He President Luis Lacalle Pou inaugurated the Microsoft’s first Artificial Intelligence laboratory in Latin America, in a new step in the direction of the project that has Uruguay to become a center of reference and innovation, attractive for foreign investment.
He Microsoft AI Co-Innovation Lab It is the fourth of its kind in the world and adds to the dependencies that were already operating in China, Germany and the United States. His arrival will allow technology companies to have a place to develop their products at no cost and while maintaining intellectual property, according to the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Omar Paganini.
There they will have access to state-of-the-art technology and will be able to interact with Microsoft engineers who will provide them with support, as specified at the event, which took place in the Los Robles building in the Technological Park of the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU), from where they warned that their arrival will allow “to offer customized solutions that integrate artificial intelligence and the internet of things to promote business and productive development.”
When taking the floor, Paganini stressed that the inauguration is relevant for “the ecosystem of technology companies.” Regarding the benefits, the minister valued in his speech that now “Uruguayan companies can ask to come and develop products here at no cost for them and keeping the intellectual property.” Thus, he made it clear that AI will be accessible to local firms and considered that “it is the strategic way out of this dilemma.”
Also present were the Undersecretary of Industry, Energy and Mining, Omar Paganini and Walter Verri; the president of LATU, Rupert Long; the owner of Ceibal, Leandro Folgar; the president of the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII), Flavio Caiafa and the director of the Uruguayan Film and Audiovisual Institute (ICAU), Facundo Ponce de Leon, together with Microsoft authorities.
Uruguay advances in its plan to become an innovation hub
After the inauguration, the government advances in its plan to transform the country into an innovation hub and an international reference in the production of technology. In fact, it is located in the Third place in software production per capita.
“The fact that Microsoft opens its third laboratory outside the United States in Uruguay is a sign of that; Are we heading in the right direction”, highlighted Paganini, who was expecting that this laboratory “attract talent, companies and investment from the region to generate quality jobs.”
Finally, Long highlighted the installation on the LATU premises, as it contributes to ensuring support for the country to become a center of excellence. “LATU will operate as a bridge to link companies and their projects with the laboratory,” he argued.
Source: Ambito
