Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undoubtedly been one of the most relevant and important technologies of 2024, with its potential applications growing exponentially.
Latin America is no exception to the AI revolution, and intelligent solutions are powering a wave of tech innovation and new startups in the region.
According to The Economist, by 2030 AI is expected to contribute a 5.4% GDP increase – some USD$0.5 trillion – to the region’s economies. To anyone who has been following the transformation happening across the region’s economic landscape over the last decade, this should come as no surprise.
Since 2022, the region’s technology industry has expanded by 5.6%. It has also been the birthplace of increasing numbers of ‘unicorns’ – tech startups valued at over USD$1 billion – with 34 in 2022 alone.
Latin American entrepreneurialism places the region in a strong position to ride the AI wave and to implement intelligent solutions and technology to continue to shake up traditional industries.
Political changes may also present further opportunities, with Argentina’s controversial new President Milei seeking to use tech deregulation to convert Argentina into the “world’s fourth AI hub”.
Such fertile conditions for AI innovation have given rise to a host of exciting new companies both from within LatAm and expanding into the region.
Here’s a look at the Top 15 AI startups operating in Latin America to watch in 2025.
Fracttal
Fracttal is a leading start-up that applies AI-powered solutions to maintenance operations. Their Fracttal One software is a 100% mobile platform that simplifies and streamlines maintenance, providing businesses with insights into and analysis of their operations and assets.
Fracttal’s services have been popular with a range of manufacturing and logistics firms and the company counts large multinationals such as FedEx and 3M among its clients.
Fracttal One helps firms to save time and costs by incorporating IoT devices used for monitoring into its intelligent software systems. In doing so, the firm offers a packaged solution that can alert companies of incidents and provide tools to assist with preventative and predictive maintenance strategies.
Vambe
Vambe is a Santiago-based startup that offers AI-powered sales and engagement solutions for businesses. The company uses AI agents to automate customer communications and sales through WhatsApp.
Vambe has seen considerable growth this year, with its annual recurring revenue (ARR) increasing from $20,000 to $1 million in just eight months.
The firm recently raised $3.85 million in a seed round led by Brazilian and Mexican VCs. It plans to oversee an expansion beyond Chile into Mexico. The firm also hopes to tap into the Spanish-speaking business market in the U.S.
Buddy.ai
Buddy.ai is a pioneering startup wielding the power of AI to help teach English to children in Latin America and around the world. The firm developed the world’s first conversational AI tutor designed specifically for young children. An animated robot named Buddy, the app’s tutor outperforms Google and other off-the shelf speech recognition systems when used by children.
Its co-founder and CEO, Ivan Crewkov, was inspired by his own daughter’s struggle to learn English when his family emigrated from Siberia to the United States.
The company’s growth trajectory and potential has been recognized by multiple industry authorities. Recently, Buddy.ai was included in Forbes Centroamérica’s Top 10 AI Startups and Time Magazine’s Top EdTech Companies of 2024.
Nutri Co
Nutri Co is harnessing AI to improve diets and nutrition in Latin America. The Peruvian foodtech is making waves with its Virgilio AI, named after famous chef Virgilio Martínez, which develops new recipes for food products.
The robot chef makes combinations from over 1,300 ingredients and can be given instructions to meet certain nutritional guidelines and levels.
Through this technology, Nutri Co hopes to reduce the time needed to develop new healthy food products from 48 months to just 4. Its goal is to improve accessibility to nutritious food products by reducing the production time and therefore the cost.
After securing a USD$2m investment in July 2024, Nutri Co is planning to expand from Peru into Colombia and Argentina.
Dosty
Dosty is an innovative pet care super app helping pet owners navigate ongoing and emergency care. The startup uses Artificial Intelligence that considers 40 different data points – like breed, diet, and health history – in order to offer expert insights tailored to each pet’s unique profile. App features include symptom checkers, daily routine tools, health trackers, and an extensive resource library. It also includes an AI-driven chat bot that can answer pet owner questions on demand.
CEO and co-founder Ayaz Ahmadov started the company inspired by his own experience as a pet owner, looking to resolve the need for multiple apps to keep track of pet behavior and care.
Dosty was founded in Europe but recently expanded into the Latin American pet care market, which was valued at US$10.7 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach over $18 billion by 2032.
Morada.ai
Brazilian-based Morada.ai specialises in using AI to improve the property sector. The proptech startup uses the latest in AI to provide innovative solutions to real estate developers.
Its inbuilt AI-powered chatbot, Mia, assists with listing properties, scheduling viewings, addressing client queries and connecting interested users with brokers.
The startup is rapidly expanding and, in October, announced a massive 400% growth year-on-year. It is now used by almost 100 developers in 17 Brazilian states and its multi-language capabilities provide potential for international expansion.
In October 2024, the startup raised $1m in seed funding to improve and expand its service.
Prezent.ai
Prezent.ai is revolutionizing the way that professionals communicate through its intelligent presentation productivity tools. The startup uses AI to help individuals and businesses produce brand-aligned presentations in seconds.
Prezent.ai was named a winner at Business Intelligence Group’s 2024 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards. It was especially commended for using AI to provide new solutions to business problems and to make the human experience of communication easier.
