by Brian Alcamo

In case you didn’t know: the gender of the word “startup” in Spanish is feminine.

Tech is a burgeoning scene all over Latin America. Mexico, in particular, has been lucky due to its proximity to Silicon Valley. Remote work is helping American companies fill skills gaps that can’t be closed by the current US workforce, but Mexico is more than just a center for outsourcing. Startups mexicanas are all over the country, and they’re concentrated in three regions: Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Mexico City. In addition to these three cities, Tijuana, Querétaro, and Cancún are also proving to be formidable centers of high tech activity. 

Of these cities, it’s Guadalajara, and its home-state Jalisco that are garnering the most press.  There are over 600 startups in Guadalajara alone, with more on their way. Its home-state, Jalisco, has been welcoming American companies for a while. The city got its tech start in the 1960s, when it became a hotbed of semiconductor manufacturing.

The University of Guadalajara has a robust engineering school that is continually providing the city with new talent. In combination with 12 other universities, Jalisco produces around 85,000 new tech grads every year. This large pool of talent means that 57% of all tech hires are local to Jalisco. It turns out that Guadalajara is more than just the ancestral home of Ugly Betty.

The government is pushing to solidify Jalisco and Guadalajara’s tech dominance. In 2012, Guadalajara declared itself a Ciudad Creativa Digital (Digital Creative City). Jalisco followed up in 2018 with a new tech visa program. Guadalajara’s power not only comes from its talent pool and long history as a tech center, it also comes from its proximity to Silicon Valley: the city has a shorter flight to San Francisco than New York.

However, the new prosperity isn’t welcome by some. Reuters reported that back in 2019, fear of violence was a daily part of tech work. Because of income disparities between tech and non-tech workers, conspicuous consumption and highly public funding rounds are typically discouraged in la tecnología mexicana. This is in stark contrast to the flashy nature of the tech scenes of Silicon Valley and New York City, where money and ostentation can flow faster than water. 

It’s not all about Jalisco, though. Mexico is home to University of the Americas Puebla (UDLAP), Tecnológico de Monterrey, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), all of which offer degrees and education helping to fuel Mexico’s tech industry.

Of the other cities mentioned above, Monterrey’s proximity to Texas aids in collaboration between the US and Mexico. The University of Texas even operates its Center for Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship there. Mexico City has the luxury of being at the heart of the entire country, and has a wealth of governmental, financial, and cultural resources already at its disposal. Querétaro is booming in aerospace manufacturing. Tijuana boasts the closest proximity to the US, sharing a metropolitan area with San Diego. Cancún has many freelancers in its midst, and has begun to cash in on the talent pool working remotely from its beautiful shores. 

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a massive slowdown in the tech landscape of not only Latin America, but everywhere. Greg Mitchell, from the World Economic Forum, writes that “Entrepreneurs in Latin America’s smaller tech hubs have made significant strides in the last few years. Maintaining support of start-ups in these ecosystems is vital to the entire region’s future.” 

(Thumbnail photo by Roman Lopez)

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