The Best South American Cities for AI Startups and the AI Programmes Behind Them
An AI startup needs four things from a city: people who can build models, compute and data, programmes that turn ideas into companies, and money that does not cost half the company in year one. South America now has a public layer for all four: national AI policies in Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia and Peru, Chile's national AI centre and its open regional model Latam-GPT, innovation districts such as Porto Digital and Cubo Itaú, and public accelerators such as Start-Up Chile. This guide covers 10 South American cities and names, for each one, the institutions and programmes a founder can actually contact. We checked each one on its own website in October and November 2026 and removed the talent counts, market sizes and city nicknames that older lists repeated without a source.
Quick answer: Santiago has the strongest public AI support (the national AI centre CENIA, Latam-GPT and Start-Up Chile's equity-free money), and Chile tops the Latin American AI Index. São Paulo is the largest market, with the Cubo AI hub, AI programmes at Inteli and FAPESP's rolling PIPE grants. Montevideo combines a national AI strategy with ANII's open startup window; Bogotá and Medellín work under Colombia's AI policy, CONPES 4144; and Recife, Florianópolis and Rio de Janeiro are Brazil's innovation districts outside São Paulo.
Write FREE SEO-optimized Blog Articles! Our Article Writer ensures your blog is loved by both Google and your readers, turning those clicks into customers.
👉 Write your article here
South America's AI Startup Cities at a Glance
Sources: the official websites of the governments, institutions and programmes named, checked on 1 November 2026. Self-descriptions such as "leading" are marked as the organisation's own claim.
How South American Countries Compare on AI
The best regional yardstick is the Latin American AI Index (ILIA), built by Chile's national AI centre CENIA with the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Its fourth edition, ILIA 2026, measures AI readiness, research, adoption and governance in 20 countries. In South America, Chile scores 71.4, Brazil 68.4 and Uruguay 67.0, followed by Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Ecuador. The index also shows where the compute is: Brazil holds 87.7% of the GPUs and 92% of the processing capacity identified in the region. And it shows the gap founders can sell into: 27.6% of large companies in the region use AI, but only 12.8% of medium-sized and 6.8% of small ones. For the national picture outside the region, see our guide to the best countries for AI startups.
The 10 Best Cities for AI Startups in South America in 2027
1. São Paulo, Brazil
Brazil's national AI plan, IA para o Bem de Todos (the Brazilian AI Plan, PBIA), is coordinated by the science ministry; according to the OECD.AI policy observatory, it aims to build computing infrastructure for AI research and to develop large language models in Portuguese trained on national data. Cubo Itaú, a non-profit innovation hub in Vila Olímpia that has connected startups and corporates since 2015, runs Cubo AI, a hub for generative AI adoption with a community of more than 700 entrepreneurs and startups, investor connections and fundraising preparation. Inteli, a technology college in São Paulo, offers executive programmes such as AI for Business and an MBA in AI and data for business. For non-dilutive money, FAPESP's PIPE programme funds research-based companies in São Paulo state by continuous submission (details in the funding section below). Brazil also has its own AI model makers: Maritaca AI builds the Sabiá language models specialised in Portuguese and Brazilian contexts.
2. Santiago, Chile
Chile approved its first National AI Policy in September 2021 and updated it by Decree 12 of 11 April 2024, published in the Diario Oficial on 28 January 2025, with a stronger focus on ethics and governance. The National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA) does research and technology transfer in Santiago, and it coordinated Latam-GPT: an open language model presented in Santiago on 10 February 2026, built on Llama 3.1 70B with more than 300 billion tokens of regional text and more than 60 institutions from 15 countries. Startups can build on it, and in October 2026 CENIA announced an alliance with Microsoft to develop it further. For founders, Start-Up Chile, Corfo's public accelerator, gives equity-free money; it says more than 3,000 startups have gone through its programmes, and its BIG 13 application process opens on 3 November 2026 at 13:00 (GMT-3).
Boost Your SEO by listing your startup and get a FREE backlink.
Create a profile in the F/MS Startup Game, add the link to your website and submit.
👉 List your startup now!
3. Montevideo, Uruguay
Uruguay's National AI Strategy 2024-2030 was approved on 21 November 2024 by the public sector's strategic committee for AI and data, led by the digital government agency Agesic. It has three objectives: governance, capacities (infrastructure, data, talent and skills) and sustainable development, including the competitiveness of the private sector. The national research and innovation agency ANII took part in the approval, and its Apoyo a Emprendimientos Innovadores line funds young innovative companies through an open window. Uruguay is the third South American country in ILIA 2026, with a score of 67.0, which makes Montevideo a compact base for AI products sold across the region.
4. Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Fundación Sadosky, based in Buenos Aires, promotes ICT innovation across Argentina and has a dedicated area for data science and artificial intelligence alongside technology transfer and cybersecurity. Research links reach across the Andes: CENIA's agreement with the Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA) produced its first doctoral research stay in Buenos Aires in 2026. Public startup money is the weak point right now: the Agencia I+D+i's Startup 2025 lines are closed, so watch for the next calls. Argentina scores 55.6 in ILIA 2026.
Boost Your SEO with 1,500+ Free Business Directories: increase your DA, get backlinks and traffic.
We've compiled an exclusive list of directories and websites where you can submit your business and start building high-quality backlinks to boost your website traffic and get your SEO snowball rolling.
👉 Submit your startup now!
5. Bogotá, Colombia
Colombia's national AI policy, CONPES 4144, was approved on 14 February 2025 with COP 479,000 million and more than 100 actions to 2030, according to the National Planning Department (DNP). Its six axes cover governance and ethics, infrastructure and data, research and innovation, talent, risk mitigation, and AI adoption in public bodies, companies and regions, and it proposes new regional AI research hubs. The government's entrepreneurship agency iNNpulsa Colombia runs Aldea nationwide (its Aldea+ 25 call was listed as open) and ZASCA centres in Bogotá districts such as Suba and Kennedy, where a ZASCA Tecnologías cohort was open for in-person applications.
6. Medellín, Colombia
Ruta N is Medellín's innovation and business centre: it runs the city's innovation complex with offices and event space, publishes ecosystem rankings and the Pulso CTi science and technology indicators, and runs a public policy lab. Medellín works under the same national AI policy as Bogotá, and CONPES 4144's plan for regional AI hubs and territorial data and compute centres is aimed at cities like it. Colombia scores 56.8 in ILIA 2026, fourth in South America.
7. Lima, Peru
Peru regulates and promotes AI by law. Supreme Decree 115-2025-PCM of 9 September 2025 approved the regulation of Law 31814, which promotes the use of AI for economic and social development. According to the government's summary, it classifies AI uses by risk, bans uses that violate fundamental rights, and provides for controlled testing environments (sandboxes), innovation labs and support for small businesses and innovative startups, with the Secretariat of Government and Digital Transformation of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in charge. Peru also joined Latam-GPT in November 2025. ProInnóvate's StartUp Perú calls are closed for now.
Boost Your SEO by Getting Featured in Our Blogs and get a backlink.
We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Get featured now!
8. Recife, Brazil
Porto Digital, which calls itself the leading innovation district in Latin America, was created to revitalise Recife's historic centre and support entrepreneurship. Its site reports 541 resident companies, 24,000 workers and R$ 7.4 billion in revenue after 25 years, and it has expanded to Caruaru and, with the Goiás state government, to Hub Goiás. Next door, CESAR, a Recife innovation centre, develops AI, IoT and data solutions for industry, energy and finance clients, and its Ventures arm, with 30 years of experience in open innovation, connects companies, investors and startups.
9. Florianópolis, Brazil
Sapiens Parque, the state innovation park in Florianópolis, reports more than 150 companies and 75,000 m² of offices and labs, with more than half its area set aside for nature. The city's best-known data and AI company is Neoway, which says it was founded in Florianópolis, launched its SaaS platform in 2012 and became part of B3, the Brazilian stock exchange, in 2021. Founders in Santa Catarina can also use the state Centelha calls run with Finep (see the funding section).
10. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rio's new tech district is Porto Maravalley. IMPA Tech, the undergraduate school of Brazil's national mathematics institute IMPA, teaches its free bachelor's degree in the Mathematics of Technology and Innovation there; it is funded by the federal science and education ministries, and applications for the 2027 intake open on 3 November 2026. For an AI startup, Rio is a place to hire mathematically trained graduates and to work with the research institutes around them.
Other South American Cities Worth a Look
- Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Porto Alegre and Campinas (Brazil): all sit under Brazil's AI plan and can use FAPESP (Campinas) or their state's Centelha calls, but we did not verify an AI-specific programme to name for each.
- Rosario and Córdoba (Argentina), Valparaíso (Chile), Barranquilla (Colombia): older lists ranked them without sources; for now they share their country's national programmes.
- Quito (Ecuador), Asunción (Paraguay), La Paz and Cochabamba (Bolivia), Maracaibo (Venezuela): their countries score 51.8, 32.6, 26.4 and 23.2 in ILIA 2026, and we found no AI programme to name in these cities.
- Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla and San José (Costa Rica): the old version of this list included them, but they are not in South America. See our list of Mexico City startups to watch and the AI startup cities in North America.
Funding for AI Startups in Any of These Cities
- Brazil: FAPESP's PIPE pays up to R$ 300,000 in Phase 1 and up to R$ 1.5 million in Phase 2 to companies in São Paulo state, by continuous submission; Finep's Centelha programme runs state calls for new founders in 26 states and the Federal District.
- Chile: Start-Up Chile's Build track gives CLP 15 million equity-free over 4 months and Growth CLP 75 million over 8 months; BIG 13 opens on 3 November 2026.
