AI is overhauling Latin America’s services industry

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According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), Latin America is one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS). And there is one branch of this industry in particular that is truly winning the region’s consumers over: AI-based communications platforms as a service, of CPaaS.

In basic terms, companies in the CPaaS segment provide easy plug-and-play solutions for developers to integrate direct, real-time communication between users on existing applications. Think chat boxes popping up on websites, or WhatsApp reminders when users do not finalize online shopping orders. But there’s much more to CPaaS than that.

With solutions that range from AI-driven chatbots to all-in-one communication dashboards, Nasdaq-listed Brazilian firm Zenvia is among those surfing the messaging commerce trend in Latin America — closely tied to the region’s e-commerce boom.

An IDC study, commissioned by Zenvia, shows that the Latin American SaaS market is poised to reach USD 4.4 billion in value this year and is projected to deliver a compound annual growth rate of 17.5 percent until 2026 — reaching USD 9 billion four years from now. In this forecast, SaaS would represent 60 percent of the financial volume, and CPaaS 40 percent.

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Fabiane Ziolla Menezes

Former editor-in-chief of LABS (Latin America Business Stories), Fabiane has more than 15 years of experience reporting on business, finance, innovation, and cities in Brazil. The latter recently took her back to the classroom and made her a Master in Urban Management from PUCPR. At TBR, she keeps an eye on economic policy, game-changing businesses, and people driving innovation in Latin America.