Microsoft chose Uruguay to open its first Artificial Intelligence lab in Latin America

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The multinational Microsoft announced Thursday, June 9, to the government of Uruguay that it will install its first artificial intelligence laboratory in Latin America.

The news was confirmed by the company and the country’s authorities after reaching an agreement in Los Angeles within the framework of the Summit of the Americas.

According to a press release from the Uruguayan presidency, the site will focus on developing solutions for projects through artificial intelligence and internet of things (AI and IoT) technologies.

It added that these technologies “will play a key role in helping to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, from agriculture and healthcare to the environment and education.”

The AI and IoT Insider Lab will be the first of its kind in the region and the third outside the United States, after those the tech giant has in Shanghai (China) and Munich (Germany).

According to the release, the lab will prototype potential solutions to “rapidly show organizations and business partners how to leverage AI and IoT technologies to visualize, transform, innovate and solve their transformation challenges.”

The announcement was made after a meeting between Microsoft’s president for Latin America, Rodrigo Kede Lima, and Uruguay’s industry minister, Omar Paganini, both in Los Angeles, and Uruguayan president, Luis Lacalle Pou, who participated virtually after canceling his trip to the summit due to coronavirus.

Kede Lima highlighted the agreement as a sign of “the great opportunity” that the region has to “accelerate the digital transformation”.

The Uruguayan Minister of Industry framed the agreement in a plan to support Uruguay as a “Hub” of innovation, developing a network of laboratories and platforms to promote “new disruptions,” such as artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and virtual reality.