Uruguay will host Microsoft’s new artificial intelligence and internet of things laboratory. The announcement was made this Thursday after the meeting held by the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou (virtually), with a Microsoft delegation led by Rodrigo Kede Lima, the company’s president for Latin America. The Minister of Industry, Omar Paganini, and the Ambassador to the United States, Andrés Durán Hareau, also participated. Its about first laboratory in Latin America and the third outside the United States, joining the one in Shanghai and Munich, Presidency reported.
artificial intelligence and the internet of things, AI and IoT, respectively, are transforming the way people, devices, and data interact in all spheres of life. Driven by the transformative power of the cloud, these Technologies are enabling smarter computing and will play a key role in helping solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, from agriculture and healthcare to the environment and education.
Thus, Microsoft announced that Uruguay will host its AI & IoT Insider Lab in Montevideo, Uruguay, the first of its kind in Latin America and the third outside the US, since today there are only two: in Shanghai, China, and Munich, Germany.
“This laboratory will help solve various technological challenges of organizations in the region, as well as obtain guidance and recommendations from experts to materialize the full potential of artificial intelligence and the internet of things,” the Presidency stated.
“The initiative is in line with the Uruguayan government’s vision of becoming a innovation hub (innovation center) for the region, positioning the country and the laboratory as a facilitator of innovation and creativity, where new ideas or business challenges could become a reality,” he added.
The Minister of Industry said that the country “has been a pioneer in the development of a dynamic technological ecosystem.or, with startups, international companies and the new unicorns”. In that sense, he added that from the government’s perspective, the next stage involves the creation of a Innovation Hub in the country, including a network of laboratories and platforms to promote new disruptions, such as artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and virtual reality.
“We are very pleased to be able to announce this initiative with Microsoft, the installation of an advanced laboratory, the fourth in the world, developed in partnership with the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU), to promote disruptive technologies,” said the hierarch.
Main functions of the laboratory
The lab works on a project basis, focusing on understanding business challenges and prototyping potential solutions. Therefore, the added value of the lab is to quickly show organizations and business partners how to leverage AI and IoT technologies to visualize, transform, innovate and solve their transformation challenges.
The Microsoft AI and IoT Lab will offer:
- Knowledge from the experience of experts: electrical engineers, cloud engineers, data scientists, program managers, project managers, software engineers.
- Investment of time from highly qualified individuals from Microsoft, as needed for each requested project.
- Project management, design, architecture, prototyping and guidance for clients and partners after execution.
“We are extremely excited about what this new AI and Cloud Laboratory, together with local creativity and vision, will achieve to promote the technological development of the country. Uruguay has proven to be a focus of innovation at the international level and initiatives like this reflect the great opportunity that the market has to accelerate the digital transformation of the region”, commented Rodrigo Kede Lima, president of Microsoft Latin America.
“At Microsoft, we are committed to our mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. For this reason, we hope to work in the AI and IoT Laboratory side by side between the organizations and our experts to create creative and cutting-edge solutions, positioning Uruguay as a benchmark in the technological development of the region”, said Alejandro Pazos, general manager from Microsoft Uruguay.
