Volcano Innovation Summit closed its seventh edition on September 7 in Antigua Guatemala with more than 2,200 entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, creatives and leaders from 35 countries gathered under the concept “Echoes of Expansion.”
Founded by Janma Bardi, the summit grew from an annual gathering to a living ecosystem of 11,000 active members in more than 45 countries, with an estimated cumulative value of more than US$1.7 billion in economic, educational and social investments inspired by its more than 100,000 strategic connections facilitated.
«In Latin America we represent a US$6.8 billion economy full of talent and creativity, but only one in ten people feels they can trust each other. Trust is not a ‘soft’ concept, but the economic infrastructure necessary for long-term growth,” said Janma Bardi.
The central message of this edition was that the future of the region will not depend solely on AI or capital, but on the ability to build trust and long-term connections.
The winning startups of Startup Avenue 2026
Fifty Latin American startups participated in the Startup Avenue Competition, evaluated for scalability, resilience and significance. In the Pre-Seed category, first place went to BioGrip (Mexico), a healthtech that develops non-invasive neuromuscular interfaces with AI to control prostheses and robotic systems.
In the Early Stage, ZULA (Argentina) won, a cybersecurity platform that combines AI, gamification and cyberattack simulations to predict human risk. In Growth & Scalability, the victory went to Radar (Mexico), a fintech that uses AI and a single API to send, monitor and reconcile payments in multiple banks and payment rails in Latin America.
Publimovil also granted US$25,000 in equity-free media grants to five participating companies.
AI, social impact and the future of work
Beyond the competition, the summit brought together figures such as Stephen MR Covey of FranklinCovey, Dr. Frederik G. Pferdt, Google’s first Chief Innovation Evangelist and co-founder of the Google Garage, and Alejandro Zárate, Chief Data Officer of Banco Santander México, among others.
Volcano4Good, the impact initiative of the summit, also made visible the alliance between FUNDEGUA and Nutrilisto to combat child malnutrition in Guatemala through AI on WhatsApp, and with Funsepa it equipped educational centers in Ciudad Vieja, benefiting 1,969 students with 119 technological equipment delivered.
