A groundbreaking new initiative is positioning the Caribbean as a central player in the global agentic AI revolution, with non-profit group Future Caribbean launching a $140,000 agentic AI buildathon to cultivate the next generation of Caribbean-founded technology startups.
The competition was officially unveiled during the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Invest Sustainability Week 2026 held in Barbados, marking a key milestone in regional efforts to embed the Caribbean in cutting-edge global tech development. Over a 21-day intensive sprint, 40 selected teams drawn from the Caribbean and across the globe will collaborate to develop open-source agentic AI systems tailored to address the most pressing challenges and unlock untapped economic opportunities across the region.
Unlike traditional generative AI tools that only respond to user prompts or generate on-demand predictions, agentic AI represents a major evolutionary step in artificial intelligence. These autonomous systems are designed to independently pursue pre-defined goals, take proactive actions, and adapt over time. Each AI agent can perceive surrounding conditions, analyze complex scenarios, map out multi-step workflows, integrate external tools and complementary systems, execute planned actions, and continuously reflect on outcomes to refine its performance.
The buildathon is structured around 10 key focus tracks aligned with the Caribbean’s core economic and social priorities, spanning financial inclusion, healthcare access, tourism innovation, sustainable food systems, climate risk mitigation, disaster response coordination, and blue economy development. Teams selected to compete will gain access to high-end NVIDIA H200-Class GPU computing power, plus one-on-one mentorship and targeted support from a network of more than 25 experienced regional and international industry advisors.
Lily Dash, founder of Future Caribbean and co-founder of ACTAI Advisors, explained that the initiative grew out of a core belief that the Caribbean deserves a leading seat at the table shaping the future of global technology. “Future Caribbean started from a conviction: the Caribbean is one of the world’s great opportunity regions. Technology is now the largest driver of economic value creation in the modern global economy. If you have an idea, if you have been building, this is your moment,” Dash said. “The Caribbean should not watch this transformation happen — it should help shape it. Future Caribbean exists to give builders from across the Caribbean and around the world a place to build systems that strengthen the oxygen lines within the region and between the region and global markets.”
Bill Tai, chairman of ACTAI Global and founding partner of Future Caribbean, emphasized that the rise of agentic AI creates an unprecedented opening for small teams and emerging entrepreneurs in the region. “Agentic AI is creating the biggest wave of opportunity we’ve seen in decades, giving small teams a level of leverage that was previously unimaginable. The Future Caribbean Buildathon is placing the region directly in the path of that wave by connecting innovators, governments, investors, and global partners to build solutions that matter,” Tai said.
Leaders of partnering development organizations echoed that the buildathon demonstrates the power of cross-sector regional collaboration to drive inclusive tech growth. Leonardo Mazzei, head of environmental and social governance and stakeholder engagement at IDB Invest, noted that the initiative breaks down barriers to turning early ideas into scalable, real-world impact. “By bringing together entrepreneurs, technology leaders, investors, institutions and development partners, the initiative creates new opportunities for talent, ideas and technologies to move from concept to deployment and scale,” Mazzei said.
Brian Bogart, director of the World Food Programme’s Caribbean Multi-Country Office, added that AI innovation has critical potential to boost climate and food resilience for small island developing states like those across the Caribbean. “I look forward to engaging with teams working on Food Security and Disaster Coordination as they explore practical ideas and potential applications for the Caribbean and other vulnerable regions facing similar challenges,” Bogart said.
Applications for the competition are open through July 3 on the official Future Caribbean website. The 40 selected competing teams will be announced on July 17, and the 21-day build sprint will run from July 17 to August 7. Competition winners will be named on September 1, with top-performing teams advancing to a Caribbean Investor Showcase and a high-profile investor pitch day at the New York Stock Exchange later that month.