AI Salon Rio #14
Silicon Valley Was Also Built by Law: Can Rio's Tech Agenda Reach Brasília?
The internet began as a Pentagon project.
GPS was military infrastructure long before it was on our phones.
NASA bought the Valley's first chips, for Apollo.
Bayh-Dole Act (1980) let universities like Stanford turn federally funded research into companies (read $$$).
US tax rules turned stock options into the currency of startup talent (in Brazil, they risk being taxed as salary, so few dare to use them).
To turn Rio into the AI capital of Latin America, we’ll need a little bit, just a little bit, of Brasília.
Which brings us to a video that stopped our scroll a few weeks ago:
Her name is Juliana Benício. She's Niterói's former Secretary of Innovation, Science and Technology, and wants to end our tech brain drain to SP (musiccccc to us).
So we went after her.
Juliana led the creation of the Cantareira Innovation District: the first in Latin America with access to IBM's quantum computing network.
Now she is running for deputada federal with a mission: to take a Rio tech agenda to Brasília.
Naturally, we have questions. And opinions. And suggestions.
Come hear her plan, ask your questions, and debate (in the healthy, carioca way) how Rio becomes that tech capital.
AGENDA
18:30 | Check-in & Networking
19:00 | Welcome Remarks
19:10 | Startup Pitches:
TBD #1
TBD #2
Tess AI; co-founder Renato Ferreira
19:20 | Rio Innovation Week Takes the Stage
Rio Innovation Week turned Rio into the stage for one of Latin America’s largest gatherings of technology, business, and creativity. Carlos Júnior, one of the minds behind RIW, will share how the event is built, why it matters for Rio’s innovation ecosystem, and raffle off one ticket. Save the date: RIW 2026 takes place from August 4 to 7.
19:30 | Silicon Valley Was Also Built by Law: Can Rio's Tech Agenda Reach Brasília?
Juliana Benício; pre-candidate for Deputada Federal (ex-Secretary of Innovation, Science and Technology of Niterói; engineer and PhD, UFF)
Also, meet our host: Luana Helsinger (ex-private equity turned AI creator, between Silicon Valley & Rio).
20:30 | Networking with Beer & Snacks
Founding Partners:
Visagio: a global consulting firm born in Rio de Janeiro and now with 1,000+ professionals worldwide, six offices, and 500+ projects delivered per year across 50+ countries. They are experts in solving complex technology challenges, with a strong focus on AI and analytics.
There wouldn’t be food, drinks, or functioning Wi-Fi without our incredible sponsors:
AWS Startups: supporting 280,000+ startups worldwide, AWS helps founders bring their world-changing ideas to life: from building an MVP to scaling towards an IPO. Learn more at AWS Startups.
Instituto 12: where business meets innovation in Rio. With striking architecture and a mission to accelerate Rio’s innovation ecosystem, Instituto 12 is a landmark for the city’s future.
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