The tool includes features such as Compliance Checker and Synthesis and Redesign which assist employees in making presentations that align with brands and achieve maximum impact.
Blip
Blip is one of the fastest growing Artificial Intelligence startups in Latin America, and was the most-funded company in the sector in 2022.
Blip offers an innovative marketing solution to firms by helping them to connect to their consumer base through text messages. The startup uses AI-powered chatbots to assist companies in selling to, engaging with and offering support to their customers.
The Brazilian company has attracted a lot of interest and investment regionally and internationally. Major tech players including SoftBank and Microsoft have demonstrated their faith in Blip though financial backing.
Blip’s annual revenue in 2022 reached a whopping USD$100 million and its clients have used the service to create over 300,000 chatbots.
Grab&Eat
Grab&Eat is a Costa Rican startup transforming the e-commerce space. Tapping into the growing demand for easy shopping experiences, the company is bringing automated physical convenience stores to Latin America.
Inspired by the likes of Amazon Fresh, Grab&Eat is pioneering transformation in Latin America’s commerce industry. The startup uses AI to analyze data and shopping habits, working to develop an increasingly personalized and convenient shopping experience.
The 24/7 automated store model provides a bridge between conventional supermarkets and online delivery. Co-founder and COO Alonso Salazar pitches the model as a way for customers to save time and purchase goods in a comfortable and convenient manner.
BioGrip
BioGrip is a groundbreaking Medtech startup that could improve the lives of amputees worldwide. Founded in Mexico by Israel González and Alan Hernández, BioGrip is developing a new human-machine interface for bioprosthetics, which aims to be fully integrated with the user’s body.
The company is harnessing AI to address shortcomings in prosthetics technology. Many amputees who have access to prosthetic limbs struggle to use them as they are joined to the user through an external system dictated by muscle commands. BioGrip’s technology employs AI to decipher signals from the brain to the nervous system and uses these to operate prosthetic limbs, mimicking the function of normal limbs.
With close to 800,000 Mexicans living with amputations and many millions worldwide, BioGrip has immense potential. They have already hit $150,000 in pre-sales for their nerve-machine interface. The startup was also accepted into the Techstars Boston accelerator program and had earlier been part of the entrepreneurship program at Mexico’s Tec de Monterrey.
Magie
Magie is a promising startup in Brazil’s booming fintech space. It has integrated online banking into WhatsApp to provide optimal convenience to its customers. The firm allows users to make bank transfers on the Brazilian payment system Pix through the popular messaging app.
Magie also integrates an AI-powered assistant that enables users to pay bills and manage their finances using simple text messages or audio commands.
So far, the startup has handled over R$100m (roughly USD$16.5m) in transfers. It has also secured R$22m (roughly USD$28m) in funding from a range of investors, including New York-based VC Lux Capital.
Kapital
Based in Mexico City, Kapital is a stellar example of the city’s reputation as a Latin American fintech hub. The startup aims to transform financial services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region.
It offers loans, credit cards, invoicing and expense management and hopes to expand to payroll and benefits. Kapital’s focus on SMEs taps into a market representing some 50-60% of Latin American GDP but receiving only 15% of institutional finance.
They use AI to underwrite their loans and include what they dub an “Automated Intelligence Dashboard”, which offers a one-stop solution for SME finance.
The company has expanded into Colombia and is planning to tap into the Peruvian, Chilean, Argentine and Brazilian markets.
Altum Lab and Bruna AI
Altum Lab is a Chilean AI startup that takes aim at reducing waste and costs in production processes. Its flagship technology, Bruna, harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to optimize production across various sectors, boosting efficiency and profitability while reducing costs and waste.
Bruna can predict raw material characteristics, allowing businesses to improve product profitability by forecasting future market values.
The AI can be used in a range of industries that deal with raw materials, including farming, mining, aquaculture, meat processing and construction goods. From predicting seed germination in agriculture to optimizing product mixtures in meat processing, Bruna has broad applications for sustainability and cost-cutting.
WeKall
WeKall is a Colombian startup that was founded in 2020. The company specializes in AI-powered voice and messaging solutions, including business telephony, cloud contact centers, and virtual assistants.
WeKall uses its intelligent software to improve customer experiences through sentiment analysis, keyword tracking, and sales and customer service script monitoring. Its tools are aimed at helping businesses to improve user satisfaction and brand reputation.
The startup has shown promising growth and attracted VC attention and backing, including USD$200,000 from LLYC Venturing earlier this year. It also recently acquired another startup, Sirenna AI, a software that converts sales calls into relevant information, further strengthening its growth potential.
kAI
kAI is an innovative app aimed at improving user productivity. It integrates AI to help users to plan their day in as little as a minute. Unlike traditional to-do apps, kAI learns user habits and offers personalized suggestions for smarter task management.
The company originated in Mexico City and is only the second Latin American startup to collaborate with Intel, as part of the U.S. tech giant’s Liftoff program. This year, kAI expanded into the wearables market, and is now compatible with smart watches.
The startup was projected to raise USD$750,000 in funding in 2024 and recently developed a bot that integrates its software into WhatsApp.
