Hi readers, welcome to our March edition covering Latin America’s tech trends, expansions, and M&A.
This month: McKinsey’s State of Organization report, Pragmatic Engineer’s insights on AI tools developers actually use, plus major investments from MercadoLibre and HubSpot in Argentina and Brazil.
We’re also introducing Connect33 Advisory—more on that below. ¡Vámonos!
Pragmatic Engineer: AI Tooling for Software Engineering: Which AI tools are software engineers using, and what do they really think of them? Claude Code surged from near-zero adoption in May 2025 to the #1 AI coding tool by February 2026 (~65% of respondents), overtaking GitHub Copilot and chatbot-based tools in the latest developer survey.
Our take: This is one of the fastest shifts in developer tooling we’ve seen. Claude Code’s leap from virtually unknown to market leader in under a year, while GitHub Copilot and Cursor plateaued. The developer tooling market is moving faster than we’ve ever seen, and the gap between teams that adapt quickly and those that don’t is only going to widen.
McKinsey: The State of Organizations 2026: McKinsey surveyed 10,000+ executives across 15 countries and 16 industries on the forces reshaping how organizations operate, lead, and create value. The headline: 88% of organizations are deploying AI in some form, but 86% of leaders say they’re not ready for day-to-day integration — and 81% report no meaningful bottom-line impact yet.
Our take: The gap between AI adoption and AI readiness is the defining challenge for organizations right now. McKinsey frames it as a “double transformation”—companies need to rewire both technology and the way work gets done across the organization. The report identifies nine shifts leaders must navigate, from building human-AI collaboration models to rethinking geopolitical strategy and resource allocation. The throughline is clear: the era of short-term resilience is over, and the organizations that treat transformation as continuous — not a one-off initiative — will be the ones that pull ahead.
MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI), the e-commerce and FinTech platform, announced a US$3.4B investment in Argentina to double its fulfillment capacity and enhance its fintech ecosystem. (Reuters)
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and the government of Uruguay launched an AI for Good laboratory, marking a new stage in public-private collaboration. (Microsoft)
HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS) announced plans to open an office in São Paulo, Brazil, in Q4 2026, marking its first office in the country and its second in Latin America, after its Bogotá HQ. (Bloomberg Linea)
Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) launched a LATAM-focused AI acceleration program for startups in Brazil and Mexico, offering up to US$10k in financial incentives, along with mentoring, hardware, and training. (BNamericas)
AssureSoft, a nearshore software development company with over 500 engineers across 10 Latin American countries, opened a new engineering hub in Asuncion, Paraguay, and expanded its La Paz, Bolivia office. (GlobeNewsWire)
Vela LatAm, a subsidiary of a Canadian global technology group, has acquired three Brazilian fiscal software companies — Alfasig, Alpino Tecnologia, and ERP Praeter — expanding its portfolio to over 20 acquisitions in Brazil. (Vela)
XR Advisor, a Brazilian private equity & asset management firm, has acquired Domínio Financeiro, a Brazilian consultancy focused on the financial organization of SMEs. (Exame)
Extreme Group, the EDS, Beyond, EDX, and Pointer, acquired GPS IT, a Brazilian IT consulting company, for US$9.5M. (Baguete)
Connect33 introduced the first advisory network designed specifically for LATAM IT services founders – connecting you with advisors who have scaled, exited, and done it in your market and revenue range. Learn more
Additional stories we’re following:
Fast Company: The most innovative companies in Latin America for 2026
Buenos Aires Capital Partners: Argentina Annual M&A Report 2025
LatAm-focused roles at top tech companies.
Cognite is hiring a Sales Development Representative (Bilingual English & Spanish)
Dataiku is hiring a Strategic Account Executive, LATAM
Postman is hiring a Regional Channel Sales Manager, LATAM (Portuguese Speaking)
CrowdStrike is hiring a Manager, Sales Development - LATAM, Spanish-Speaking
Monday.com is hiring a GTM Regional Lead, NAM & LATAM
Darktrace is hiring a Customer Success Director - LATAM
