South by South America: The Rise of Southern Brazil Tech
Summary
Southern Brazil is emerging as a top innovation hub. This session explores how Rio Grande do Sul combines elite talent and AI infrastructure to attract global capital. Attendees will learn: (1) why investors are shifting to resilient emerging markets; (2) strategies for scaling tech in collaborative ecosystems; and (3) how to tap into a world-class engineering pipeline. Join us to discover the playbook of Brazil’s most innovative state and gain insights on navigating the next wave of South American tech growth.
- Format: Panel
- Category: Panel
- Event Type: panel
- Presented By: Invest RS
Contributors
- Tara Karimi
- Rafael Prikladnicki
- Pedro Valerio
- Diego Puerta
Raw Event JSON
Large nested arrays are compacted for page readability. Full payload remains in dataset files.
Open JSON payload
{
"id": "PP1163037",
"track": "Tech & AI",
"focus_area": null,
"category": "Panel",
"event_id": "PP1163037",
"event_type": "panel",
"format": "Panel",
"genre": null,
"subgenre": null,
"name": "South by South America: The Rise of Southern Brazil Tech",
"presented_by": "Invest RS",
"publish_at": "2026-03-05T16:07:00.000-06:00",
"reservable": true,
"reservable_id": "PP1163037",
"reserved": false,
"date": "2026-03-15",
"end_time": "2026-03-15T15:30:00.000-05:00",
"start_time": "2026-03-15T14:30:00.000-05:00",
"message": null,
"image": null,
"credentials": [
{
"name": "Music Badge",
"type": "music"
},
{
"name": "Platinum Badge",
"type": "platinum"
},
{
"name": "Innovation Badge",
"type": "innovation"
},
{
"name": "Film & TV Badge",
"type": "filmtv"
}
],
"contributors": [
{
"id": 107398,
"company": "Cemvita",
"credential_types": [
"filmtv",
"innovation",
"music"
],
"entity_id": 2280196,
"name": "Tara Karimi",
"speaker_types": [
"Speaker"
],
"title": "Cofounder & Chief Science And Sustainability Officer",
"image": {
"alt_text": "Tara Karimi",
"credit": null,
"url": "https://images.sxsw.com/9A-nEJGdXqRPPxWd-24jcM5DlGE=/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/d551f0cb-c6b3-2c7c-d586-8e52b4842f8d/pcid-1658944"
},
"speaker_type": "Speaker",
"details": "Dr. Tara Karimi is a multidisciplinary biochemist, veterinarian, and entrepreneur dedicated to translating natural principles into sustainable technologies. As the Co-founder and Chief Science and Sustainability Officer at Cemvita, she pioneers nature-inspired innovations, including carbon-negative materials and decarbonization strategies. With over eight years at Cemvita, her work bridges the gap between synthetic biology and the circular bioeconomy, envisioning a zero-waste future powered by the genetic \"recipe book\" of the natural world. Beyond her work in carbon utilization, she has co-founded ventures like Endolith and Eclipse Energy, applying biology to sustainable mining and energy.",
"links": {},
"type": "person"
},
{
"id": 107347,
"company": "Invest RS",
"credential_types": [
"filmtv",
"innovation",
"music"
],
"entity_id": 2280093,
"name": "Rafael Prikladnicki",
"speaker_types": [
"Speaker"
],
"title": "President",
"image": {
"alt_text": "Rafael Prikladnicki",
"credit": null,
"url": "https://images.sxsw.com/--8_WVrirjof-DGclzxN1oqutjg=/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/4c7c17c1-ef18-d371-e486-5e7dd917fa26/pcid-1648682"
},
"speaker_type": "Speaker",
"details": "Rafael is the President of Invest RS, the investment promotion and development agency of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He holds a PhD in Computer Science and served as Director of Tecnopuc, one of Latin America’s leading innovation ecosystems, from 2013 to 2020. A Full Professor at the School of Technology at PUCRS, Rafael brings over 20 years of experience in technology, education, and innovation. Throughout his career, he has had international experience in Canada (2007), South Korea (2015), and the United States (2021–2023).\n",
"links": {},
"type": "person"
},
{
"id": 107346,
"company": "Instituto Caldeira",
"credential_types": [
"filmtv",
"innovation",
"music"
],
"entity_id": 2280092,
"name": "Pedro Valerio",
"speaker_types": [
"Speaker"
],
"title": "Executive Director",
"image": {
"alt_text": "Pedro Valerio",
"credit": null,
"url": "https://images.sxsw.com/Ph-vUVgZAGKIck9dJQwB2DBOWS4=/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/1a55107f-ac3e-96f7-f23c-58c85b0ffdc5/pcid-1155157"
},
"speaker_type": "Speaker",
"details": "Pedro Freitas Valerio is the Executive Director of Instituto Caldeira, one of Latin America’s leading innovation hubs. The institute connects over 560 startups, corporations, investors, universities, and policymakers to drive large-scale transformation through R&D, corporate innovation, and education. Caldeira is developing a global innovation district and building partnerships with ecosystems in Israel, the U.S., Portugal, and Sweden to foster economic growth and social impact. A serial entrepreneur, Pedro works at the intersection of business, culture, and ecosystem building. He is an IVLP alum, serves on multiple innovation councils, and has received several honors, including the Medal of the City of Porto Alegre.",
