The investment stock of US companies in Brazil more than tripled in the last decade, from US $ 108.7 billion in 2014 to US $ 357.8 billion in 2024, according to a survey by the National Industry Confederation (CNI).
Prior to the “tariff” announced by Donald Trump, large corporations expanded their presence in the country through the installation of distribution centers, acquisition of strategic land and investments in energy, technology and logistics. In the last five years, 186 American companies have announced new projects in Brazil.
Currently, about 3,700 US companies operate in the country, focusing on high-value-added sectors such as Transformation Industry, Financial Services and Information Technology. Last year, the US was responsible for almost a quarter of direct investments in Brazil.
Mapfre Investimentos points out that the escalation of commercial tensions can reverse this picture, as Trump’s main goal is to repact investments and jobs to the United States.
Big Techs lead billionaire investments in Brazil
The largest individual project is Bravo Motor Company, which plans to build a lithium battery factory in São Sebastião do Passé (BA), with an expected investment of US $ 4.4 billion. The venture, announced in 2021, was originally planned for Nova Lima, Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region.
Amazon and Microsoft bet on cloud and artificial intelligence
Large American technology companies show increasing appetite for the Brazilian market. Amazon and Microsoft have announced, since 2020, nearly $ 6 billion in investments. The demand for electricity to expand artificial intelligence data centers has attracted billionaire contributions. Brazil offers competitive advantage in this segment: 88.2% of the energy generated in the country by 2024 was of renewable origin, according to the Energy Research Company (EPE).
Amazon has invested more than R $ 55 billion in Brazil in the last ten years, and almost a quarter of this amount only in 2024. The funds were directed to infrastructure, logistics, technology and human capital, generating over 36,000 direct and indirect jobs.
“It is made from Brazil to Brazilians,” said Juliana Sztrajtmam, president of Amazon Brazil, commenting that the overcutments announced by Trump should not affect local operations. The company saw its participation in national e-commerce jump from 4% in 2019 to something between 15% and 20% currently.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), the group’s cloud computing division, plans to invest $ 10.1 billion by 2034. Microsoft, in turn, aims to apply $ 14.7 billion in cloud and artificial intelligence over the next three years.
“If giants like Microsoft and Amazon are expanding their presence, this is a strong indicative that the country continues to offer solid foundations for investment,” says Pedro Ros, CEO of the Reference Capital consultancy.
American investment in Brazil is also in energy and infrastructure
CloudHQ, which specializes in data centers, provides to invest US $ 3 billion in two units in Brazil. The first, in Paulínia (SP), is already operational. The second will be built in São João do Meriti, Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region.
In the energy sector, New Fortress Energy acquired Hygo Energy Transition in 2021 and announced an investment of $ 1.6 billion to work in the liquefied natural gas segment (LNG). However, the regulatory indefinition of new gas auctions led the company to remove a registration ship operating in São Francisco do Sul (SC).
Traditional companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron and Pfizer have also reinforced their operations in the country, confirming the sectoral diversification of US investments.
Bilateral relationship deepens with capital flow in both directions
Investment flow is not unidirectional. Brazilian companies significantly expanded their presence in the United States. The stock of Brazilian investments in the US country reached US $ 22.1 billion at the end of 2024, a 52.3% growth compared to ten years ago.
In the last five years, more than $ 3.3 billion have been announced for new operations, consolidating the US as the main investment destination destination greenfield (productive projects started from scratch) from Brazil abroad.
The economic relationship between the two countries is marked by strong interdependence. One third of bilateral commerce is performed between matrices and branches, according to the American Chamber of Commerce to Brazil (AMcham Brazil).
In the last decade, productive inputs represented an average of 61.4% of Brazilian exports to the US and 56.5% of imports from the US country, demonstrating the profound integration of productive chains.
Ten largest investments announced by US companies in Brazil (2020-2024), according to CNI
- Bravo Motor Company: US$ 4,36 bi
- Microsoft: US$ 3,03 bi
- CloudHQ: US$ 3 bi
- Amazon: US$ 2,84 bi
- New Fortress Energy: US$ 1,26 bi
- ICM: US$ 1,22 bi
- Atlas Renewable Energy: US$ 1,09 bi
- Digital Reality Trust: US$ 0,6 bi
- Equinix: US$ 0,51 bi
- Jefferies Group: US$ 0,51 bi
Source: CNI.
