What happened
Latin America attracts just 1.1% of global AI investment. This contrasts with its 6.6% share of global GDP, according to new ECLAC-CENIA data. The regional AI market is projected to grow from $4.7 billion in 2024 to $30 billion by 2033. However, the underlying infrastructure remains foreign-controlled. AWS, Microsoft, and Google collectively hold two-thirds of cloud capacity. The region hosts only 4.8% of global data centres. Brazil has countered with a $4 billion sovereign AI plan. Broader regional strategies lack financing.
Why it matters
This infrastructure deficit forces procurement teams and security architects to rely on US and Chinese hyperscalers. This reliance locks critical national data into foreign jurisdictions. Foreign firms control the physical layer. Therefore, local founders face structural dependency. They export raw data while importing finished intelligence. This dynamic limits economic capture. Value accrues to infrastructure owners rather than data originators. Consequently, regional enterprises face long-term vendor lock-in and pricing exposure. Nations must replicate Brazil’s sovereign cloud model. Otherwise, the gap between data generation and value retention will widen.
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