Miami, Apr 19 (EFE).- Xavier Gonzalez, CEO of eMerge Americas, the Miami tech forum connecting Latin America, North America and Europe, on Thursday said that the event is expected to welcome some 15,000 attendees to its 2018 edition.
Among the keynote speakers will be Sophia, Hanson Robotic’s most advanced robot to date, who has garnered media attention after her debut at the 2016 South by Southwest arts festival and has made a string of TV appearances and received invitations to participate in various events.
Sophia’s presence at the forum will showcase the opportunities that the introduction of artificial intelligence will generate in Latin America, the 37-year-old Gonzalez told EFE ahead of the April 23-24 event.
This year, the forum will focus on digital transformation, to which various governments, companies and organizations are expected to allocate as much as $1.7 trillion in 2019, according to figures by marketing firm IDC.
Just in Latin America, the figure is calculated at $46 billion, which translates to growth of more than 50 percent between 2017 and 2019, said Gonzalez, adding that eMerge will help entrepreneurs, investors and tech executives understand the opportunities that this technological adaptation will provide, as well as the market’s needs in this area.
The event will also furnish networking opportunities for potential cloud service providers and clients, a market that is expected to receive more than $11 billion in investments over the next three years.
Speakers will include former Mexican President Vicente Fox, Cisco Americas Partner Organization senior vice president Rick Snyder and MercadoLibre founder and CEO Marcos Galperin, as well as Cesar Cernuda, the president of Microsoft Latin America.
Zumba Fitness co-founder and CEO Alberto Perlman will round out the roster, along with Amazon Prime general manager and southeast US regional leader Felipe Millon and Cuban-American entertainer Pitbull.
A one-day summit titled “Women, Innovation and Technology” will also be taking place, as well as Launchpad, an event that will set the stage for innovating entrepreneurs and investors as they share their experiences and make predictions about the future of the tech market.