Just three years after the launch of ChatGPT shook up the technology world, terms like algorithms, bots, large language models (LLMs), and prompt engineering have become part of everyday conversation—and global business strategy.
As the story continues to unfold, different parts of the world are writing their chapters in different ways, including Latin America.
Ronaldo Lemos, chief scientific officer of ITS Rio, shared his opinion with the World Economic Forum in January: “When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), Latin America can tread on one of two roads: follow global AI trends at a distance, or leverage its unique advantages to set an entirely new standard for how AI is powered and governed.”
It’s clear to us which road Latin America is taking, based on the partnerships, projects, and progress we’re seeing in our own work. Here’s how to bring this innovation and drive into your business’ own AI journey.
Step 1: Get to know Latin America’s homegrown resources
Imagine an LLM with all the power of 2022-era ChatGPT but trained on the historical archives, libraries, literature, and languages of Latin America. In September, this innovation is scheduled to go live: LatamGPT.
The product of more than 30 institutions across the Western hemisphere, LatamGPT aims to offer “a much richer and representative outlook of Latin America and the Caribbean,” according to Rodrigo Durán Rojas of Chile’s National Center for Artificial Intelligence, which is coordinating the effort. “LatamGPT will have more context than the other model languages.”
LatamGPT is intended to be a core technology for developing applications like chatbots for healthcare, education, and public services. It’s open-source and designed for broad-based inclusion, with features like the world’s first AI translator for Rapa Nui (the language spoken on Easter Island).
“LatamGPT isn’t just about catching up—it’s about standing out,” the online community AllAboutAI declared in its coverage.
LatamGPT and the partnerships behind it are just one part of Latin America’s ecosystem of AI research and collaboration. AI has been a topic of interest as early as the 2015 International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Buenos Aires, with universities, research institutes, associations and industry driving change across the region.
How can you use LatamGPT in your business after it launches? Which initiatives and partnerships are shaping the next big innovation? Contact us to find out.
Step 2: Explore the startup ecosystem
Truly disruptive technologies like AI—and the startups they inspire—offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get in on the ground floor: as a customer, partner, investor, and employee.
Here are just a few of the vibrant Latin American startups applying AI to market needs, aspirations and everyday life.
Peruvian business Nutri Co is using AI to bring new—and nutritious—food offerings to more people, faster and more cost-effectively. With a database of thousands of ingredients, constraint-based optimization algorithms, and a “robot chef,” the company develops product formulas that meet specific nutritional guidelines and levels. “Our end goal is simple: to democratize access to healthy food,” said CEO Carlos Noceda Martorellet.
In Mexico, BioGrip’s mission is to give people with amputations a more responsive and realistic experience with their prosthetic limbs. Its wireless nerve-machine interface uses AI to predict a patient’s movements. Incubator and accelerator programs in Mexico and the United States have helped fuel the company’s growth.
One’s home is an important part of one’s quality of life as well. Morada.ai channels knowledge of technology and the Brazilian property market into Mia, an AI-powered chatbot that assists brokers with property listings, viewings, and client queries, as well as payment plans, credit approvals, and investment scenarios.
“We want the experience of buying and renting properties to be increasingly simple and personalized,” said co-founder Luis Veloso, “freeing developers and brokers from tasks that can already be performed by machines so that they can focus on strategic negotiations which require human intervention.”
Tapping into the worldwide drive for efficiency, many other innovators are helping their customers do more with less and keep up with change, from Argentina’s Botmaker—which delivers generative AI solutions to some of the world’s most famous brands—to productivity solutions for people and companies alike.
Personalized time management is the focus of Mexican startup kAI. Part of Intel’s Liftoff program, kAI’s AI-powered app and wearables gather data to learn user habits, to offer continually improving suggestions for getting things done faster and smarter.
For businesses, Santiago- and Mexico City-based Vambe delivers automated attendants that keep sales activities going after human workers go home, accelerating responses to inquiries and increasing lead conversions. Strategic acquisitions—of fellow Brazilian innovator Stilingue and Mexican firm Gus—have fueled the rise of Blip, whose clients have reportedly developed over 300,000 chatbots, facilitating more than 50 million conversations daily via social messaging apps.
Colombian startup WeKall is also growing through acquisition, with its 2024 purchase of Sirenna AI giving it entry into the Mexican telecommunications market. The company delivers AI-powered voice and messaging solutions, employing sentiment analysis, keyword tracking and other intelligent software monitoring and analysis to help businesses improve their service, customer satisfaction, and brand reputations.
