TikTok’s first data center in Latin America will be in Brazil and will run entirely on wind power

TikTok, one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, announced Wednesday that it will build its first data center in Latin America in Brazil, near the city of Fortaleza. The project represents a $38 billion investment. The Chinese company’s supercomputers, which have revolutionized the internet with their short videos that are followed by hundreds of millions of users, will be operational in 2027 and “will be powered exclusively by 100% renewable energy,” according to a TikTok statement. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva participated in the project’s presentation, which, according to the company’s director of public policy, Mônica Guise, “reflects the company’s commitment to Brazil, one of the world’s most dynamic digital markets.”

Lula’s agenda over the past 36 hours clearly illustrates the diplomatic effort to maintain Brazil’s international relevance and remain true to its tradition of defending multilateralism. And to avoid at all costs being drawn into the growing hostility between the two superpowers, the United States and China, which are also, respectively, its second and first largest trading partners.

The leftist president welcomed this investment from the Chinese technology company the day after speaking by phone with Donald Trump for the fourth time since the U.S. president and he met in person in September at the United Nations. Lula believes there is “good chemistry” between them. The Brazilian president thanked his counterpart for the tariff relief and urged him to eliminate the duties altogether.

TikTok’s data center in Brazil will be powered by wind energy from wind farms that are also under construction, according to the company. The company explains that it will use a closed-loop water cooling system for the supercomputers and will not draw power from the electrical grid, “avoiding impacts on the local supply” and “reinforcing its commitment to the energy transformation and decarbonization of the global economy.”

The Lula administration is campaigning to attract Brazil’s growing data center business, driven by the exponential increase in cloud hosting needs caused by artificial intelligence. This investment by TikTok bolsters that effort, which leverages the country’s extensive clean energy resources as a key selling point.

The data center project has been met with controversy due to complaints from the Anacé Indigenous people, who believe the facilities will be located on their traditional lands and that they should have been formally consulted. Both TikTok and its local partners maintain that they are complying with regulations.

The construction and the new data center will generate approximately 4,000 direct and indirect jobs. The location of the facilities in the Pecém port complex, next to Fortaleza, is strategic because the capital of the state of Ceará is the point of entry into Brazil for most of the country’s submarine internet cables.

In keeping with this effort to strike a delicate balance between Beijing and Washington, another one of President Lula’s key events on Wednesday was the inauguration of General Motors’ electric car production in Brazil. Meanwhile, the number of cars and dealerships for the Chinese brand BYD is multiplying on the country’s streets. The Brazilian left-wing leader, who governs with a broad coalition, has confirmed his intention to run for reelection in 2026.

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