The AWS Head of Solutions Architecture - South of Latin America remarked on the company’s sustained investments in Chile over the last ten years, the integration of artificial intelligence models at Chilean companies, and how they address sustainability while developing their technology.
With the construction of a second data center in Chile already approved, Amazon Web Series (AWS) sees its move into the country not as a 100-meter dash but more of a marathon, especially given the region’s high potential.
According to a Research and Markets study, the Latin American data center market is expected to grow to US$10.07 billion by 2029, nearly double the US$6 billion recorded last year.
Chile currently has 22 operational data centers. In keeping with the growth trend, the Government’s Data Center Plan projects up to 28 additional facilities in the coming years.
In a conversation with La Segunda, AWS Head of Solutions Architecture - South of Latin America Rafael Mattje remarked on the company’s sustained investment in Chile over the last ten years, the integration of artificial intelligence models at Chilean companies, and how they address sustainability while developing their technology.
You already have a second data center approved in our country. What makes Chile an attractive place to operate?
Chile is a very strategic country for us. The rapidly accelerating digital transformation is coupled with growing cloud usage. For example, reflecting that acceleration, the IDC estimates the Chilean cloud market will grow by over 30% in 2024.
As a cloud computing pioneer, AWS has had client operations in Chile for over ten years. However, our Chile office officially opened in 2017.
Since then, AWS has seen a sharp acceleration and has made several investments in Chile.
Data centers have been called into question lately for their environmental impact, including high water consumption. How do you intend to mitigate that?
In 2019, AWS set a goal of matching all electricity consumed in Amazon’s global operations, including our data centers, corporate buildings, supermarkets and logistics centers, with 100% renewable energy by 2030.
We are proud to share that we have reached that goal seven years ahead of schedule. In doing so, we have become the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy for four straight years and have invested billions of dollars in more than 500 solar and wind projects worldwide. We have committed to becoming water-positive by 2030, which means we will return water used in our operations to the communities.
How would you evaluate your arrival and operations in Chile? What investments has AWS made?
Since 2017, AWS has made several infrastructure investments. The first, in 2019, launched what we call “add location,” a type of infrastructure that enables us to have an application.
Later, in 2021, we launched a “ground station” in Punta Arenas. This antenna helps companies with satellite operations download image content.
Why is that important? If there is a wildfire in Chile, we want to predict which direction it is going. The faster I can download satellite information, the faster I can decide how to contain the fire.
Chile is the only Latin American country where AWS installed a ground station antenna (...). Last year, we rolled out “local zone” infrastructure in Santiago—a data center featuring some of the leading AWS services.
What will the future bring?
We have a long-term commitment to the country; we will continue investing in Chile.
How do you see companies in Chile adapting to AI and machine learning?
Many of our customers were already exploring uses for machine learning. For example, Cencosud used it to personalize their sites, increasing the average ticket for website purchases by more than 20%.
We had a generative AI roadshow event two weeks ago. More than 400 clients attended, and the truth is that it is quite fast-paced. Transbank recently rolled out a generative AI model, for example.
What about compared to previous years?
There was quite a large increase. The difference is that many organizations were testing these models in 2023. It was a novelty. They were looking at getting value from their generative AI models. In 2024, they are starting to roll them out for the end customer and creating value.
According to a 2023 joint study by NTT Data and MIT Technology Review, the adoption of artificial intelligence has expanded remarkably from 58% to 71% of Latin American companies in just three years.
One clear example of this trend is the rapid adoption of our generative AI service, Amazon Bedrock, which launched in 2023 and already has over 10,000 customers worldwide.
%2017.11.51.png)
