Latin America has been gaining the attention of global investors seeking exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) without further concentrating their portfolios in the United States and Asia.
According to a Santander report, interest in the continent is not only linked to the prospect of lower interest rates or the traditional search for emerging markets. The region offers companies and markets where profit resilience, exposure to commodities, dividends, and capital allocation support the macroeconomic thesis, amidst an increasingly concentrated global AI market.
According to analysts Aline de Souza Cardoso , Andres Soto, and Ulises Argote, discomfort with the increasingly competitive artificial intelligence theses seems to be growing. Several investors expressed concern at a conference held by the institution in London about the degree of concentration observed in some Asian markets, especially in South Korea, where the most recent stage of appreciation has been increasingly driven by retail investors.
This does not mean, however, that the race for artificial intelligence is losing momentum, but it suggests that the flow of additional capital may be becoming more selective.
Based on earnings conference calls from 118 Latin American companies between the first quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, Santander found that the adoption of artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly in sectors such as banking, telecommunications, retail, consumer goods, and education. And instead of being just a technological innovation, AI is already beginning to translate into measurable productivity and competitive advantage.
According to Santander's AI index, which uses strategy, use cases, practical execution, and operational impact as criteria, Globant, Totvs, Nubank, Itaú, and TIM appear among the best-positioned companies.
Globant appears in the report as the most advanced case of an AI-native company in Latin America. The bank highlights that the company has already accumulated US$32.8 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) with AI Pods, a subscription model for services such as software development and product definition, with large-scale testing powered by AI. The consultancy also has a US$352 million pipeline in this area and has already incorporated the solution in 40% of its 20 largest accounts.
Totvs, on the other hand, is positioning AI as an additional layer on top of its ERP ecosystem, T-Cloud, and solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. The main highlight is Lynn, an AI platform developed for the Brazilian market, based on AI agents and the concept of task as a service .
The company reported that AI-related solutions accounted for more than 17% of 2025 revenue, representing a 37% increase year-over-year, while net revenue per employee rose more than 11%, indicating productivity gains.
Among banks, Nubank and Itaú lead in AI adoption in the region. Santander highlights that Nubank is advancing in building an AI-native bank, with almost 100% of its employees using artificial intelligence tools. Furthermore, NuFormer, its proprietary model, is already in production for credit decision-making in Brazil and Mexico, and for unsecured loans in Brazil.
Itaú, in turn, has accumulated more than 500 internal use cases of AI focused on productivity and has been incorporating the technology into products such as Pix via WhatsApp, as well as applications in customer service, investments, and payment methods.
Finally, the report points out that TIM has already mapped 100 use cases for artificial intelligence, of which 24 have been tested and seven implemented. Most pilots focused on cost efficiency, with some targeting commercial opportunities. The operator also cited initial IT productivity gains of over 20% in software development, supported by partnerships with Google and Microsoft.
