Fogo Cruzado

What Fogo Cruzado does

Fogo Cruzado (legally Instituto Fogo Cruzado) is a Brazilian non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 2016 and headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. It operates a digital platform that records, verifies, and publishes open data on armed violence across 57 municipalities in four metropolitan regions — Rio de Janeiro, Recife (Pernambuco), Salvador (Bahia), and Belém (Pará). Its core technology combines a free mobile application (iOS and Android) for crowdsourced incident reporting and 5km-radius real-time alerts, a publicly accessible REST API (api.fogocruzado.org.br) exposing over 50 indicators, and a proprietary human-analyst verification methodology that cross-references citizen reports with field partners, media, and police sources. The platform produces monthly, semi-annual, and annual reports, plus thematic projects such as "Lethal State" (Chacinas Policiais), "10,000 Shot in Police Raids" (Dez Mil), the "Historical Map of Armed Groups" (with GENI/UFF), "800 Under Fire" (800 na Mira), and "Terminated Future" (Futuro Exterminado). In 2025 the organization launched VANIA, a conversational AI assistant providing natural-language access to the database.

The organization serves four overlapping user segments: (1) citizens and community members in favelas and urban areas affected by armed violence, who use the app for safety alerts and incident reporting; (2) public security managers and government officials who consume open data for evidence-based policy; (3) academic researchers and institutions using the API for longitudinal studies; and (4) journalists and media outlets (O Globo, Folha de S.Paulo, Correio 24 Horas) who use the data for investigative reporting. Strategic partners include UNICEF (co-development of the "Percursos Interrompidos" study on student mobility in Rio de Janeiro), GENI/UFF, FGV DAPP, ACLED, ISP, and CESEC.

Fogo Cruzado's business model is non-commercial and entirely grant-funded. All data, API access, and app usage are free, with no paid tiers, advertising, or licensing revenue. Funding comes from grants, donations, and institutional partnerships, and the organization publishes annual audited financial reports. It is LGPD-compliant (Brazilian data protection law), member of international networks including ACLED and Control Arms, and is structured as an independent civil society entity with no parent company or controlling ownership.

Name

Fogo Cruzado

Legal name

Instituto Fogo Cruzado

Website

https://fogocruzado.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Instituto Fogo Cruzado is a Brazilian non-profit that operates a crowdsourced digital platform to monitor and publish open data on armed violence across 57 municipalities in four metropolitan regions, serving affected communities, researchers, journalists, and public security managers through a free mobile app and public API.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rio De Janeiro

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic / Grant Funding: Instituto Fogo Cruzado is a non-governmental organization (CNPJ: 41.138.166/0001-56) funded by grants, donations, and partnerships. Financial reports audited by independent external auditors are published annually. The organization is member of international networks and collaborates with institutions including UN agencies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fogo Cruzado operates a real-time armed violence monitoring platform that combines crowdsourced citizen reports submitted through a free mobile application with media monitoring, field partner feeds, and police sources, all verified by a team of human analysts. It produces more than 50 unique indicators (shootings, stray bullet victims, police raids, police massacres, victim demographics, transport disruptions) for 57 municipalities across the metropolitan regions of Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Salvador, and Belém, distributing the underlying dataset at no charge via a public REST API, free mobile application, and periodic analytical reports.

Product overview

Fogo Cruzado is a data and technology institute that monitors armed violence across 57 municipalities in Brazil through a unified platform comprising a mobile application for real-time incident reporting and alerts, a public API providing access to the largest open database on armed violence in Latin America (with over 50 indicators), and thematic research projects including VANIA (AI assistant), Lethal State (police massacres), 10,000 Shot (police raid victims), Historical Map of Armed Groups, 800 Under Fire (youth victims), and Terminated Future (child victims). The organization produces monthly, semi-annual, and annual analytical reports for the metropolitan regions of Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Salvador, and Belém.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fogo Cruzado Mobile Application Free iOS and Android application that lets citizens report shooting incidents and receive real-time alerts within 5km of their location, with reports verified by a specialized local analyst team before publication. Targeted at residents of favelas and urban communities in monitored Brazilian metropolitan regions.
• Fogo Cruzado Open Data API Public REST API providing programmatic access to the Fogo Cruzado database with 50+ indicators on shootings, stray bullet victims, police raids, police massacres, victim demographics, and transport disruptions across 57 municipalities. Free for researchers, government managers, journalists, and developers; requires user registration.
• VANIA — AI Data Assistant AI-powered conversational assistant that gives users natural language access to the Fogo Cruzado armed violence database, enabling them to query 50+ indicators on shootings, police actions, and victim demographics across Brazilian metropolitan regions. Targeted at researchers, journalists, government managers, and engaged citizens.

