Porto, May 25, 2026 (Lusa) - Bright Pixel Capital (a global venture capital firm) head of legal Pedro Cunha told Lusa on Monday that perfect regulation for artificial intelligence (AI) would never exist, but society needed it to avoid a wild west without halting innovation.
“AI agents represent a major regulatory challenge,” the general counsel and head of legal at Bright Pixel Capital, the technological investment arm of Sonae (one of Portugal's leading business conglomerates), said when questioned on the topic.
“Although the European AI Act covers them — even though the regulation does not specifically use the term 'AI agents' — numerous grey areas remain, especially regarding autonomy, human oversight, and the assignment of responsibility,” he added.
His duties at Bright Pixel Capital include providing strategic advice to the organisation, covering legal and contractual risk management, governance, compliance, regulation, and legal support for investment activities.
“The way we approach AI in Europe will also heavily determine our future,” he continued, after attending the SIM Conference (an annual technology and innovation event in Portugal) in Porto, which Startup Portugal (a government-backed agency supporting entrepreneurship) organised between 14 and 15 May.
“Therefore, I believe we must handle the topic with care to avoid harming innovation or Europe's competitiveness, which is crucial, while maintaining regulation, so this does not become the wild west,” he said.
He said Europe must maintain “an innovation focus” to avoid falling behind the rest of the world. “With the dizzying pace of technological evolution, regulation cannot kill companies and startups by creating excessive barriers, especially in peripheral ecosystems,” the manager said.
He acknowledged that “we will never have perfect regulation.”
The head of legal also said Portugal could play a role in artificial intelligence.
“Portugal can play a relevant role if it transforms the quality of its professionals, their recognised ability to find innovative solutions, the knowledge that universities and research centres produce, the diaspora's strength, and the capacity to attract talent into a true engine of global competitiveness,” he said.
“I believe space exists for us to establish ourselves as an agile, highly qualified, and credible ecosystem to develop, test, and scale technological solutions in certain specialised sectors,” he said.
Bright Pixel Capital focusses on cybersecurity, retail tech (retail technology), infrastructure software, and business applications, investing in technology companies with high growth potential and strong global ambition.
The firm's portfolio includes companies such as OutSystems, Feedzai, Arctic Wolf, Ometria, Infraspeak, Bria, Encord, HiveMQ, Tidal Cyber, Sekoia, and Keychain.
“We invest worldwide, and the United States holds a portion of our investments,” he said.
He noted that the North American market offers “greater capacity and openness to venture capital, following a much more predictable logic.”
Bright Pixel Capital primarily invests in cybersecurity. “It is an important area and will become even more relevant,” he said.
The manager said that “we must debate all subjects” when asked about Europe's discussion on the dual use of AI for civil and defence sectors.
“I also believe we must be pragmatic in resolving issues because we cannot yield to the temptation of wanting to regulate every detail,” he said.
A global AI race is underway, and Europe “must invest and create conditions there” to further its development in this field.
This is especially true because many consider AI a critical infrastructure.
“It is not just another tool; [AI] will be in all our processes,” he concluded.
ALU/LYT // ADB.
Lusa
