Things are heating up in LATAM.

OpenAI and Argentina’s Sur Energy have signed a Letter of Intent for a $25 billion project known as Stargate Argentina, aiming to build a 500-megawatt AI data center in Patagonia. The initiative seeks to transform Argentina from an AI consumer into a regional exporter of computing power. Fueled primarily by renewable energy, it would be among the largest infrastructure projects in the country’s history.

The Argentine government views the venture as a cornerstone for national technological development. President Javier Milei has described it as a defining moment for Argentina’s entry into the global AI ecosystem. For OpenAI, it marks the company’s first major “Stargate” project in Latin America, chosen for the region’s combination of human talent and vast renewable energy resources.

Behind the ambition, challenges loom. Argentina continues to lose skilled engineers and AI researchers abroad due to limited funding, economic instability, and fragile ties between academia and industry. Regulatory uncertainty adds to the tension: the government’s promise of a light-touch approach to AI oversight has yet to translate into clear policy. Energy supply is another potential constraint, even as domestic power producers move to position themselves as key partners in the project.

If realized, Stargate Argentina could redefine Latin America’s place in the global AI supply chain. It would anchor new data infrastructure, attract foreign capital, and create high-skilled employment across engineering, energy, and research sectors. Yet the difference between opportunity and outcome will depend on governance, execution, and sustained political will. Without those, the project risks joining a long list of visionary Argentine ventures that never quite escaped the realm of promise.