Iguazú AI City: Pioneering a New Frontier in Artificial Intelligence for Paraguay
Paraguay is set to embark on a revolutionary journey with the launch of the Iguazú AI City project, poised as the country’s largest investment in Artificial Intelligence to date. Envisioned to elevate Paraguay into a technological vanguard, the investment in this ambitious project totals an extraordinary USD 12 billion.
The brainchild of the Latin American platform Araico, Iguazú AI City will be a campus dedicated to the large-scale deployment and training of AI systems. Located in the district of Yguazú, in Alto Paraná, the project showcases Paraguay’s commitment to technological advancement. “It is the largest investment in our history in the field of AI,” noted Alejandro Zuccolillo in an interview with Universo 970 AM.
Structured over a span of three and a half years, the project consists of three development stages. The initial phase, representing an investment of USD 300 million, will be completed by December, unveiling six modules with operational capacity for 6 MW of electricity—equivalent to powering 2,000 AI processors or computers.
The subsequent phases are slated at USD 5.5 billion each, with the first large module expected a year after verifying the first phase, around early 2028. The data center in Yguazú will employ electrical energy to produce tokens—the elementary units in AI text processing, serving both domestic and international demands, as highlighted by Zuccolillo.
Crafted with a blend of Paraguayan and American private capital, the project is backed by a major global technology fund, known for investing in giants like Facebook, SpaceX, and Nubank, contributing over USD 40 million. The project also boasts a strategic co-development partner involved in the creation of “Stargate”, the world’s most advanced AI data center, which trained OpenAI‘s Astra model.
Paraguay’s advantageous position in electricity generation, bolstered by the 500 kV Third Transmission Line, enables this grand venture. This allows the country to add value by exporting “intelligence” instead of raw energy, currently sold to Brazil at relatively low prices, Zuccolillo stressed.
In its final stages, Iguazú AI City will create around 3,000 jobs, invigorating sectors such as transportation, security, and food services, while enhancing local industries like transformers, metallurgy, and electrical components. The project aims to retain Paraguayan engineers by organizing joint training programs with the Polytechnic University Paraguay-Taiwan (UPTP).
Team V.DIR-EM-UAE