- Uruguay: ANII funds up to 80% of a young innovative company's project, up to UYU 3 million (90% for climate or women-led projects).
- Argentina and Peru: the Agencia I+D+i Startup 2025 lines and ProInnóvate's StartUp Perú calls are closed; watch for the next rounds.
- Regional: IDB Lab invests in impact startups in Latin America and the Caribbean through equity and loans.
Every amount, eligibility rule and deadline is in our list of deep tech grants in South America. For equity, compare the VCs that invest in AI startups and the angel investors for AI startups.
Discontinued and Changed Since the Last Version
- Cities outside South America removed: Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla and San José (Costa Rica) were in the old top 25; they are now in a short note with links.
- Figures removed: the earlier version quoted IT-worker counts, shares of national startup activity, software-market forecasts, rankings and nicknames such as "the Silicon Valley of Latin America" without sources. We could not verify them on official sites and replaced them with facts governments and institutions publish themselves.
- Links replaced: more than 30 search-engine redirect links were replaced with the official websites of the policies and programmes.
- New since 2025: Latam-GPT launched in February 2026, Peru's AI regulation was approved in September 2025, and Colombia's CONPES 4144 was approved in February 2025.
Which City Should You Choose for Your AI Startup?
- You want equity-free money and a fast start: Santiago (Start-Up Chile), or Montevideo (ANII) if you can set up a Uruguayan company.
- You need the biggest customer market: São Paulo, with Cubo AI's corporate network and FAPESP's rolling grants.
- You build models for Spanish or Portuguese: Santiago (CENIA and Latam-GPT) or Brazil, which has most of the region's GPU capacity, according to ILIA 2026.
- You want lower costs inside a large ecosystem: Recife (Porto Digital) or Florianópolis (Sapiens Parque).
- You sell AI to governments: Bogotá and Lima, where national AI policies and Peru's AI regulation create public-sector demand and clear rules.
- You need mathematical talent: Rio de Janeiro (IMPA Tech) or Buenos Aires (Fundación Sadosky's data science and AI work).
Join F/MS: Startup Facilitator & Incubator and unlock your startup dreams today! Get your first customers, register you company in the Netherlands and get startup visas for the team.
How Founders Use South America's AI Hubs
Most AI startups use a city for three things in their first two years: hiring from its universities, getting compute, data and pilot customers, and meeting investors who understand AI. Start by comparing programmes: our list of accelerators for AI startups covers the global options and the accelerators for AI startups in South America the regional ones. If you are weighing a move abroad, compare the AI startup cities in Europe and the best cities for early-stage startups, and meet people at the top AI startup events. Before you spend months on a model, validate your startup idea with real customers.
FAQ About AI Startup Cities in South America
Which South American city is best for AI startups?
There is no single winner. Santiago has the strongest public AI support (CENIA, Latam-GPT and Start-Up Chile), São Paulo has the largest market and the Cubo AI hub, and Montevideo combines a national AI strategy with ANII's open startup funding.
Which South American country leads in AI?
Chile, according to the Latin American AI Index ILIA 2026 by CENIA and ECLAC: Chile scores 71.4, Brazil 68.4 and Uruguay 67.0.
What is Latam-GPT?
An open language model built with data from Latin America and the Caribbean, coordinated by Chile's national AI centre CENIA and presented in Santiago on 10 February 2026. It is built on Llama 3.1 70B, and more than 60 institutions from 15 countries took part.
Does Brazil have a national AI plan?
Yes. The Brazilian AI Plan, "IA para o Bem de Todos" (PBIA), is coordinated by the science ministry; according to the OECD.AI policy observatory, it aims to build AI computing infrastructure and Portuguese language models trained on national data.
What is CONPES 4144?
Colombia's national AI policy, approved on 14 February 2025, with COP 479,000 million and more than 100 actions to 2030 across six axes, according to the National Planning Department.
Does Uruguay have an AI strategy?
Yes. Its National AI Strategy 2024-2030 was approved in November 2024 under the digital government agency Agesic, with objectives on governance, capacities and sustainable development.
Does Peru regulate AI?
Yes. Law 31814 promotes the use of AI, and its regulation, Supreme Decree 115-2025-PCM of 9 September 2025, classifies AI uses by risk and provides for sandboxes and support for innovative startups.
Can foreign founders get equity-free money in South America?
Start-Up Chile takes founders of any nationality and gives equity-free money, from CLP 15 million on its Build track; its BIG 13 applications open on 3 November 2026. Most other public grants require a local company.
Where is AI compute in South America?
Mostly in Brazil: according to ILIA 2026, Brazil holds 87.7% of the GPUs and 92% of the processing capacity identified in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Why did you remove Mexico City and the talent numbers?
Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla and San José are not in South America, so they moved to a note with links. The old talent counts and rankings had no sources we could verify, so we replaced them with facts from official sites.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
