Researchers map initiatives in the Amazon that inspire the future of innovation

By Roseli Andrion  |  FAPESP Innovative R&D – In the humid heat of the Amazon, where biodiversity still holds many unknown answers, a group of researchers affiliated with the RIDC Bridge: Ecosystem Management for Sustainable Transitions – a Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Center (RIDC) supported by FAPESP – began mapping innovative solutions developed in collaboration with local residents. During a February 2026 mission to the region, they launched a study on initiatives combining cutting-edge technology, local knowledge, and a novel approach to innovation.

They began their work with an environmental restoration initiative. In the Upper Xingu, at the Uatumã Sustainable Development Reserve, Bridge researchers Silvia Tommaso and Aline Homrich, Canadian professor Oana Branzei from the Ivey Business School in Ontario, and local communities released 40,000 small turtles – a species typical of the region. This symbolic and practical gesture encapsulates the proposal to restore ecosystems through the active participation of the people living in them.

Roberto Bernardes, coordinator of the Digital Ecosystems Research Program at the Bridge RIDC and a professor in the Graduate Program in Business Administration at FEI University Center, explains that the objective of the mission was to understand how innovation ecosystems emerge in the Amazon, who their key players are, and how the technological solutions developed there connect – or fail to connect – with the rest of Brazil and the world. “We wanted to understand how local actors seek solutions to restore biodiversity and how that can connect with advanced science and innovation, alongside social inclusion and well-being,” he says.

Recent scientific data indicates that this issue is urgent. In 2025, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany confirmed that ocean acidification had already exceeded the safe planetary boundary. Since the beginning of the industrial era, ocean acidity has increased by 30 to 40%. This means that natural ecosystems are losing their ability to self-regulate, threatening organisms that form calcium carbonate shells and skeletons, such as corals, mollusks, and crucial plankton species – with an impact on the entire marine food chain.

Science that learns from the forest

According to Bernardes, the Amazon is key to addressing this issue. The innovation movement there is growing rapidly. In 2019, there were approximately 205 bioeconomy startups in the region. By 2025, that number had grown to 789, according to Jornada Amazônia data – an increase of nearly 400%. This progress indicates that the forest is establishing itself as a hub of biodiversity-driven innovation.

These companies do more than extract compounds from the forest; they learn from the mechanisms that nature has perfected over millennia and reproduce them in other contexts. “It’s what science calls biomimicry,” says Bernardes. “Amazonian ecosystems are the result of millions of years of evolution and function as a living library of solutions. When we integrate that knowledge with biotechnology and digital science, nature-inspired innovations emerge.”

These are alternatives that use nature’s strategies to solve human problems. “Today, technology and digital science allow us to develop ecosystems that follow natural laws – with interdependence, cycles, and regeneration – in a movement that transcends the linear and extractivist logic that still dominates classical economic development,” he notes.

During the mission, the researchers learned about initiatives that illustrate this concept in practice. One such initiative is BioSpin, a nanobiotechnology startup in Manaus that combines ancestral knowledge and Amazonian bioactive compounds to create advanced wound dressings. The process uses bio-inspired optimization algorithms that mimic natural selection to find the most effective combinations of active ingredients, accelerating healing. Thus, cutting-edge science builds upon what the forest already knows how to do.

This approach is central to deep techs – science- and technology-based startups grounded in knowledge from fields such as biotechnology, genomics, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence (AI). Unlike traditional companies, they take years to mature, require significant investment, and face substantial technical risks. However, they have the potential to transform entire industries. “They’re companies that learn from nature and replicate solutions for the planet’s regeneration,” says Bernardes.

Regeneration and social intelligence

Another growing field is genomics, the study of an organism’s complete genetic material. It is estimated that over 90% of Amazonian biodiversity has not yet been analyzed in a laboratory. This includes native plants, fungi, and microorganisms with anti-inflammatory, antiviral, neuroprotective, and antioxidant properties that could be used to develop new medicines, cosmetics, and foods.

The researchers have realized that, in this context, innovation is not limited to technology. The knowledge of riverine communities and traditional peoples is integrated with scientific rigor, and the social dimension emerges as an indispensable condition. “There’s no environmental regeneration without social regeneration. We must include communities, respect local knowledge, and ensure income generation. It’s essential to translate economic wealth into social wealth and well-being for these communities,” says Bernardes.

The methodology of the mission was guided by respect for social intelligence: rather than conducting research in isolation, the team organized meetings and workshops with universities, technology parks, local institutions, and journalists. “There’s a history of researchers going to the region, collecting data, and leaving without leaving any benefits behind. We involved local stakeholders from the beginning so we could build together.”

This approach is not only more ethical but also tends to produce more robust science. When researchers build bonds of trust with local communities, access to the territory and traditional knowledge becomes more widespread. The knowledge of riverine populations and forest peoples is often the starting point for deep tech solutions.

Networked innovation

During this process, the group determined that innovation in the Amazon region hinges on network architecture; local ecosystems must be connected to other regions of the country. For example, the Manaus technology park exchanges knowledge with initiatives in Belém, and centers in Santa Catarina contribute to training and innovation management. In turn, São Paulo offers access to capital and markets. “Many studies treat these ecosystems in isolation, but they’re complementary. There’s a clear interdependence between them,” he explains.

This observation has direct, critical implications for public policy. Policymakers often still view the nodes of this network in isolation. They fund a startup here and a lab there without considering the broader environment in which these initiatives need to grow.

There is a lack of governance strategy to coordinate these different actors. “We need to reflect on the orchestration of these ecosystems. It’s no use looking only at technology. We must understand the environment in which it operates and create integration mechanisms,” says Bernardes. “This directly affects organizations such as the Brazilian Innovation Agency [FINEP, which is linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation] and state research foundations [FAPs], which may be missing the opportunity to fund connections, not just individual projects.”

