Geocarbonite brings Brazilian AI to Wisconsin manufacturers

When manufacturing equipment breaks, every minute a production line sits idle costs money. Getting those machines running again depends on experienced technicians who have spent years learning how to diagnose problems and make repairs. But as those workers retire, companies face a growing shortage of skilled maintenance professionals.

Brazil-based Geocarbonite, founded in 2021 by Alex Moreira, Manuel Montes and Fabio Monteiro, believes artificial intelligence can help fill that gap, and it’s betting Wisconsin is a good place to prove it.

Helping technicians solve problems faster

Geocarbonite’s product, IntelliPro, is an AI-powered troubleshooting platform that guides technicians through diagnosing and repairing equipment failures, helping manufacturers reduce downtime while preserving institutional knowledge that might otherwise leave with retiring employees.

When equipment fails, technicians typically rely on years of experience, manufacturer manuals and trial and error to determine what went wrong. IntelliPro brings those resources together into a single AI assistant that walks workers through the troubleshooting process.

Geocarbonite has spent two years validating its technology with enterprise customers in Brazil, including companies such as Cargill, Tereos, Syngenta and Lindsay, before expanding into the United States.

“The reality is, you don’t have these technicians anymore,” Moreira said, pointing to an industrywide shortage of skilled maintenance workers. “We need to give tools to people who are less prepared to be able to do the diagnostic and bring this equipment to life. And that’s what we do.”

The platform combines original equipment manufacturer documentation with a company’s own operating procedures, then tailors recommendations to that organization’s equipment, policies and maintenance history. Instead of simply presenting a digital version of a user manual, IntelliPro prioritizes the most likely causes of a problem based on previous repairs, helping technicians identify the root cause more quickly.

“We augment the technician’s capability,” Montes said. “We are able to reduce the downtime by up to 24%.”

Preserving knowledge before it walks out the door

The founders see another challenge facing manufacturers beyond equipment downtime. Every experienced technician carries years of practical knowledge about how specific machines behave. When those employees retire or change jobs, much of that expertise disappears with them.

Geocarbonite wants to capture that knowledge before it’s lost. As technicians use IntelliPro, the platform records successful repairs and recurring equipment issues, creating a growing knowledge base future employees can access.

“They have the capacity of capturing all the tribal knowledge on the company into the tool,” Montes said. “So, if anyone leaves, the knowledge these people left on the tool is going to remain within the company.”

Brazilian innovation in Wisconsin

The startup is one of five international companies that traveled to Milwaukee as participants in gener8tor’s Accelerate Wisconsin program, a Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.-backed initiative designed to attract high-growth companies from around the world and encourage them to build their U.S. operations in Wisconsin. The Milwaukee cohort, led by Mose Cassaro, spans industries ranging from enterprise AI and advanced hardware to sustainable manufacturing and consumer products. Over the coming months, the founders will work with gener8tor mentors, investors and ecosystem partners while establishing relationships with potential customers throughout the state.

Participating in Accelerate Wisconsin gives the company an opportunity to determine whether Wisconsin could become part of its long-term U.S. growth strategy.

Initially, the founders knew little about Wisconsin’s manufacturing economy. That changed after they began exploring the region through gener8tor.

“I think gener8tor was one responsible for opening up this possibility to us,” Moreira said. “Learning more about the region, we saw that a critical piece of the industry in the U.S. lies within this region. As Geocarbonite is 100% focused on manufacturing, this sounds like a great place to be and start exploring the potential from the inside.”

During the accelerator, the company plans to continue meeting with manufacturers, investors and potential partners while refining its platform for the U.S. market.

As manufacturers grapple with an aging workforce and increasing pressure to keep production lines running, Geocarbonite believes AI can help preserve decades of technical knowledge while putting it into the hands of the next generation of technicians. Wisconsin’s manufacturing base may prove to be the ideal place to test that vision.