Mexico Aims to Build Latin America's Most Powerful Supercomputer

Mexico announced plans to build what it claims will be Latin America's most powerful supercomputer, a project the government says will help the country tap into the growing AI boom and massively boost its computing capabilities. The supercomputer, named "Coatlicue," will be seven times more powerful than Brazil's current leading machine.

President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed the ambitious project during her morning press conference, though she said the location hasn't been decided yet. Construction will start next year.

"We are extremely excited. This project will allow Mexico to fully join the artificial intelligence era and process data that we don't have the capacity to handle today," Sheinbaum said.

José Merino, head of the Communications and Digital Transformation Agency, provided some technical details that show just how big a leap this represents. Mexico's current most powerful supercomputer operates at 2.3 petaflops - a measure of computing speed that means performing a quadrillion operations per second. Coatlicue will reach 314 petaflops.

That's a massive jump in computing power for a country trying to keep pace with global AI development. For context, this puts Mexico in a completely different league computationally. While many Latin American countries struggle with basic digital infrastructure, Mexico is making a bet on high-end computing that could position it as a regional tech hub.

The timing matters too. As AI applications explode across industries - from drug discovery to climate modeling to financial analysis - countries without serious computing power risk being left behind. Mexico's move suggests it wants to be a player, not just a consumer, in the AI economy.

But building a supercomputer is one thing. Making it useful is another. The real test will be whether Mexico can develop the talent and partnerships needed to actually use this computing power effectively. That means training researchers, attracting tech companies, and creating the kind of ecosystem where advanced computing translates into economic value.