FINEP Equity Investment Funds (Fundos de Investimento em Participações, FIP)

FINEP Equity Investment Funds (Fundos de Investimento em Participações, FIP)

Funds Brazilian innovation through indirect equity participation in managed venture funds, including AI-focused pools.

FINEP — Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos — is Brazil's federal innovation financing agency, operating under the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation. Rather than writing checks directly into startup equity, FINEP deploys capital indirectly through Fundos de Investimento em Participações (FIPs): private equity and venture fund structures in which FINEP acts as an anchor limited partner or co-sponsor, selecting a licensed fund manager (gestor) who then makes individual equity investments into eligible Brazilian innovation companies.

The 2026 active mandate is the FIP de Inteligência Artificial, co-funded with BNDES and formally launched on 9 April 2026 under Brazil's Plano Brasileiro de Inteligência Artificial (PBIA). This is a competitive selection process for a gestor to manage a newly capitalized FIP that will invest in AI-intensive startups registered and operating in Brazil. For-profit companies are the required vehicle; nonprofits, universities, and research organizations are ineligible as direct investees. Earlier rounds under the broader FIP vehicle include Finep Startup rounds (up to R$ 1.2 million per company per edital) and sector-specific participations via Funttel.

Applicants seeking FIP capital do not apply directly to FINEP; they must be identified and backed by a FINEP-selected gestor fund. The competitive layer at the FINEP level is the gestor selection process itself, not a company-by-company call for applications. Teams building AI-focused startups in Brazil should monitor FINEP and BNDES procurement notices for gestor selection results and then engage directly with the winning fund manager to explore inclusion in the FIP portfolio.