Rio Innovation Week 2026 launches at Pier Mauá, drawing 200,000 visitors

The Rio Innovation Week (RIW) 2026 will take place from 4 to 7 August at the historic Pier Mauá warehouses in Rio de Janeiro. Marketed as the largest innovation and technology gathering in Latin America, the event expects more than 200,000 participants, including entrepreneurs, researchers, investors and tourists from about 30 countries.

Organisers project an economic impact of roughly R$ 156.2 million for the city. The programme features around 2,000 startups, 60 conferences, 40 stages and a lineup of high‑profile speakers such as Nobel laureates Malala Yousafzai, Edvard Moser, physicist Brian Greene, neuroscientist David Eagleman and Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Cármen Lúcia. The city’s administration will showcase the "No Clima da Inovação | It Feels Like Innovation" campaign and immersive experiences like the Rio Sense Lab, which uses neural‑reading technology to gauge visitor reactions to Rio’s cultural and natural assets.

A pre‑event Niterói Innovation Experience on 3 August will preview themes of smart cities, AI and the future of work, linking the regional innovation ecosystem to the main conference at Pier Mauá.