Mexico Leads Physical AI Development in Latin America

Mexico is leading the development of physical artificial intelligence (AI) in Latin America, according to the study “AI Gets Physical: The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Startups Readiness Index,” conducted by Stand Partners.

The report states that 13% of the country’s technology startups are developing solutions that combine AI with robotics, drones, autonomous vehicles, and industrial equipment. This places Mexico among a group of rapidly growing markets for physical AI, alongside France, Singapore, India, Canada, Australia, and Saudi Arabia.

Although this progress creates new opportunities for Mexico, it also highlights the need to accelerate domestic adoption. The report warns that while demand for these technologies is growing, the development of solutions is not keeping pace. Startups operating in rapidly growing markets may concentrate their sales, hiring, and tax contributions in countries where demand is stronger.

Álvaro Echeverría, director of Startups in Latin America at AWS, noted that accelerating adoption would enable Mexico to capture a larger share of the investment, employment, and economic growth generated by this new era of AI.

However, demand remains a major obstacle. Only 26% of startups developing physical AI consider their target markets ready to implement these technologies, while 70% say slow customer adoption is limiting their growth. According to the study, one of the main barriers is a lack of awareness, as many companies have yet to experience these technologies in practical applications.

Despite these challenges, 70% of startups developing physical AI expect the technology to create more jobs than it eliminates, while 86% plan to expand their workforces over the next two years. This trend is expected to increase demand for professionals specializing in robotics, hardware, and the maintenance and operation of intelligent systems.

Cloud infrastructure has also played a key role in the sector’s development. According to the report, 72% of startups consider cloud computing essential for building, training, or managing their systems, while 62% say their businesses would not have been established without it.

As Mexico’s physical AI market gains momentum, the next step will be to connect startups developing these solutions with companies willing to test the technologies and integrate them into their operations.