Data Centers in South America

Why Choose Datacenters in South America

Executive Summary: Datacenters Market in South America

South America has rapidly evolved from a regional spur into a critical global digital node, driven by near-shoring trends, renewable energy abundance, and a massive subsea connectivity boom. The market is defined by a "Core + Edge" dynamic: Sao Paulo remains the undisputed financial and interconnection gravity well, while Chile, Colombia, and emerging zones in Brazil's northeast are absorbing gigawatt-scale cloud and AI deployments. With Brazil's new "REDATA" tax incentives effectively lowering the barrier to entry for high-performance hardware and Chile's grid offering some of the world's greenest industrial power, the region is now a strategic alternative for workloads constrained by power shortages in North America.

Find colocation, interconnection, and AI-ready capacity across the continent, from the dense carrier hotels of Brazil to the renewable-powered campuses of the Andes.

South America Datacenter Market at a Glance

The South American market is growing at a double-digit CAGR, with hyperscale investment pouring billions into the region to serve a digital population that is increasingly mobile-first and cloud-dependent. While historical challenges like high import taxes and complex bureaucracy persist, they are being actively dismantled by new policies like Brazil's 2026 tax suspensions for AI infrastructure and Colombia's Free Trade Zone incentives. The region's connectivity map has been redrawn: new cables like EllaLink (direct to Europe) and Humboldt (direct to APAC) have ended the region's reliance on US routing, enabling true "Sovereign South" network architectures with drastically reduced latency to global markets.

Major Data Center Hubs in South America

Brazil

• Sao Paulo (and Campinas) is the heavyweight champion of the continent, hosting ~40-50% of the region's total capacity. It is the primary cloud availability zone for AWS, Microsoft, and Google, serving the heavy financial and enterprise lifting for the entire continent.
• Rio de Janeiro serves as a critical secondary market and media hub, with growing importance for content delivery and disaster recovery resilience for Sao Paulo.
• Fortaleza has transformed into one of the world's most important subsea aggregation points. Hosting 16+ cables, it offers the lowest latency to the US and Europe, making it the ideal location for "Edge" caching and intercontinental routing.

Chile

• Santiago is the undisputed sustainability capital, favoring hydro and solar power. Despite recent water-usage scrutiny, it remains a top tier destination for hyperscale campuses due to its stable regulatory environment and the upcoming Humboldt cable landing, which will make it the gateway to Asia.

Colombia

• Bogota is the fastest-growing frontier hub, leveraging its position at the corner of the continent to serve both Caribbean and Andean traffic. Its Free Trade Zone (FTZ) regime offers significant tax breaks (20% corporate tax vs. ~35%), making it highly attractive for cost-sensitive regional distribution hubs.

South America's Regional Strengths for Colocation Buyers

Renewable Power at Scale: The region's energy matrix is among the cleanest in the world. Brazil's grid is >80% renewable (hydro/wind/solar), and Chile is aggressively expanding solar, allowing buyers to meet carbon-neutrality goals often by default. Strategic "Sovereign" Connectivity: The new subsea map allows data to flow from South America to Europe (via EllaLink) or Asia (via Humboldt) without ever touching US soil. This is a game-changer for buyers with strict data sovereignty needs or those looking to bypass North American geopolitical risks. Incentivized Growth: Governments are actively competing for digital investment. Brazil's "REDATA" regime (suspending federal taxes on hardware) and Colombia's FTZs provide tangible OPEX and CAPEX relief that can offset the traditionally high cost of doing business in the region. Cost Arbitrage: While power in primary hubs like Sao Paulo can be pricey, industrial rates in Chile and emerging Brazilian zones are becoming competitive global alternatives, especially when paired with lower land and labor costs compared to US Tier 1 markets.

How to Choose a South American Datacenter Location

• Start with Latency vs. Cost: If you need sub-10ms access to the Brazilian financial markets, you must be in Sao Paulo. If you are serving a pan-regional content workload, a distributed strategy using Bogota or Fortaleza can lower costs and improve user experience.
• Factor in Import Taxes: Hardware importation has historically been the region's pain point. Prioritize facilities in Free Trade Zones (Colombia) or those qualified under Brazil's REDATA regime to avoid 80%+ markup on your servers and switches.
• Audit Water and Seismic Risk: In Santiago, water rights are as critical as power; ensure your facility has secured long-term access or uses water-free cooling. In seismic zones (Chile, Peru), verify the facility's construction standards meet high-grade earthquake resistance.
• Leverage the New Cables: Don't just default to Miami-centric routing. Ask providers if they are "On-Net" with EllaLink or Humboldt to future-proof your connectivity to Europe and Asia.

Countries and Cities for Datacenters in South America

Use these guides to drill into local conditions: tax incentives, power mix, and provider options - for each key market.

• Data centers in Brazil - deep dive into the massive Sao Paulo ecosystem, the strategic edge of Fortaleza, and the new REDATA tax benefits.
• Data centers in Chile - focus on Santiago's renewable power opportunities and the Asia-facing connectivity advantage.
• Data centers in Colombia - guide to Bogota's Free Trade Zones and its role as the new Andean digital hub.

Within each country, you can explore city-level pages like Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Bogota, and Fortaleza, each with its own local insights and provider list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is it expensive to import servers into South America? A: Historically, yes. Brazil and Argentina have had very high import duties. However, this is changing. Brazil's new "REDATA" regime (effective 2026) suspends federal taxes for qualified data center projects, and Colombia's Free Trade Zones offer VAT and duty exemptions, significantly normalizing the cost of deployment.

Q: Can I run 100% green workloads in South America? A: Yes, easier than almost anywhere else. Brazil's national grid is heavily hydro-powered, and Chile has massive solar capacity. Many operators in these markets offer 100% renewable energy certifications as a standard offering rather than a premium add-on.

Q: What is the "Humboldt" cable and why does it matter? A: Humboldt is the first subsea cable to directly connect South America (Chile) to Asia-Pacific (Australia/Sydney). For buyers, this means traffic to Asia no longer has to hairpin through Los Angeles, drastically reducing latency and improving performance for trans-Pacific workloads.

Q: Is political instability a risk for my data center? A: It is a factor to consider. While the region has political volatility, the digital infrastructure sector has largely been ring-fenced as critical national interest. "Digital sovereignty" laws are increasing, so having local legal counsel to navigate data residency requirements in countries like Brazil is recommended.