What Proyecta Uruguay does

Proyecta Uruguay operates the "Sprint UY" program, a one-week immersion initiative for foreign early-stage startups (maximum 5 years old, with MVP/prototype and demonstrable traction) seeking to scale into Latin America from Uruguay as a regional hub. The program is jointly operated by Uruguay's National Research and Innovation Agency (ANII) and the country's investment and export promotion agency (Uruguay XXI), and runs as a public initiative — it does not sell a product or service, generate commercial revenue, or operate as a traditional company. Selected founders receive a fully subsidized week in Montevideo, including international travel and accommodation, ecosystem institution visits, presentations of available national funding instruments, internationalization workshops, and structured networking with local investors, sector leaders, and existing startups. Applications are managed through ANII's postulaciones portal under an annual convocatoria.

The underlying "technology" is the program's institutional architecture rather than a software stack: the value proposition rests on government-backed access to Uruguay's innovation ecosystem, curated introductions to local capital, and exposure to national funding instruments. Distribution runs through ANII and Uruguay XXI's institutional channels (including uruguayxxi.gub.uy), giving the program reach to trade, diplomatic, and investor networks across Latin America, Iberia, and increasingly the United States. Across the 2024 and 2025 editions, Sprint UY hosted 25 startups sourced from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Spain, Peru, and the United States, and a third edition is being prepared for 2026.

The revenue model is fully public: the program is funded from Uruguay's national innovation and investment promotion budgets and operates without pricing or commercial monetization. The go-to-market is event-driven and selective — a single annual cohort, capped at a small number of foreign startups, with selection managed through a government portal. Customer concentration is structurally low by design (multiple small participants per cohort) and there are no recurring commercial relationships, enterprise contracts, or expansion-driven revenue mechanics. Headcount is reported at 1-10, consistent with a small program team embedded within ANII rather than an independent operating company.

Name

Proyecta Uruguay

Legal name

Sprint UY

Website

https://proyectauruguay.uy

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Proyecta Uruguay operates Sprint UY, a publicly funded one-week immersion program in Montevideo that attracts foreign early-stage startups to scale into Latin America from Uruguay, jointly operated by ANII and Uruguay XXI.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Startup Acceleration Programs

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

Keywords

• Government startup program
• Startup immersion program
• Innovation ecosystem support
• Latin america expansion
• Foreign founder program

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government-funded program operations: Sprint UY is a publicly funded innovation attraction program operated by ANII (Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación) and Uruguay XXI. The program does not generate commercial revenue. It covers all costs for selected startups including international transfers and accommodation in Uruguay. Funding comes from Uruguay's national innovation and investment promotion budgets.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sprint UY is a one-week, fully subsidized immersion program for foreign startup founders that combines visits to Uruguay's innovation ecosystem institutions and an innovation campus in Montevideo, presentations of national funding instruments, internationalization workshops, and networking events with local investors and startups. The program covers international travel and accommodation costs for one founder per selected startup and targets companies incorporated outside Uruguay that are at most five years old with an MVP or functional prototype and demonstrable traction.

Product overview

Sprint UY is a single program offering — a one-week startup immersion experience in Uruguay. It does not consist of separate software products or modules; rather, it is a unified acceleration/introduction program that connects foreign startups with Uruguay's innovation ecosystem, local investors, and regional expansion opportunities. The program covers logistics (travel and accommodation) for one founder per selected startup.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sprint UY A one-week immersion program in Uruguay for foreign startup founders seeking to scale to Latin America. The program includes visits to innovation ecosystem institutions and an innovation campus, presentations of available funding instruments, workshops on regional internationalization, and networking activities with local startups and investors. The program covers international travel and accommodation costs for one founder per selected startup and targets companies incorporated outside Uruguay that are at most five years old with an MVP or functional prototype and demonstrable traction.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship.

• ANII (Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerANII is Uruguay's National Agency for Research and Innovation. It co-impulses the Sprint UY program alongside Uruguay XXI, providing institutional backing and access to national innovation ecosystem resources and funding instruments.
• Uruguay XXIflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUruguay XXI is Uruguay's investment and export promotion agency. It co-runs Sprint UY with ANII, positioning the program as a tool to attract innovative foreign startups to establish operations in Uruguay as a gateway to Latin America.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ProColombia: Colombia's government trade and investment promotion agency that runs innovation and startup attraction programs. Functionally similar to Uruguay XXI's role in Sprint UY, with a comparable investment-promotion mandate and country-as-gateway narrative.
• Start-Up Chile: Government-backed equity-free accelerator run by CORFO in Chile that recruits foreign founders to build in Chile as a regional base. Closest functional peer to Sprint UY in terms of state sponsorship, equity-free funding model, and gateway-to-LATAM positioning.
• Startup México: Mexican public-private initiative supporting early-stage startups with acceleration and ecosystem connections. Comparable as a national-level founder attraction and acceleration vehicle targeting LATAM expansion.
• Parallel18: Puerto Rico's government-backed global accelerator program that attracts international startups to scale from the island. Highly comparable model: state-funded, cohort-based, immersion-driven, targeting founders who want a US-adjacent LATAM bridge.

Broad incumbents

• Rockstart: Amsterdam-headquartered accelerator with active LATAM programs; comparable as a cohort-based accelerator targeting early-stage founders with a regional hub model.
• Antler: Global early-stage venture firm and accelerator with active LATAM presence. Comparable as a founder-formation and acceleration program offering cohort-based immersion and initial capital to early-stage teams.
• Endeavor: Global high-impact entrepreneur network with deep LATAM presence, supporting scale-up founders with mentorship, networks, and capital access. Comparable in mission (founder development for LATAM) but broader in scope and more focused on later-stage scale-ups than immersion.
• Techstars: Global accelerator running multiple industry-vertical and geographic programs. Comparable as a structured cohort-based immersion model but with private capital backing and a more global, less country-promotion focus.
• Wayra (Telefónica): Telefónica's corporate venture and accelerator arm with operations across LATAM and Europe. Comparable as a structured LATAM-facing accelerator ecosystem, but corporate-backed rather than state-backed.
• 500 Global (500 Startups): Global venture firm and accelerator with strong LATAM presence through programs like 500 Global LatAm. Comparable as a foreign-founder-attracting accelerator investing in early-stage startups across the region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Proyecta Uruguay