Artificial intelligence is not only in the portfolio of venture capital managers, but in the way these funds evaluate investment opportunities. This is what the State of AI Latin America 2026 study shows, carried out by Hi Ventureswhich shows that 91% of VCs use AI to analyze deals – a percentage that doubled from 45% two years ago.
According to the survey, which interviewed 54 managers in Latin America, 85% use the technology for market research and competitive intelligence, 63% for portfolio monitoring and reporting, 59% for financial modeling and company evaluation, and 52% both for communications with LPs and for reviewing contracts and compliance. Only 4% said they do not use AI beyond sourcing and deal analysis.
Claude, yes Anthropicis the most used tool among VCs interviewed in the study, present in 94% of firms, and surpassing ChatGPT (69%), of OpenAIthat of Gemini, do Google (65%).
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“Three years ago, the main question surrounding artificial intelligence in Latin America was whether the region would adopt it. Today, that question appears to be largely resolved,” notes Jimena Pardo, Managing Partner at Hi Venturesin the study presentation text.
For her, agents are the next frontier, with the potential to transform not only products, but also the way companies, institutions and entire sectors are organized.
“Latin America enters this transition from a position of strength. AI adoption rates in the region rival those of much richer economies, while its entrepreneurs have accumulated decades of experience building businesses in complex environments and with limited resources. We believe this combination could prove to be an advantage as the next generation of AI-native companies emerges”, he points out.
IA no core
For most venture capital funds, startups with AI at the core of the product have become a priority for new investments: 61% of funds said that more than 60% of new investments made in the last 12 months had AI at the core.
Furthermore, 57% of VCs say that more than 25% of their portfolio is already implementing AI agents – and 33% say that more than half of the companies in their portfolio already operate with agents.
Among the startups interviewed in the study, 99% use AI at least internally, while 74% place technology at the center of their business strategy. Furthermore, 78% have already incorporated AI into the company’s main product: 59% were born as native artificial intelligence startups and another 19% added technology-based features to their solutions.
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The report also points out that Claude is used by 83% of Latin American startups, surpassing ChatGPT, from OpenAI, present in 66% of them. Among tools aimed at software development, Claude Code leads in adoption, being used by 69% of companies.
Another highlight is the advancement of AI agents. Today, 72% of startups already use or are testing this type of technology, while only 9% say they have no plans to adopt it.
In evaluating the Hi Venturesthe region is experiencing structural change. If in recent years AI was seen mainly as a tool to increase productivity, now it has become part of the architecture of businesses themselves. “AI has gone from being an experiment to becoming a competitive advantage,” states the report, highlighting that companies in Latin America are migrating from pilot projects to large-scale implementations and that the complexity of local markets can transform into a competitive advantage, by generating proprietary data that is difficult for global competitors to replicate.
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