What EMBRAPII ( (Brazilian Company for Industrial Research and Innovation) does

EMBRAPII (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa e Inovação Industrial) is a Brazilian non-profit Social Organization (Organização Social) headquartered in Brasília, created to bridge Brazilian industrial companies and accredited public research institutions. Founded in 2013 under federal government sponsorship and operating under contract with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), EMBRAPII does not perform research directly; instead, it accredits and funds a national network of ICTs (Instituições de Ciência e Tecnologia — universities, federal institutes, and research centers) and routes industrial R&D demand to them. The organization has accredited 93 ICTs (46 of them at MEC institutions), supported approximately 2,915 industrial companies across roughly 4,256 contracted projects, and leveraged R$8.66 billion in cumulative project financing.

EMBRAPII's core operating model is co-funding: industrial partners typically contribute around two-thirds of each project's cost while EMBRAPII contributes the remaining one-third, lowering the entry barrier to in-house R&D for Brazilian firms — particularly mid-market industrials and SMEs — that would otherwise lack the scale to fund research internally. The portfolio spans chemicals, pulp & paper, cosmetics, mining, telecom, healthcare, energy, and advanced manufacturing, with named large-company users including BASF, Suzano, Natura, Vale, and CILIA. EMBRAPII has formalized 9 Centers of Competence in frontier technologies (including AI, quantum, biotechnology, and advanced materials) and operates alongside institutional partners such as BNDES, SEBRAE, SENAI, FINEP, ABDI, FAPESP, FAPEMIG, FAPESQ, Vale, CPqD, and Hospital Albert Einstein.

Financially, EMBRAPII is a grant-pass-through vehicle rather than a revenue-generating business: its annual capacity is best read from project financing flows (R$1B across 647 projects in 2024; R$1.5B across 821 projects in 2025), and it has reported 30% annual growth over the last five years. The organization runs lean — staff size estimated at 11–50 employees — and its economic model is driven by multi-year federal and state budget commitments, partner co-funding, and the strategic objective of raising Brazil's industrial R&D intensity rather than maximizing financial return. New leadership under President Alvaro Prata and the 2024 launch of the Competence Centers network mark the most recent strategic inflection points.

Name

EMBRAPII ( (Brazilian Company for Industrial Research and Innovation)

Legal name

EMPRESA BRASILEIRA DE PESQUISA E INOVAÇÃO INDUSTRIAL – EMBRAPII

Website

https://embrapii.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

EMBRAPII is a Brazilian federal Social Organization that co-funds industrial R&D by connecting ~2,915 companies with 93 accredited research institutions (ICTs) and 9 frontier-tech Competence Centers across Brazil.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brasília

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Non-reimbursable public funding: Embrapii provides non-reimbursable (non repayable) resources to companies for R&D projects developed in partnership with accredited research Units. Embrapii contributes approximately 34% of project costs, companies contribute 49.9%, and research Units contribute 15%. The organization itself operates as a social organization funded by government ministries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

EMBRAPII operates a network of accredited research institutions (Unidades Embrapii) that connects industrial companies with specialized researchers to co-fund and execute joint R&D projects. It provides non-reimbursable financial resources (approximately one-third of project costs) alongside company contributions (~50%) and research unit contributions (~15%), enabling shared-cost, low-bureaucracy industrial innovation across 90+ technology competence areas and nine frontier-technology Centers of Competence.

Product overview

EMBRAPII is a Brazilian research funding organization that operates as a platform connecting companies with a network of 93 accredited research units (Unidades Embrapii) across Brazil. The core service is facilitating joint R&D projects where EMBRAPII provides non-refundable funding (approximately 1/3 of costs), companies contribute around 50%, and research units cover 15%. The organization offers access to nine specialized Centers of Competence in frontier technologies (Open RAN, Quantum, 5G/6G, Immersive Tech, Smart Grid, Agriculture Digital, Advanced Therapies, Cybersecurity, Hardware). The Brazil Mais Produtivo program provides productivity improvement support to over 67,000 companies. PPI programs (HardwareBR and IoT/Manufatura 4.0) help companies comply with TIC Law obligations. Notable technology projects include FlatFish autonomous underwater vehicle, AI-powered vehicle inspection systems, ophthalmological AI diagnostics, Few-shot Learning platforms, and smart city IoT solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brasil Mais Produtivo: A federal government program in which Embrapii acts as a strategic partner, connecting companies to R&D project development.

