● The Dominican Republic recently announced a strategic partnership with NVIDIA ($NVDA) to build the Caribbean's first Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence. President Luis Abinader signed the agreement, which positions the country as a regional AI leader focused on workforce development and data sovereignty.
● The partnership centers on creating a National AI Factory to boost digital infrastructure and protect data sovereignty, helping both public and private sectors adopt AI faster. The country plans to integrate AI into healthcare, education, transportation, public safety, tourism, and finance. While this represents a major step forward for the region, experts point to potential hurdles—high infrastructure costs, talent gaps, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities as AI becomes more embedded in critical systems.
● Through NVIDIA's Deep Learning Institute, over 1,000 professionals will receive training in data science and machine learning by 2026, building local expertise from the ground up. The initiative is expected to drive long-term economic growth through productivity gains, new AI industries, and skilled job creation, though upfront infrastructure spending may strain national budgets. To manage costs, the government is linking this effort to its National Semiconductor Strategy, which aims to diversify tech capacity and reduce reliance on foreign systems.
● As Industry Minister Víctor Bisonó noted in the WallStEngine report, the partnership supports the country's semiconductor strategy and broader digital transformation goals. By combining NVIDIA's cutting-edge AI technology with the Dominican Republic's digital vision, this collaboration marks a significant milestone in the nation's push toward AI-driven growth and sustainable innovation.