Instituto de Tecnologia & Sociedade do Rio de Janeiro

Name

Instituto de Tecnologia & Sociedade do Rio de Janeiro

Legal name

ITS – Instituto de Tecnologia e Sociedade

Website

https://itsrio.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Technology Policy Research and Education

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technology Transfer & Innovation-Driven Research Universities (High Commercialization) (EDAHABAH)

Keywords

• Technology policy research
• Digital law education
• Internet governance
• Digital rights advocacy
• Civic technology development

Headquarters

HQ city

Rio De Janeiro

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Educational Programs and Courses: A significant and growing part of ITS funds are self-generated through educational programs, courses and training, which count on hundreds of students. Includes postgraduate specialization, extension courses, and professional development programs.
2. Research Grants and Project Funding: ITS receives funding from multiple international donors and partners. The institution maintains that no single funder can provide more than 20% of the global budget, ensuring institutional independence.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ITS Rio is an independent non-profit research institute that studies the impact and future of technology in Brazil and the Global South. It sells paid postgraduate specializations and online courses (notably the Digital Law program with UERJ/CEPED and the AI & Technological Regulation program), runs the Global Policy Fellowship Program and Varandas ITS public discussion series, publishes research reports and policy frameworks, and operates civic technology tools (Mudamos and Pegabot).

Product overview

ITS Rio is a non-profit research institute that offers a portfolio of educational programs, research publications, event series, and civic technology applications. The core educational offerings include the Digital Law Specialization (postgraduate program in partnership with UERJ), various online courses covering topics like copyright, privacy, AI regulation, and prompt engineering, and the International Schools of Law and Technology. Research outputs include policy forum reports, AI studies (such as Boca de IA analyzing AI electoral recommendations), regulatory sandbox analyses, and frameworks like the Digital Tree for forest conservation. Civic technology tools include Mudamos (public consultation platform) and Pegabot. The institute also conducts the Global Policy Fellowship Program and hosts Varandas discussion events. The portfolio spans educational programs (courses, specializations), research publications, civic technology applications, and fellowship programs—all unified by the institute's mission to study technology's impact on society and promote digital rights.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Digital Law Specialization (Pós-Graduação em Direito Digital) A 390-hour lato sensu postgraduate specialization program offered in partnership with UERJ and CEPED, covering topics such as LGPD, electronic contracts, intermediary liability, digital crimes, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. Delivered via online live classes over 24 months and open to professionals beyond Rio de Janeiro across Brazil and abroad.
• CopyrightX:ITS A three-month free online course on contemporary copyright issues in the US, Brazil, and worldwide, taught by Professor William Fisher of Harvard Law School and offered through a partnership between Harvard Law School, ITS Rio, and UERJ.
• ITS Global Policy Fellowship Program International fellowship program targeted at foreign researchers in technology areas, currently in its 10th edition (2026), held across Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, and São Paulo, focusing on technology policy research and innovation.
• Varandas ITS Public discussion series featuring representatives from government, companies, academia, and civil society, promoting structured multistakeholder dialogue and turning complex debates into concrete recommendations on technology policy.
• ECA Digital Policy Forum Report Report presenting the discussions of a policy forum on the implementation of Brazil's Digital Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA Digital) and on pathways for effective online protection of children and adolescents, produced through ITS Rio's structured dialogue methodology.
• Boca de IA Report Research analyzing how different AI systems respond to electoral questions in Brazil, examining tools including ChatGPT, Gemini, MetaAI, DeepSeek, Grok, Perplexity, and Claude regarding candidate recommendations.
• Sandboxes Regulatórios de Inteligência Artificial Report Report on AI regulatory sandboxes as tools for testing new technologies in controlled environments, examining how governments and regulators can experiment with innovative solutions while evaluating risks and impacts.
• Digital Tree Framework Framework released in support of COP30 presenting how digital and AI technologies can be integrated for forest conservation and reforestation, with interconnected components covering data foundations, data-capture technologies, AI analytics, real-life applications, and inclusive stewardship.
• AI and Regulation Technological Postgraduate Course (IA e Regulação Tecnológica) Postgraduate program covering artificial intelligence and technological regulation, taught by Adriana Ramos, Alberto Cavalcanti, Beatriz Costa, and more than 30 other instructors.
• Prompt Engineering and Professional AI Workflow Course Extension course covering prompt engineering, context engineering, workflow design, and AI agents, teaching professionals to combine multiple tools, structured context, and multi-step workflows using platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, NotebookLM, Canva AI, Gamma, and Julius AI.
• Mudamos Platform Civic engagement application developed by ITS Rio for public consultations and citizen participation initiatives, governed by its own privacy policy.
• Pegabot Application developed by ITS Rio with its own privacy policy, supporting bot-detection/fact-checking utility for the public.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• MediaLab UFRJmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 July 2019Co-organized 'After the Organic' conference with Yuk Hui. Research partnership on technology philosophy and digital futures.
• Rede Latino-Americana de Estudos em Vigilância, Tecnologia e Sociedade (Lavits)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 July 2019Latin American research network on surveillance, technology and society. Co-organized conference with ITS.
• Harvard Law SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational academic partner collaborating on research and education. ITS has worked with Harvard Law School's CopyrightX program and the Berkman Klein Center on various publications including 'Multistakeholder as Governance Groups'.
• State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing academic partner in educational programs including the Digital Law Specialization (Postgraduate) and CopyrightX course. Provides academic credibility and institutional framework.
• Sciences Po (France)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational academic partner contributing to research collaboration and knowledge exchange on technology and society topics.
• MIT Media LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research partner contributing to ITS's network of expertise in technology and society research.
• Berkman Klein Center (Harvard)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey international research partner for internet governance and multistakeholder governance studies. Collaborated on 'Multistakeholder as Governance Groups' publication.
• Network of Centres (NoC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal research network on internet and society. ITS contributed case studies on Brazil's Internet Bill of Rights to NoC publications.
• Centre for Communication Governance (NLU Delhi)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual India Summer School partner for law and technology education, bringing together students and researchers from multiple countries.
• Hans Bredow Institute (Germany)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner in the annual India Summer School program for law and technology.
• University of HamburgmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in India Summer School with UNESCO Chair on Freedom of Communication.
• Access NowminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational digital rights organization in ITS's partner network.
• Internet Steering Committee Brazil (CGI.br)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational internet governance body. ITS contributed case study on Spam Working Group to multistakeholder governance research.
• Digital Public Goods AlliancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerITS joined the Digital Public Goods Alliance to contribute to addressing global challenges through digital public goods.
• A4AI (Alliance for Affordable Internet)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational coalition working to reduce internet access costs. Part of ITS's network of global partnerships.
• Mozilla FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpen source technology advocate in ITS's partner network for internet freedom and open web.
• ConectasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrazilian human rights organization in ITS's civil society partner network.
• Center for Study and Research in the Teaching of Law (CEPED)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Digital Law Postgraduate Specialization alongside ITS and UERJ.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mozilla Foundation: Philanthropic arm of Mozilla focused on internet health, open web, and trustworthy AI. ITS Rio is a partner and grantee, and both engage on AI regulation, internet freedom, and digital public goods — though Mozilla's resources and global brand are far larger.
• World Wide Web Foundation: Global organization founded by Tim Berners-Lee advocating for an open web and digital rights. Comparable in mission (digital inclusion, internet governance) but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic scope.