Products and services

• Research Project Development Services Core service that matches industrial companies with accredited research Units (ICTs) across Brazil to develop joint R&D projects, sharing costs (approximately 34% EMBRAPII, 49.9% company, 15% Unit) and technological risks with reduced bureaucracy and no public notices required.
• Centros de Competência (Centers of Competence) Nine advanced research centers offering industry access to frontier technology capabilities including Open RAN (CPqD-managed), Advanced Therapies (Hospital Albert Einstein-managed), Quantum Technology, 5G/6G Connectivity, Immersive Technologies, Smart Grid/Electric Mobility, Digital Agriculture, Cybersecurity, and Hardware Platforms.
• Brasil Mais Produtivo Program Federal productivity program coordinated by EMBRAPII providing digital transformation, operational improvement, and applied innovation services to over 67,000 Brazilian companies, with reported average productivity increase of 28%.
• PPI - Priority National Interest Projects (HardwareBR and IoT/Manufatura 4.0) Structured innovation programs (HardwareBR and IoT/Manufatura 4.0) enabling ICT companies to comply with mandatory R&D investment obligations under the Brazilian Law of TICs by depositing resources in EMBRAPII-coordinated programs, with each R$1 deposited equaling R$1 of legal obligation.
• FlatFish Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Autonomous underwater vehicle developed with BG Brasil and SENAI CIMATEC for 3D visual inspection of offshore oil and gas structures, reducing operational costs by 30-50% and eliminating the need for support vessels.
• Vehicle Inspection AI System Machine learning system using synthetic computer-generated vehicle images for automated vehicle inspection and audit, enabling insurance companies to generate repair quotes without on-site experts; developed with CEIA-UFG and CILIA.
• Ophthalmological AI Diagnostics Platform AI-powered application for interpreting ophthalmological exams (corneal topography, specular microscopy, OCT) with 80% accuracy, developed with Escola Cearense de Saúde Ocular and IFCE, trained on approximately 15,000 images.
• Few-shot Learning Platform AI platform enabling machine learning with minimal training data, applied to object identification/segmentation, medical image diagnosis, production defect detection, and Portuguese-language text identification and classification.
• Ariel - Oil Leak Detection System Robotic system combining drones and autonomous surface vehicles equipped with sensors and remote imaging to detect oil leaks in high seas in real time.
• Oil Platform Digital Twin Technology AI-powered digital twin system creating virtual 3D replicas of oil platform structures tested in water tanks, enabling instant data access and predictive analysis.
• IoT Gateway for Public Lighting Compact, easy-to-install wireless communication gateway for smart cities, managing connected devices with low acquisition and maintenance costs.
• Low-Cost Weather Station Compact weather station with sensors for rainfall, temperature, humidity, and wind direction/speed monitoring, developed with CPqD and Pluvi.On startup for flood prevention.
• Biofert Program National Fertilizer Plan initiative expanding organic fertilizer production using sewage treatment residues, involving multiple institutions to increase national fertilizer production.

Quantifiable outcome

• R$ 8.6 billion invested in 4,234 projects over 13 years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability12 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered secondary, emerging and core.

• Fapesq (Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado da Paraíba)secondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 June 2026R$ 3 million call for proposals for innovation projects in Units Embrapii in Paraíba. Companies can receive up to R$ 200,000 per project in non-reimbursable resources for PD&I.
• Fapemig (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais)secondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 June 2026R$ 50 million 'Chamada Compete Minas' to support technological development projects in companies and cooperatives in Minas Gerais. Companies can combine Fapemig and Embrapii resources.
• ValeemergingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Major mining company visited by Embrapii to strengthen innovation agenda. Embrapii representatives visited operations, research centers, and ITV to identify partnership opportunities in mining PD&I.
• Fapesp (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 February 2024R$ 150 million partnership to invest in two Centers of Competence in São Paulo: Open RAN (R$ 60M from Embrapii + R$ 60M from Fapesp) and Advanced Therapies (R$ 15M each). Doubling initial investment planned for frontier technology research.
• SENAIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Brasil Mais Produtivo program for industrial productivity improvement. SENAI Units serve as some of the accredited Embrapii research institutions.
• ABDI (Agência Brasileira de Desenvolvimento Industrial)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Brasil Mais Produtivo program supporting industrial competitiveness and innovation in Brazilian companies.
• CPqD (Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento em Telecomunicações)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected to manage Center of Competence Embrapii in Open RAN in Campinas, SP. Receives R$ 60M from Embrapii (PPI IoT/Manufatura 4.0) plus R$ 60M from Fapesp for open telecommunications infrastructure development.
• Hospital Albert Einstein (Sociedade Beneficente Israelita Brasileira)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected to manage Center of Competence Embrapii in Advanced Therapies. Receives R$ 15M from Embrapii (Ministry of Health) plus R$ 15M from Fapesp for gene therapy research.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Bpifrance: France's public investment bank combining innovation grants, equity, and loans to industrial R&D projects — broader financial-product footprint than EMBRAPII but same industrial-innovation intermediary role.
• FINEP (Financiadora de Inovação e Pesquisa): Brazilian federal innovation financing agency under MCTI, part of the Brasil Mais Produtivo consortium with EMBRAPII; competes for innovation-funding budget and shares the same ministerial oversight.
• Innovate UK: UK's innovation agency funding business-academia R&D partnerships via competitive grants — comparable mission, differing model (grant-based vs. EMBRAPII's cost-share).
• BNDES (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social): Brazil's federal development bank and named EMBRAPII partner for innovation financing; broader mandate (infrastructure, export credit) but overlapping industrial-innovation financing role.
• FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo): São Paulo state research foundation — already a co-funder of EMBRAPII's R$150M Open RAN and Advanced Therapies Centers — operates a similar grant-administration role but at the state level and academic-weighted.
• CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico): Brazil's federal science funding council under MCTI with broader (academic-heavy) remit; EMBRAPII's industrial-focused mandate and accredited-Unit delivery channel differentiates it within the same funding ecosystem.

Direct peers

• CSIRO (Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation): Australia's national applied-science agency that performs and commissions industrial R&D with government appropriation plus industry co-funding — comparable scope, multi-domain coverage, and public-foundation governance model.
• TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research): Dutch contract-research organization funded by government plus private commissions, connecting scientific capability with industrial demand — direct functional twin of EMBRAPII's intermediary R&D role.
• Fraunhofer Society: Germany's applied-research network operating 76 institutes that contract R&D with industry using mixed public/private funding — structurally the closest international analog to EMBRAPII's accredited-Units model with cost-and-risk sharing.

Regional players

• CONACYT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Mexico): Mexico's national R&D funding council serving Latin America — operates a comparable industry-academia bridge model in a neighboring jurisdiction, useful for cross-border capability comparisons.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/oficialembrapii
• YouTubeyoutube.com/EMBRAPIIoficial
• Facebookfacebook.com/embrapii
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/embrapii
• Instagraminstagram.com/embrapii

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EMBRAPII ( (Brazilian Company for Industrial Research and Innovation)