Who are the next AI-powered startups transforming business and daily life in Latin America? How can you get involved? Contact us to get connected.
Step 3: See what’s possible in your industry
Companies crafting an AI strategy face many practical questions: Where can I put AI to work in my current operations? Where will it yield the most value?
In our blogs about earth observation, telematics and the automotive sector, AI has had a growing presence While hypothetically any industry could benefit from the ability to automate tasks, analyze massive amounts of data faster, and continually learn from the results, the areas of agritech, industrial AI, health research, and financial services are particularly well-suited to AI’s strengths. Here are a few examples of solutions in action in these sectors.
Agritech
DeepAgro began with a computer science thesis at the University of Rosario and smart camera technology. Today, it serves customers across Argentina and Brazil with AI-powered solutions that create weed maps, monitor crop health, intelligently combat pests, and more.
The ALICE AI platform of Brazil agtech giant Solinftech similarly turns data into high-yield insight. It parses billions of pieces of information from the field each day to guide farmers through the decisions that could make or break a harvest.
Healthtech
The highly communicable and damaging disease of leprosy is curable when detected early. AI4Leprosy can achieve this detection from photos of skin lesions and physician observations. Developed the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Brazil in partnership with Microsoft AI for Health and the Novartis Foundation, this diagnostic assistant correctly identified more than 90% of cases in early testing.
In another area of healthcare delivery, technology by Entelai is putting AI to work across primary care: helping busy facilities and care teams in Argentina decrease wait times, accelerate diagnoses, and optimize resources and workflows.
Fintech
AI-powered fintech solutions proliferate in Latin America, perhaps unsurprisingly given the region’s high digital and ecommerce adoption, barriers to full financial inclusion for many individuals and small businesses, and history of innovation in this area.
Mexico City-based Kapital offers small businesses a subscription-based automated intelligence dashboard. Predictive analytics streamline time-consuming but important processes like invoicing, collections, and paying suppliers.
For individuals, Brazilian startup Magie gives users the ability to send and receive money via WhatsApp and is developing a full-fledged AI assistant.
On the consumer spending side, ecommerce giant Mercado Libre is a leader in new technology adoption. It uses AI across its operations, from optimizing banner ads to enhancing the customer experience.
Industrial/mining
The sprawling, enterprise-wide need for inventory tracking, quality assurance, safety, and security makes manufacturing and mining tailor-made for AI solutions. Argentina-based AlgoLabs brings machine learning, deep learning, and computer vision to all of these areas and more.
Bruna, the flagship technology of Chile’s Altum Lab can also be used in a wide range of industries to optimize production and costs. It leverages AI and algorithms to predict the quality of raw materials, enabling manufacturers to adjust operations as needed as the materials arrive at a plant and improve product profitability by forecasting future market values. One particularly relevant and timely application involves predicting the quality of lithium, enabling mines to optimize their production of this in-demand material and reduce the water and energy used in its extraction.
Inspired? Contact us to see what’s possible for your business and what’s needed to make this vision a reality.
Step 4: Examine the underlying infrastructure—specifically people and power
All of these algorithms don’t run by themselves. AI development and deployment requires energy—a lot of it—plus skilled professionals in a variety of roles, from model training to compliance management.
First, let’s talk about the power needs. If you’re setting up AI operations, seek out sites near data centers and stable energy grids. And if you’re looking for business opportunity amid the “data center gold rush,” you’re in luck. These facilities for servers, networks, and data storage are a multi-billion dollar market in Latin America, and one that’s expected to double in the next five years.
Seek out large plots of land, abundant water sources, existing infrastructure, and government incentives that ease the pain and risk of such a capital-intensive project. Consider surrounding communities and the environment in your plans. And realize that cities aren’t the only places where such facilities might spring up, as projects in Chile’s Atacama AI Hypercluster and the industrial parks of Querétaro, Mexico demonstrate.
Another important facet of Latin America’s AI architecture is education—a much-needed resource as the following statistic reveals. According to a recent report by World Bank, a full two thirds of executives would choose AI-savvy candidates over more experienced contenders who lack AI skills.
Across sectors and career stages, employees are wondering what AI means for their work and professional future. Your business can help them find out and keep up. Edtech is already a multifaceted ecosystem in Latin America with a wide array of potential funding sources. Demand promises to increase as AI continues to become a required capability for businesses and individuals alike.
Step 5: Reach out to get started
The AI revolution is happening fast—and who knows what the landscape will look like three years—or even three months—from now. Contact us to see what’s possible and what’s next for your business with this transformative technology.