Spanish IT services provider Everis has announced plans to build a laboratory for artificial intelligence (AI) in Mexico City.

The lab will test and promote AI solutions that positively impact businesses, besides training Mexicans interested in acquiring skills in the new technology.

Everis, whose LatAm unit makes around US$368 million in annual revenue, says the AI lab will serve its clients throughout the region.

Alberto Otero, an Everis executive in charge of artificial intelligence in Americas, told media that the goal of his company is to develop an AI ecosystem in Mexico by increasing the number of people specialized in the new technology.

The announcement comes barely a month after Everis conducted a study, in alliance with business accelerator Endeavor, to identify the factors blocking Latin American businesses from adopting AI technologies.

It discovered three main barriers: shortage of talent specialized in AI, lack of data to develop solutions, and ignorance of possibilities the technology can open up.

Otero, who attributes the success of financial services firms to their willingness to adopt new technologies, says the manufacturing sector can make the most of artificial intelligence.

The Mexican lab will also deliver IoT solutions and teach people how to develop technology solutions using quantum computing.

Everis runs similar labs around Latin America. It has built a lab for blockchain in Peru, for virtual reality in Brazil and internet of things (IoT) in Chile.

With more than 100,000 workers globally, Everis reported more than US$1.36 billion in revenue for the last fiscal year.