The announcement was made after the meeting held by the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou (virtually), with a Microsoft delegation headed 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. It is the first laboratory in Latin America and the third outside the United States, joining the ones in Shanghai and Munich.
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.
For this reason, 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 initiative is aligned with the vision of the Uruguayan government to become an “innovation hub” for the region, positioning the country and the laboratory as a facilitator of innovation and creativity, where new ideas or business challenges could come true.
The Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining of Uruguay, Omar Paganini, pointed out that the country “has been a pioneer in the development of a dynamic technological ecosystem, with startups, international companies and the new unicorns.” In this sense, he added that from the perspective of the government, the next stage involves the creation of an ‘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.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the age of the intelligent cloud and intelligent landscape. Their mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet so they can achieve more.
