Puerto Rico faces hurdles in adopting next-gen technologies like agentic AI
An unstable power grid, insufficient digital infrastructure, talent shortages and high costs can hinder Puerto Rico’s ability to develop and deploy “new-frontier” technologies, according to local industry sources.
These technologies — such as agentic AI, cloud and edge computing, advanced connectivity, immersive reality, quantum computing, robotics, and advances in bioengineering, space and energy technologies — are highlighted in McKinsey 2025 Technology Trends Outlook.
New-frontier techs in Puerto Rico
Intermittent electrical power and a lack of data centers (which are directly affected by insufficient and/or unstable power) make it more difficult for Puerto Rico to adopt new-frontier techs, Nelson Prieto, partner and co-founder of C2S Consulting, told News is my Business.
Despite these limitations, Puerto Rico has “unique enablers,” including access to federal funding (ARPA, CHIPS Act), a growing startup ecosystem, and stronger diaspora networks and academic institutions that are training local talent, he said.
Many local businesses already use cloud and edge computing, especially for scalability and disaster resilience. Due to an increasing number of security threats, data breaches and regulatory requirements, companies such as banks, health care institutions and utilities are relying more on digital trust and cybersecurity technologies. And more companies are integrating AI into customer service and analytics, often through cloud-based SaaS platforms.
A focus on grid resilience and clean energy can drive adoption of smart energy systems, AI-optimized grids and microgrid solutions in Puerto Rico, while rising logistics and delivery needs can fuel the use of autonomous delivery systems such as drones and self-driving vehicles for the transport of goods in industries such as retail, Prieto said.
Puerto Rico’s pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturing hubs, he continued, could lead innovation in bioengineering-driven drug development and blockchain-based medicine traceability, especially in export and controlled substance management.
“Embracing agentic AI and cross-trend synergies could allow Puerto Rico to leapfrog into the next-generation innovation economy, particularly in areas like clean tech, precision medicine and secure logistics,” Prieto said.
For all of this to happen, however, digital infrastructure and talent development need to grow alongside technological adoption. It is also imperative to build public trust and to democratize access to innovation tools for small- and medium-sized businesses and underserved communities, he added.
Oscar A. Misla, president and CEO of Equiply, a local medical equipment capital planning startup, said that local companies, especially small- and mid-sized businesses, should focus more on tech-enabled services to boost their growth and competitiveness.
“Any local business — your neighborhood lawn care, solar installer, your accountant — can run way smoother using AI for their back office. Things like scheduling, billing, customer messages, inventory — AI can handle all the boring manual work,” Misla said.
“I think we’re not using this kind of tech enough here. There’s a big chance for local consulting firms to build agentic AI workflows and offer those services right here. It could be a real game-changer for us. To me, this is a more real and immediate opportunity for Puerto Rico than some of the fancy futuristic stuff,” Misla added.
Regarding agentic AI, Misla said it will catch on as more companies want to automate more complex workflows, especially in logistics and services.
“The companies that jump on this early and scale it right will basically own their markets. Their operations will be leaner, and they’ll have more cash and energy to invest in growing bigger and stronger,” he said.
Challenges
Adopting and developing new-frontier tech can be extremely challenging, especially in a small market like Puerto Rico.
- Energy
As mentioned earlier, energy can stall technological progress, particularly in the creation and development of new-frontier technologies.
“Because of the huge amounts of energy that these models we know as artificial intelligence require, if we want to continue evolving with it, we need better efficiency or a better source of energy,” said Héctor Jirau, executive director of Parallel 18, the business acceleration program of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust.
“We’re definitely not ready. We don’t have a balanced grid system,” he said.
- Jobs
AI and other new-frontier technologies already show up in multiple industries. As labor markets tighten and remote work expands, more businesses will likely explore virtual agents for operations and knowledge work.
“Particularly compelling is the rise of agentic AI, which shifts the paradigm from passive tools to autonomous virtual coworkers capable of managing multistep workflows,” C2S’ Pietro said.
Unlike programmed software, agentic AI can infer which are the next steps to follow in a system or process, so that a human does not have to tell it what to do step by step.
Much has been said about the potential of AI to replace, rather than just support, humans in the workplace, and agentic AI may increase that risk.
“What really grabbed me was how fast agentic AI is coming up,” Equiply’s Misla said. “Here in Puerto Rico, we keep hearing about nearshoring — companies on the mainland sending work over to the island — but Agentic AI could shake that up by automating a lot of those jobs.”
- Education
The talent gap is a real challenge for Puerto Rico, making education and training crucial for businesses to keep up with new technologies, Misla said.
“Our schools and universities need to step it up and start training students on this tech,” he said, noting that much of the learning can be self-taught and that people should be encouraged to use tools such as n8n or Zapier to build agentic workflows.
“We need to grow local talent who can build solutions tailored to Puerto Rico’s economy, just like some local SaaS companies have done. That’s the way forward,” Misla said.
“When government, schools and businesses work together, that’s when real growth happens,” he continued. “Look at Uruguay … they’re a software powerhouse because they started teaching tech early. We can do the same. It just takes commitment.”
- Commoditization
Like large language models (LLMs), such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, agentic AI will be commoditized, stalling investments in that technology, P18’s Jirau said.
“Today, the least you expect of an LLM is to ask it anything and it gives you a real answer that is sophisticated and genuinely aligned with the question. That was game-changing, but what was groundbreaking back then is the minimum expectation now,” he said.
In about a year, agentic AI will be the minimum consumers and companies will expect from a service they pay for, Jirau said. “It will be the baseline, the industry standard. It will be commoditized.”
In business, commoditization is the process by which goods that have economic value and are distinguishable in terms of attributes end up becoming simple commodities in the eyes of the market or consumers.
Commoditization poses a challenge in tech because it tends to slow down investment. When a technology is commoditized quickly, leaders control the market and it does not make economic sense for others to invest in it, Jirau explained.
- The human element
Dan Lammot, co-founder and CEO of threshold.world, provider of tech solutions for nonprofits and social impact organizations, approaches new-frontier tech with a different mindset.
“I like that the report didn’t deify AI because in reality its practical applications bring about a lot of complexities,” he said.
Among those complexities are “unwelcome surprises” related to indexability and searchability, which are grave because there is no filter on private information for those kinds of things, Lammot said.
While tech like agentic AI can boost productivity in various industries, humans should always be an integral part of the process, Lammot stressed, adding that human connection is likely to become more valuable in professions and industries such as health care.
“At the end of the day, if we can hold on to that humanity, then technologies like agentic AI and others could improve things.”
