Nvidia has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dominican Republic to establish the Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (CEIA). The agreement, formalized in Santo Domingo, marks the first such partnership for the company in Central America or the Caribbean.
The signing ceremony at the National Palace was led by President Luis Abinader, who cast the partnership as a foundational move toward national digital sovereignty. The CEIA is integral to the country’s National AI Strategy. “The CEIA will be a meeting point between government, academia, and the private sector — a laboratory where the Dominican Republic will demonstrate that it doesn’t just consume technology but creates it,” Abinader stated during the ceremony.
The agreement outlines several key initiatives to position the Dominican Republic as a regional leader in AI-driven development. A core component is a commitment to train over 1,000 Dominican professionals in artificial intelligence by 2026. This training will be facilitated through Nvidia’s Deep Learning Institute. Concurrently, a National AI Factory will be established, a critical piece of infrastructure designed to ensure the country maintains sovereignty over its data while supporting the development of domestic AI applications.
Calista Redmond, Nvidia’s Vice President of AI Nations, detailed that the collaboration will focus on education and industrial innovation across a range of priority sectors. These sectors include healthcare, education, transportation, public safety, finance, and tourism. This focus aligns with the Dominican Republic’s existing National Semiconductor Strategy and its broader objectives for technological modernization. Victor Bisonó, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to utilizing AI as a primary driver for industrial transformation and enhancing national competitiveness.
The CEIA is intended to serve as a comprehensive research, training, and innovation hub. Its resources will be accessible to a wide audience, including students, active professionals, entrepreneurs, and researchers from throughout the region. For Nvidia, the partnership secures a stronger position in emerging markets, capitalizing on a global trend where governments are pursuing AI sovereignty initiatives. These programs are designed to reduce dependence on foreign cloud services by building robust domestic technological capabilities.
This deal with the Dominican Republic represents a continued expansion of Nvidia’s global sovereign AI strategy. The company has recently forged similar alliances across multiple continents, including partnerships with various European governments to develop AI infrastructure. Other major initiatives involve a collaboration with Abu Dhabi for sovereign AI systems and multi-billion-dollar investments directed toward the United Kingdom’s AI infrastructure.
