AI Gains Ground in Mexico’s Health, Labor Sectors: AI Week

From diabetic screenings in Mexican pharmacies to L'Oréal’s transformation into a biotech-driven beauty firm, AI’s real-world applications are quickly expanding. But trust, regulation, and workforce readiness remain the biggest hurdles to scale, reports the World Economic Forum (WEF). In Mexico, PwC’s AI Jobs Barometer points to early-stage adoption but also signals steep sectoral growth, especially in AI-exposed roles. Meanwhile, Meta’s investment in Scale AI and OpenAI’s US$200 million DoD contract underscore how geopolitical and enterprise priorities are converging on AI development.

Ready? This is your week in AI, Cloud and Data!

Mexico

AI Spurs Productivity Gains, Boosts Wages: PwC

AI enhances worker productivity and value, reports PwC on its 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer. In Mexico, while adoption is in “early stages,” sectoral transformations and exponential growth in demand for AI-exposed roles are already visible, argues the firm.

Avant Eyes Mexican Market with AI-Based Diabetic Screenings

Avant Technologies is expanding access to its Vision AI platform across Latin America, with Mexico as a key target. The company, working in partnership with Ainnova Tech, has already deployed free AI-driven eye screenings in pharmacy chains across Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama. The upcoming rollout in Mexico coincides with Avant Technologies’ announcement of its intent to acquire Ainnova Tech. 

International

L'Oréal Reshapes Beauty Industry With AI, Biotechnology

L'Oréal Groupe has initiated a strategic transformation to establish itself as a Beauty Tech powerhouse. The company is pursuing a two-pronged strategy: integrating Generative AI in collaboration with NVIDIA to redefine consumer interaction, and deepening its investment in biotechnology to make skincare a component of human longevity.

Health Systems Need to Build Trust in AI Technologies: WEF

As AI continues to reshape global healthcare, its responsible adoption will hinge on regulatory adaptation, capacity-building, and collaborative frameworks, according to a new report by the WEF and Boston Consulting Group.

Meta Backs Scale AI, Boosting its US$29 billion Valuation

Meta Platforms is investing in Scale AI, boosting the latter’s company value to over US$29 billion. The agreement marks the substantial expansion of the commercial relationship between the two companies, which will enable the acceleration of Scale AI’s data solutions. 

AI Skills Are Missing From Job Descriptions But Still Expected

AI is transforming creative workflows at an unprecedented pace, but the design job market has yet to reflect this shift explicitly. Despite widespread adoption of tools like Midjourney, ChatGPT, Dall-E, and Runway, fewer than 1% of the 176,000 design job listings analyzed in Fast Company’s upcoming report, Where the Design Jobs Are, mention any of these tools. This is not due to a lack of usage, as designers across leading organizations such as Meta, Shopify, Duolingo, and OpenAI use AI consistently. Instead, the absence stems from uncertainty about how to define and formalize AI competencies in hiring practices.

OpenAI Lands Deal with US Department of Defense to Develop AI

OpenAI formalizes an agreement with the US Department of Defense (DoD). The contract, with a maximum value of US$200 million, focuses on the development and prototyping of advanced AI capabilities to address national security challenges.