The governance of these ecosystems is urgent for another reason: the increasing use of AI and sensitive genetic data in biotechnology research introduces new risks. Without qualified oversight, algorithm hallucinations (incorrect results presented by AI models that appear accurate) and toxic biases embedded in training data can compromise entire research efforts.

As research becomes more digitized, scientific responsibility increases, and governance becomes essential for coordinating the various actors and integrating ecosystems of innovation and regeneration. “The use of genomic data and AI demands a great deal of responsibility. Risks such as toxic biases and hallucinations require a new governance model for research,” Bernardes states. “The design and governance of regenerative deep techs will play a fundamental role in Brazil’s neo-industrialization strategies. Many managers haven’t yet mastered these capabilities,” he points out.

The challenge is even greater when considering the difficulty of transforming research into innovation in Brazil. For this reason, many deep techs face the “valley of death,” the phase in which the technology exists but fails to reach the market. “These solutions are high-risk and have long cycles. If there’s no connection to the market, they die,” says Bernardes.

One solution identified by the research is to create digital platforms that connect researchers, companies, and investors. This allows these initiatives to survive and expand into international markets. “Today, many local solutions are disconnected from the global market. We need to create the conditions for them to reach it,” he says.

From the Amazon to the city streets and the sea

These technologies have the potential to be applied far beyond the Amazon. The science of the forest has direct applications in metropolitan areas. Large cities like São Paulo could address their accumulated environmental problems with nature-inspired solutions. “River restoration, air quality, or water use. All of these aspects can benefit from these solutions.”

Synchronizing deep science with natural laws enables metropolises to look to biology for solutions to their environmental and public health problems. “Companies at the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Technology [CIETEC, which is jointly administered by the University of São Paulo (USP) and the Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN)] are already exploring biodiversity in search of scientific solutions to major urban challenges,” Bernardes notes.

In São Paulo, some startups exemplify this approach. Next Innovative Therapeutics (Nintx), for instance, is developing medicines derived from Brazilian plant species to treat multifactorial diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders, and metabolic conditions, with support from FAPESP’s Innovative Research in Small Businesses Program (PIPE). To accomplish this, Nintx uses genetic sequencing, metabolomics, and AI technologies to map how natural compounds interact with the human microbiome. In 2024, the company raised USD 10 million in a Series A funding round – an unprecedented amount for a Brazilian pharmaceutical biotech company (read more at pesquisaparainovacao.fapesp.br/2714).

Biolinker, founded by USP scientists, produces recombinant proteins on demand for use in healthcare, agriculture, industrial biotechnology, and cosmetics. These inputs accelerate the development of medicines and diagnostic tests in Brazil (read more at pesquisaparainovacao.fapesp.br/2302).

Another promising field is the ocean. Brazil’s vast coastal zone, the Blue Amazon, comprises 4.5 million square kilometers of territorial waters and an exclusive economic zone. This area harbors vast and largely unexplored marine biodiversity. Notably, the oceans account for more than half of the planet’s oxygen and play a crucial role in regulating the climate.

Blue tech startups develop technological solutions for this sector and seek to ensure the sustainability of oceans, seas, and water resources. The same tools that enable the exploration of Amazonian assets can be applied to marine organisms, including for the restoration of degraded ecosystems. Brazil, with its Green and Blue Amazon, is uniquely positioned to develop these tools. “We talk a lot about the forest, but we forget about marine biodiversity. There are business opportunities and important solutions there as well, including addressing ocean acidification and desertification.”

Diffusion of innovation

Bernardes also notes that innovation and dissemination mechanisms accelerate scientific research and its introduction into the market. According to Schumpeterian theory, developed by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter (1883–1950) in the early 20th century, innovation only grows and transforms society when individuals adopt it and recognize its value. “Digital science and the regenerative bioeconomy pose new challenges to innovation and diffusion strategies. There’s no point in producing knowledge if it doesn’t reach society,” he says.

He believes this dilemma is not only relevant to the Amazon region but to Brazil as a whole. “We’ve made great strides in science, but the results regarding the impact of innovation and its diffusion remain modest. It’s the institutional mechanisms of diffusion and the competitive dynamism of the market that drive innovation. These obstacles are structural in the Brazilian economy.”

The Deep Tech Radar 2025 report estimates that the knowledge-based bioeconomy could generate up to USD 100 billion in revenue by 2032. However, this potential depends on solutions reaching those who need them, which requires communication, engagement, and internationalization platforms (read more at pesquisaparainovacao.fapesp.br/3798).

Constant researcher exchange and strengthened national networks are fundamental steps for the maturation of the Brazilian bioeconomy. Integrating science, technology, and local knowledge while involving different regions and stakeholders creates a model more closely connected to reality. “Science must be oriented toward regenerating life. It can’t be an isolated science, done only for its own sake or for business,” Bernardes warns.

The Amazon Biobusiness Center (CBA), affiliated with the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services (MDIC), acts as a catalyst for this movement. To this end, the CBA promotes sustainable biobusinesses by supporting startups, researchers, and forest-based supply chains. However, for startups to recognize one another as parts of the same living system, funding more companies is not enough; proper governance is also necessary.

Soon, the researchers will visit Belém, Macapá, Rondônia, and Florianópolis to map how innovation ecosystems connect in different contexts. The model adopted in Manaus, in which journalists, professors, and researchers work together from the outset, will be replicated. Not out of protocol, but because it works.

In this scenario, the Amazon ceases to be merely an object of study and becomes a reference point. It is a territory where technology, nature, culture, and the knowledge of its peoples converge and complement one another to create solutions to global challenges, drawing on what nature itself has developed over millions of years.