Latam Startups

The race to incorporate artificial intelligence into businesses is leaving companies with a conclusion that is less eye-catching than the launch of new models, but potentially more important: an organization's ability to take advantage of AI depends, to a large extent, on how prepared its technology infrastructure is. A new study by GFT Technologies surveyed 945 CIOs and CTOs at companies with annual revenues of more than US$500 million across 19 countries, highlighting the extent to which le

Enterprise artificial intelligence is entering a new stage. After an initial phase focused on assistants capable of generating content, summarizing information or answering questions, companies are moving toward systems that can connect to their data, interact with applications and execute actions within business processes. Against that backdrop, Sonata Software has been recognized by Microsoft with the 2026–2027 Microsoft AI Business Solutions Inner Circle award, marking the company's sixth

AI is no longer an experiment for insurers: it is becoming part of day-to-day operations. From underwriting and risk assessment to claims management and customer service, companies are adopting tools capable of processing information and automating tasks that, for years, relied on manual processes. It is a change taking place in a particular industry: one that handles enormous volumes of data, but also carries the burden of strict regulation, compliance requirements, and processes measured in

Insurers can have a profitable portfolio overall while losing money on a portion of the policies within it. That is the problem Soteris is looking to address with a new artificial intelligence tool. The US machine learning startup focused on the insurance industry announced the launch of a profit optimization product designed to identify, at the individual level, the policies that reduce the profitability of property and casualty (P&C) insurance portfolios. The launch comes as the sect

Artificial intelligence is moving from an experimental tool to becoming part of retail operations. Personalization, pricing, inventory, promotions, customer service, and logistics are some of the areas where retailers are testing how to incorporate models capable of processing large volumes of information and automating decisions. The next challenge is less obvious: making these technologies work in an integrated way within businesses that already depend on multiple systems, channels, and pro

In Latin America, a fleet dispatcher rarely has time to think about the future. Their day goes by putting out fires, a customs alert, an unexpected jump in diesel prices, a border blockade, a container that just landed at port and needs to move out that same night. It is a firefighting culture, forged by necessity, that for years has covered up something more important. The technological forces are already redefining who wins and who loses in the continent's freight transport. For most compan

For years, the cost of AI was hidden in the model training phase: millions of dollars in computing power that only the largest tech companies could afford. That paradigm is now reversing. According to industry projections, inference spending, that is, the cost of using already-trained models in real operations, will reach $23.3 billion USD this year and will surpass training spending for the first time. The consequence is direct: an increasingly larger share of AI costs will arrive once compa

More employees are turning to ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) as a kind of private workplace coach: someone they can turn to with a conflict involving their boss before taking it to Human Resources. A new study by Cloverleaf suggests that this coach is not neutral. And its bias appears to depend on one factor: how much power the person asking the question holds. The research tested 75 conversations with different language models involving workplace conflict scenarios, varying w

Effie.ai, a Chicago-based startup building agentic AI tools for retail execution, has brought on Nataliia Freidrich as Strategy Advisor in its Chicago office. Freidrich arrives with more than 15 years of experience in revenue growth management, commercial operations, and transformation, with stints at Mondelēz International and AB InBev. The hire, which on the surface looks like just another appointment at an AI startup, points to a much bigger problem facing the whole industry: the distance

Hiring someone in another country has gone from being unusual to becoming part of the way many companies operate. The problem is that, behind a remote worker, there are still contracts, payments, tax compliance, regulations, and different financial systems that need to work together. That market continues to expand. According to a report that analyzed more than 1 million worker contracts from more than 37,000 companies across 150+ countries, highlighting Latin America's growing role as a sour

Companies are taking a larger share of their insurance risk into their own hands, and Huscarl wants AI to help them manage it. The startup has raised $5.6 million in seed funding led by FRST, with participation from Y Combinator and Silicon Valley investors. Huscarl will use the capital to expand in the US and develop what it describes as the first autonomous AI actuary for corporations and their insurance captives. Captives allow companies to retain selected risks through their own insura

For a radiologist who must review dozens of studies every day, not all exams necessarily require the same level of urgency. The challenge lies in identifying which ones might reveal an anomaly before the doctor gets a chance to review them. That is one of the applications that Pixeon, a Brazilian healthcare technology company, is developing using artificial intelligence. The company works with medical imaging software and information systems for clinics and laboratories, and is now using AI t

Technology was a key ally in supporting Venezuelans following the devastating 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes. Initiatives that combine artificial intelligence with data provided by citizens became ideal platforms for finding information not only when the earthquakes struck on June 24, but also in the aftermath of the tragedy. A website called GeoResponde also offered another very useful feature: a search tool for missing persons and for humanitarian aid organizations providing support

Colombia's energy transition has just received a new injection of international capital. Erco Energía, a Colombian company specializing in solar power generation and energy infrastructure solutions, closed a Series C investment round of US$129 million in equity, one of the largest capital flows announced in the country in 2026. The transaction included participation from Next Utility Ventures, an investment vehicle of the Ventures EPM program managed by Axon Partners Group, as well as the int

For many startups, raising capital doesn't end when they secure their first round of funding. The challenge comes afterward: finding the resources needed to hire talent, develop technology, and begin scaling the business. It is precisely in this phase that Sebrae's Fundo Germina seeks to expand its reach. The fund doubled its assets to R$200 million (US$38.5m) after Sebrae São Paulo announced a contribution of R$100 million during the 2026 Startup Summit in Florianópolis. This amount is in ad

An industrial machine can begin to show signs of wear long before it stops working. The challenge for companies isn't necessarily detecting that something is wrong, but doing so in a timely manner without exposing workers to running equipment and without relying on manual inspections every few weeks. That was the problem identified by Dynamox, a startup founded in Florianópolis that began by developing wireless vibration sensors for predictive maintenance. Over time, the company expanded its

An industrial machine can begin to show signs of wear long before it stops working. The challenge for companies isn't necessarily detecting that something is wrong, but doing so in a timely manner without exposing workers to running equipment and without relying on manual inspections every few weeks. That was the problem identified by Dynamox, a startup founded in Florianópolis that began by developing wireless vibration sensors for predictive maintenance. Over time, the company expanded its

Artificial intelligence is making companies more productive, but it is also changing the nature of the threats they face. An employee might enter confidential information into an AI tool without realizing the consequences, while an attacker could use those same systems to create phishing campaigns, identity theft schemes, or fake content that is harder to detect. The cost of making a mistake is no small matter either. According to IBM's Cost of a Data Breach 2026 report, a single data breach

In 2018, when Florianópolis hosted the Startup Summit for the first time, the question was relatively simple: Did Santa Catarina have a startup ecosystem capable of supporting an event of that scale? Eight years later, the question has changed. "It's no longer a question of whether we have an ecosystem; it's what we're going to do with it," said Fábio Búrigo Zanuzzi, technical director of Sebrae Santa Catarina, during the opening of the Startup Summit 2026, which began this Wednesday in Fl

In 2018, when Florianópolis hosted the Startup Summit for the first time, the question was relatively simple: Did Santa Catarina have a startup ecosystem capable of supporting an event of that scale? Eight years later, the question has changed. "It's no longer a question of whether we have an ecosystem; it's what we're going to do with it," said Fábio Búrigo Zanuzzi, technical director of Sebrae Santa Catarina, during the opening of the Startup Summit 2026, which began this Wednesday in Fl