IBM, Santander Build in Brazil

IBM has opened a new global research laboratory in Brazil, its ninth to date and first in South America, while Santander is also investing in tech. “Lab personnel will begin operations immediately at existing IBM locations in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro,” says IBM. The company aims to recruit more than 100 researchers, adding to a team of approximately 3,000 IBM researchers, in 8 labs, in 6 countries. “Brazil’s abundance of natural resources and technical talent presents unique research opportunities and the ability to deploy them to solve increasingly important problems,” says John Kelly, director of IBM Research. “The new lab also gives IBM scientists the opportunity to extend their collaboration with universities, government organizations, and companies in Brazil and across Latin America,” he adds. Research will focus on natural resource discovery, exploration and logistics, initially in oil and gas; semiconductors; and innovations to be used at the major sporting events Brazil will host, including the Soccer World Cup in 2014 and Olympic Games in 2016. Separately, Santander says it is investing BRL450m in a technology, research and data processing center in the city of Campinas in Sao Paulo state. Construction is expected to finish in 2012.