"links": {},
"type": "person"
},
{
"id": 107345,
"company": "Dell Brazil",
"credential_types": [
"filmtv",
"innovation",
"music"
],
"entity_id": 2280091,
"name": "Diego Puerta",
"speaker_types": [
"Speaker"
],
"title": "General Manager",
"image": {
"alt_text": "Diego Puerta",
"credit": null,
"url": "https://images.sxsw.com/Vh6AG6fCuZ44xR-jj7slEwx3M_k=/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/6025dabe-2a4a-0607-45af-af6f4d1da55b/pcid-1598640"
},
"speaker_type": "Speaker",
"details": "Diego Puerta is the General Manager of Dell Technologies in Brazil, leading strategic efforts in AI, cloud, and digital transformation. His impact on Rio Grande do Sul’s tech ecosystem predates his Dell career; while at Polo RS (now InvestRS), he was instrumental in the landmark project that brought Dell’s operations to the state—the most emblematic tech investment in the region's history. Acting as a key bridge between the state and Dell’s global leadership, he helped establish a world-class technology hub in Southern Brazil.\nSince joining Dell in 1999, Diego has held diverse executive roles and led the Dell EMC integration. He holds a degree from UFRGS, an Executive Master’s from UC Berkeley, and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s General Manager Program.",
"links": {},
"type": "person"
}
],
"venue": {
"accessible": false,
"age_policy": null,
"floor": "2",
"id": "V2320",
"indoor_outdoor": "INDOOR",
"mixhalo_url": null,
"name": "Onyx Ballroom 1-4",
"parent_id": "V1700",
"parent_venue_name": "The LINE",
"venue_entry_info": null,
"formats": null,
"location": {
"address": "111 E Cesar Chavez St.",
"lat_lon": [
30.2626651,
-97.7436224
],
"city": "Austin",
"postal_code": "78701",
"state": "TX",
"name": "The LINE"
},
"root": {
"id": "V1700",
"name": "The LINE",
"mixhalo_url": null
},
"events": "[omitted 5 venue events]"
},
"description": "Southern Brazil is emerging as a top innovation hub. This session explores how Rio Grande do Sul combines elite talent and AI infrastructure to attract global capital. Attendees will learn: (1) why investors are shifting to resilient emerging markets; (2) strategies for scaling tech in collaborative ecosystems; and (3) how to tap into a world-class engineering pipeline. Join us to discover the playbook of Brazil’s most innovative state and gain insights on navigating the next wave of South American tech growth.",
"experience_level": "Advanced",
"audio_url": null,
"accessibility": [],
"accessible_venue": false,
"add_bcl_url": false,
"add_slido": false,
"after_midnight": null,
"age_policy": null,
"american_sign_language": false,
"apple_url": null,
"audio_description": false,
"caption_url": null,
"captioned_qa": false,
"closed_captioned": false,
"cpe_credit": false,
"event_status": "none",
"has_subtitles": false,
"hash_tags": [],
"high_sensory_experience": false,
"live": false,
"long_description": "Southern Brazil is emerging as a top innovation hub. This session explores how Rio Grande do Sul combines elite talent and AI infrastructure to attract global capital. Attendees will learn: (1) why investors are shifting to resilient emerging markets; (2) strategies for scaling tech in collaborative ecosystems; and (3) how to tap into a world-class engineering pipeline. Join us to discover the playbook of Brazil’s most innovative state and gain insights on navigating the next wave of South American tech growth.",
"meeting_url": null,
"meeting_url_live": false,
"mentorly_url": null,
"mobile_audio_url": null,
"open_captioned": false,
"playlist_tag": null,
"rebroadcast": false,
"recommended_ids": [],
"search_conversions": null,
"short_program": false,
"slido_url": null,
"sort": "SOUTH BY SOUTH AMERICA: THE RISE OF SOUTHERN BRAZIL TECH",
"source": "Official",
"squad_up_url": null,
"stream_embed": null,
"stream_id": null,
"stream_url": null,
"strobe_warning": false,
"subdiscipline": null,
"summit": null,
"summit_display_name": null,
"tags": [
{
"id": 2576,
"name": "Recently Added",
"created_at": "2026-02-26T12:08:59.538-06:00",
"updated_at": "2026-02-26T12:08:59.538-06:00",
"sort": "RECENTLY ADDED",
"alpha": "R"
},
{
"id": 1343,
"name": "Technology",
"created_at": "2017-10-11T17:42:23.253-05:00",
"updated_at": "2024-09-13T07:02:24.613-05:00",
"sort": "TECHNOLOGY",
"alpha": "T"
},
{
"id": 2114,
"name": "Ai",
"created_at": "2020-01-17T14:51:44.091-06:00",
"updated_at": "2026-02-18T15:48:17.273-06:00",
"sort": "AI",
"alpha": "A"
}
],
"talent_attending": null,
"title_only": false,
"track_display_name": "Tech & AI",
"trailer_id": null,
"trailer_url": null,
"video_on_demand": null,
"vimeo_id": null,
"vod": false,
"xr_project_type": null,
"youtube_id": null,
"related_events": [],
"related_sales_client": null
}