US telecom giant AT&T has established an innovation center in Mexico City and plans to work with local startups to help them identify new opportunities in the technology market.

Known as AT&T Foundry, the center is the first of its kind in Latin America, but the sixth one the carrier has built in the Americas. The foundry will create a collaborative environment, offering office space for local companies to build technology prototypes and test out new ideas.

Located inside the company’s corporate headquarters in downtown Mexico City, the foundry will focus on developing solutions in new technologies, such as internet of things (IoT), stated the telecom operator in a statement.

“The innovation in Mexico will leverage the talent and experience of all our innovation centers across the world. Mexico, too, will become a contributor to the technologies being developed in other countries,” said Kelly King, CEO of AT&T Mexico.

The principal goal of the center is “to bring ideas from concept to commercialization faster”, said the telecom giant.

“We decided to open an AT&T Foundry in Mexico because we see great potential in the country to explore new technologies and solve challenges faced by local entrepreneurs,” said Arturo Barraza, Director of the AT&T Foundry in Mexico.

“Thanks to this innovation center, we can help accelerate small, medium, and large businesses in emerging markets by bridging the gap between concept and commercialization.”