Quantifiable outcome

• Real-time alerts delivered to users within 5km of shooting incidents
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UNICEF (Fundo das Nações Unidas para a Infância)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2026Co-developed the study 'Percursos Interrompidos' (Interrupted Journeys) with Fogo Cruzado and GENI/UFF, analyzing the impact of armed violence on student mobility in Rio de Janeiro. UNICEF provides global credibility and co-funds research into violence affecting children and adolescents. Study found 188,694 students affected and 2,228 transport interruptions.
• SOU DA PAZminorOthersPartner organization listed as part of the Fogo Cruzado partner ecosystem. SOU DA PAZ is a Brazilian civil society organization focused on public security and violence prevention.
• ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project)minorOthersListed as a partner/network member organization. ACLED is a global disaggregated conflict analysis and crisis mapping initiative.
• CESEC (Centro de Estudos de Segurança e Cidadania)minorOthersListed as a partner/network member. CESEC is a Brazilian research center focused on security and citizenship studies.
• FGV DAPP (Diretoria de Análise de Políticas Públicas da Fundação Getulio Vargas)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner/network member. FGV DAPP is the public policy analysis directorate of the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a prestigious Brazilian think tank.
• GAJOP (Grupo de Ação nos Estudos dos Problemas da Violência)minorOthersListed as a partner/network member. GAJOP is a Brazilian NGO focused on violence studies and legal action.
• GENI/UFF (Grupo de Estudos dos Novos Ilegalismos — Universidade Federal Fluminense)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing research partnership with the Grupo de Estudos dos Novos Ilegalismos at UFF. Co-developed the Historical Map of Armed Groups project and the UNICEF study on student mobility impact. GENI/UFF is a CNPq-registered research group specializing in violence and social conflict studies.
• INICIATIVA NEGRAminorOthersListed as a partner/network member. Iniciativa Negra is a Black-led civil society network engaged in social justice advocacy.
• ISP (Instituto de Segurança Pública)minorOthersListed as a partner/network member. ISP is the public security research institute of the Rio de Janeiro state government.
• NEV (Núcleo de Estudos da Violência)minorOthersListed as a partner/network member. NEV is a violence studies research center associated with the University of São Paulo.
• PISTA NEWSminorOthersListed as a partner/network member. PISTA NEWS is a media outlet focused on security and police reporting in Brazil.
• Rede de Observatórios de SegurançaminorOthersListed as a partner/network member. Rede de Observatórios de Segurança is a Brazilian network of security observatories that share data and methodologies on public security monitoring.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• The Trace: The Trace is a U.S. nonprofit newsroom producing data-driven journalism on gun violence; it overlaps with Fogo Cruzado in using verified data to inform investigative reporting and policy on armed violence.
• Cure Violence Global: Cure Violence Global is a violence prevention organization using health-sector methods to interrupt violence, which overlaps with Fogo Cruzado's public-health framing of gun violence as a monitorable, community-data-driven epidemic.

Regional players

• ISP (Instituto de Segurança Pública do Estado do Rio de Janeiro): ISP is the official Rio de Janeiro state government public security research institute that publishes official crime statistics; it is a complementary (not crowdsourced) data source for the same indicators Fogo Cruzado tracks in Rio.
• Causa en Común: Causa en Común is a Mexican civil society organization that produces data-driven analysis on violence and security in Mexico; it parallels Fogo Cruzado as a Latin American open-data actor targeting armed violence through research and policy advocacy.
• Instituto Sou da Paz: Sou da Paz is a Brazilian civil society organization focused on public security and violence prevention, listed as a Fogo Cruzado network partner; both target Brazilian gun violence reduction through research and advocacy.

Direct peers

• ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project): ACLED is a global disaggregated conflict and crisis event data project that collects, codes, and publishes data on political violence, comparable to Fogo Cruzado's approach of producing open, verified, granular data on armed violence incidents for research and policy use.
• GENI/UFF (Grupo de Estudos dos Novos Ilegalismos): GENI/UFF is a UFF-affiliated academic research group that co-develops thematic projects with Fogo Cruzado (e.g., Historical Map of Armed Groups, Percursos Interrompidos), producing comparable qualitative and quantitative research on armed violence in Brazil.
• Gun Violence Archive: Gun Violence Archive is a U.S.-based nonprofit that aggregates and publishes near-real-time gun violence incident data drawn from media, police, and government sources — directly paralleling Fogo Cruzado's crowdsourced-plus-verified monitoring model across the U.S. context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fogocruzado
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@FogoCruzado
• Facebookfacebook.com/fogocruzadobr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fogo-cruzado
• Instagraminstagram.com/fogocruzadobr
• TikToktiktok.com/@fogocruzado

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Fogo Cruzado