’s football training and recovery using more gender-specific research.

Ebola Watch (Brazil): Brazil is investigating suspected Ebola cases after travelers returned from the DRC and Uganda, with one Sao Paulo patient testing positive for meningitis and another in Rio showing malaria—both still under review as health teams ramp up monitoring. Ebola Recoveries (DRC): In the outbreak’s epicenter in Bunia, WHO reports five recoveries, including four nurses discharged after negative tests, while confirmed cases rise and suspected spread continues. Green Shipping (Brazil-Europe): Brazil, Norway, and the Netherlands unveiled a feasibility study for South Atlantic green shipping corridors, mapping priority routes (including Pará–Norway and Santos–Rotterdam) and net-zero fuel options like green ammonia and methanol. Rare Earths Deal (Brazil): Viridis Mining secured a letter of intent with Solvay to supply rare earth feedstocks from its Colossus mine in Brazil to France by 2028, aiming to strengthen the mine-to-magnet supply chain. Platform Work Rules (ILO): The UN labor agency begins final talks on binding employment standards for gig and platform workers, including minimum pay and how automated systems manage work. Online Safety (Malaysia, regional impact): Malaysia started enforcing a ban on social media accounts for children under 16, pushing age verification—part of a wider wave that also includes Brazil. World Cup Tech & Logistics: A simulation-focused report highlights how cities can plan safer crowd and transport flows for the 2026 World Cup.

Brazil’s public streaming push: President Lula launched Tela Brasil at Rio2C, a free service tied to Gov.br accounts, starting with 555 Brazilian titles (films, shorts and series from 1910–2025) and adding EBC’s catalog of 150+ titles (~3,000 hours). Digital payments competition: UK banks back a domestic account-to-account payments network aimed at reducing reliance on Visa and Mastercard, explicitly drawing parallels to Brazil’s Pix and India’s UPI. AI wearables rumor: Meta is reportedly testing an AI pendant after acquiring Limitless, aiming to expand wearables and add a business-focused subscription. Health tech in oncology: A phase 3 trial found abemaciclib significantly delays progression of advanced dedifferentiated liposarcoma, with experts calling it a potential new option. Brazil tech business: DigiPlus expects a stronger Q2 as it prepares to relaunch Brazil operations in June and build its South Africa team for 2027. Environment & data: A report says financial secrecy is fueling illicit deforestation in Brazil, estimating $1.28B in timber exports tied to illegally deforested land in 2024.

Energy & Industry: Vallourec secured two extra ExxonMobil Guyana line-pipe orders for the Hammerhead and Longtail projects, including 145+ km of coated pipe and insulated sections using Exxon’s Proxxima resin and GDLX subsea insulation—plus anticorrosion coatings and CRA weld overlays, with a Serra (ES) plant upgrade planned. AI & Energy Use: A new analysis says ChatGPT’s explosive growth is shifting prompt demand toward emerging markets, with Brazil among the prominent adopters—raising questions about the power bill behind AI scale. Cybersecurity: A malicious NuGet package impersonating a Sicoob SDK (Sicoob.Sdk) reportedly harvested banking authentication secrets like client IDs and PFX passwords/cert archives, highlighting software supply-chain risk in Brazil’s financial ecosystem. Public Health: Brazil is investigating a suspected Ebola case in São Paulo after a patient met clinical and epidemiological criteria; authorities stress the risk is low and protocols are in place. Environment & Health: Greenpeace reports “ghost permits” enabling illegal gold sales worth billions, tied to ongoing Amazon mining pressures. Health Research: A São Paulo–Oxford study links how long depression lasts to changes in brain network connectivity, pointing toward more personalized treatment.

AI Talent Race: The UAE tops a global AI talent growth ranking (121% from 2019-2025), with India and Saudi close behind—Brazil is also in the top tier (107%). Digital Finance Compliance: Coinbase’s TRUST network expands with TRUSThub and new partners, including BNY and 21 Analytics, aiming to improve Travel Rule interoperability across major markets. Cybersecurity: New malware campaigns target enterprise software and banking credentials, including fake Adobe Document Cloud pages spreading ScreenConnect malware and a malicious NuGet package aimed at Sicoob SDK. Energy & Offshore: Petrobras is preparing tenders for FPSO revitalization projects in Brazil’s Santos and Campos basins to boost mature-field output. Infrastructure Engineering: Bentley tools helped optimize Brazil’s Salvador-Itaparica bridge foundation design, cutting interpretation time and reducing projected material costs. Public Health & Research: A study links literacy training to measurable brain changes in how speech is processed, while another global survey highlights uneven specialist medical training capacity across regions. Brazil Society: Research maps barriers for minoritized youth in Brazil, pointing to gaps in education, work access, and rights.

Science & Research Diplomacy: FAPESP is taking São Paulo’s AI, energy transition and health research to London for FAPESP Week London (June 2–4), aiming to deepen UK–Brazil collaboration and new joint funding opportunities. Brazil–Suriname Trade: Lula met Suriname’s president in Brasília and set up talks for the second half of the year to expand a still-small, product-concentrated trade relationship, with focus areas including energy, logistics, transport, agriculture and communications. Oil & Offshore Engineering: SBM Offshore won Petrobras contracts for FPSOs SEAP-I and SEAP-II in Brazil’s Sergipe-Alagoas basin, with deliveries expected in 2030 and 2031. Heritage & the Amazon: A Brazilian court ordered authorities to restore and preserve Fordlandia, Henry Ford’s near-century-old Amazon city. Public Safety Tech: Pax AI says its live intelligence platform cut violent crime by 27% in six months in a major municipal rollout, with Brazil now a testing ground. Energy & Emissions Policy: India’s E20 petrol rollout is back in focus as ethanol blending expands to cut emissions and reduce import dependence. World Cup Tech Culture: Goldman Sachs’ model puts Spain as World Cup 2026 favorites, while US transit and fan-cost concerns keep surfacing ahead of the tournament.

Rare Earth Race: Viridis Mining says it will sell Brazil’s rare earth output to Europe and North America, not China, as critical-mineral geopolitics tightens. Cybersecurity: Fake Adobe Document Cloud pages are being used to deliver ScreenConnect malware via a reusable phishing kit, targeting financial orgs. Brazil Tech & Industry: Homerun Resources commissioned lab testwork for high-purity silica purification planning in Bahia, aiming at 99.99% silicon dioxide. Health Research: A meta-analysis on early-stage multinodular HCC suggests liver resection may outperform RFA and TACE in selected patients. Environment & Climate Finance: Bracell reports removing 6 million tons of CO₂ (2020–2025) and expanding flux-tower monitoring. Amazon Crackdown: Greenpeace/Reuters report “ghost permits” used to legitimize illegal gold sales worth billions. Energy Services: Baker Hughes extended integrated well services contracts with Petrobras (Santos Basin) and Equinor (North Sea). Public Safety: Lula cites new Violence Atlas data showing Brazil’s lowest homicide rate in the historical series.