Building foundational LLMs and ML/AI ops infrastructure in Latin America is not only a costly endeavor but also a complex one, given the diverse market dynamics across the region. Despite these challenges, the potential for AI to catalyze entrepreneurship in Latin America is huge and I am very excited about it.

According to a 2023 report by the Latin American Venture Capital Association, AI startups in the region have seen a 200% increase in funding over the past two years, signaling a robust growth trajectory. The region boasts great tech talent and the ecosystem has matured over the last few years, but it will be challenging to create regional champions that can become global winners, when most of the competing plays are designed globally with substantial Anglo-Saxon funding behind them.

However, there is a significant opportunity for LatAm to leapfrog other regions and create the «Nubank of AI» in a number of different verticals. AI can bridge significant gaps in healthcare, finance, and education in Latin America, bringing about social and economic benefits.

Now that AI is providing all those avid entrepreneurs who understand their markets really well with «cognition at scale» capabilities at the distance of an API call, I foresee the emergence of a plethora of AI-first startups with multimodal inputs and outputs flourishing in LatAm over the next few years.

Visionary entrepreneurs are following the same seemingly impossible path that Nubank crossed when they created a mobile-first bank 10 years ago, utilizing AI-enabled capabilities to solve specific pains and create new interfaces for a young and flexible population. Other companies like Kavak, Bitso or Rappi proved in the past that they can scale more quickly and efficiently than many of its US counterparts, catering specifically to local market dynamics.

LatAm startups can use AI to automate various operational processes, reducing their go to market times and allowing them to scale quickly without excessive operational complexity. And since LatAm is actually more than 10 different markets, AI can also facilitate the localization of services and products across borders within the region, helping startups to expand more seamlessly

The path to success is full of challenges, from regulatory hurdles, scarce local funding to talent migration.

But we want to be a relevant player supporting local entrepreneurs and investors so that these businesses can become global champions.