COLONIA DEL SACRAMENTO, Uruguay, September 22, 2026 — +Colonia and Praxis announced that the international community of technology leaders connected to artificial intelligence has chosen the smart city as its home. The agreement contemplates an estimated investment by Praxis members of more than USD 1 billion over the first years of development. The organization will begin construction of its new urban development within +Colonia, where its members can live and work in an ecosystem that combines nature, quality of life, state-of-the-art infrastructure and innovation. The first residents are expected by mid-2027.
Praxis is a global community of entrepreneurs, investors and technology leaders that brings together approximately 150,000 people, backed by investors such as Apollo Projects — the venture fund of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI — among others. Until now it existed solely as an online network or community; +Colonia will be its first physical home.
This milestone marks a new stage in the growth of +Colonia, which began construction in 2022 with the goal of creating an unprecedented new approach to urbanism. The project already has 100,000 square meters under development and is currently mobilizing some USD 300 million in investment.
“+Colonia is delivering on the objectives that gave rise to the project: building a city capable of attracting talent, companies and new communities, where living and working are increasingly connected to nature, innovation and technology.”
Eduardo Bastitta, CEO and founder of +Colonia
“The arrival of Praxis is concrete evidence that this ecosystem is developing and taking shape. The entire world is choosing Colonia del Sacramento and Uruguay, which will receive an extraordinary investment. We are facing a historic opportunity for the Río de la Plata to become a flagship innovation and technology hub, from South America to the world,” adds Bastitta.
“The AI industry is building technology that could fundamentally change the role of human labor. We are building a place to explore what comes next. What do people create? How do they find purpose? How do we turn the value this technology creates into prosperity and a civilization worth living in? These are the questions we want to make practical in Uruguay.”
Dryden Brown, co-founder and CEO of Praxis
Praxis thus joins +Colonia in an operation advancing within Uruguay's institutional and regulatory framework and in coordination with departmental and national authorities, as has been the case at every stage the smart city has gone through since its inception. A meeting between national authorities and CEO Dryden Brown is scheduled for this week, during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
This ecosystem is further joined by 30 technology startups that have already signed a commitment to co-create the city, with the intention of establishing themselves in the future Río de la Plata innovation hub. Institutions and organizations such as Uruguay's National Research and Innovation Agency (ANII), the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO — one of the leading international institutions in innovation and sustainable urban planning — are also actively participating.
“We are building the best place to live on the planet. An open ecosystem, where people, companies and communities are arriving to develop their own projects and, at the same time, engage with everything happening at +Colonia. Bringing Praxis on board allows us to create a new space for exchange between international talent, technology and the environment we are fostering in Colonia,” adds Bastitta.
“+Colonia was conceived to establish meeting points among the leaders shaping the new stages of the knowledge economy, and the arrival of Praxis is a major step in that direction,” he concludes.
The +Colonia Project
With more than 180 entities involved — including construction companies, technology firms, transportation companies, venture capital funds, banks and educational institutions — +Colonia is already showing concrete progress across the 515 hectares it occupies on the Río de la Plata waterfront. Of that total, 120 hectares have been developed with infrastructure, and 500 residential and functional units have already been built, along with the first three buildings of the Génesis District.
Among the residential developments, Quartier +Colonia — the Argencons/Consultatio project — has been fully sold, as has El Muelle I — the CRIBA project with +Colonia. Both are under construction, with delivery scheduled for next year. In addition, four more projects are about to break ground, within a plan that also includes a corporate district, a 140-room hotel, an international school, an electric mobility center and a low-density neighborhood surrounding the school.
+Colonia has seven kilometers of coastline and beaches, its own nature reserve, and urban planning based on proximity: the idea that daily life can take place within 15 minutes on foot, by bicycle or by public transportation.
About +Colonia
+Colonia is a project to create a hub for the knowledge economy on a 515-hectare site in Uruguay. In total, more than 180 entities are co-creating the city, including developers, technology companies, transportation companies, VC funds, banks, educational institutions and other strategic investors.
About Praxis
Praxis is a global community building physical communities for the age of artificial intelligence. It brings together entrepreneurs, artists, researchers and other builders to develop new places and institutions, with a focus on culture, economic coordination and community participation.