Direct peers

• InternetLab: Brazilian research center studying digital rights, privacy, and platform regulation. The most direct Brazilian peer, with overlapping research output, civil-society orientation, and target audience of policymakers and civil society.
• Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society: Harvard-based research center studying internet governance, digital rights, and technology law. ITS Rio has a formal collaboration with Berkman Klein (joint publications including 'Multistakeholder as Governance Groups'), making it the closest direct peer in mission and partner set.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation: U.S.-based leading digital rights organization focused on civil liberties in the digital age. Comparable in mission (defending digital rights, publishing research, advocating on policy) though larger and litigation-focused.
• Access Now: International digital rights organization active in policy advocacy, helpline services, and convenings. ITS Rio lists Access Now as a partner, and both operate at the intersection of human rights and technology policy across multiple regions.
• Stanford Center for Internet and Society: Stanford-affiliated center focused on technology law and policy. Highly comparable in terms of research agenda (privacy, IP, platform regulation) and academic-law orientation, though better resourced and U.S.-anchored.
• Centre for Communication Governance (NLU Delhi): Indian technology law and policy center at National Law University Delhi. ITS Rio is an explicit partner on the annual India Summer School, and both centers share a focus on emerging-market digital policy and academic-policy engagement.
• Hans-Bredow-Institut: German interdisciplinary research institute for media and communication law. ITS Rio is an explicit partner in the India Summer School program, and the institute shares ITS Rio's model of combining empirical research with policy advice.

Regional players

• Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) Direito: Brazilian academic institution with strong law and technology research programs. Compares as a regional peer producing high-quality digital law scholarship and policy input, though embedded within a much larger university structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/itsriodejaneiro
• Xx.com/ITSriodejaneiro
• Facebookfacebook.com/ITSriodejaneiro
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/itsriodejaneiro

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Instituto de Tecnologia & Sociedade do Rio de Janeiro