Who backs Future Caribbean, and what they give
Future Caribbean lists 49 partners, from IDB Invest to the NYSE. Here is what each main backer brings: money, computers, payments or a stage.
Future Caribbean's AI Buildathon says it has 49 partner organisations, from a development bank to a Bermuda payment gateway (impact report). For founders and business owners, the list matters because each partner controls something a young company needs: credibility, computing power, a way to take payments or an audience of investors.
The partners fall into four groups. Here is what each one has publicly committed, based on Future Caribbean's own pages and news coverage. For the competition itself, see our Buildathon overview.
The founding partners
Three organisations were there at the start: IDB Invest, ACTAI Global and ACTAI Advisors (impact report). The programme launched during IDB Invest Sustainability Week in Barbados in May 2026 (Barbados Today).
IDB Invest is the private-sector lending arm of the Inter-American Development Bank. Its role so far is hosting and reputation: the July Agentic AI Assembly was held at the IDB's Barbados office (GlobeNewswire). No IDB Invest loan or investment in the teams has been announced.
ACTAI Global is chaired by Bill Tai, a venture investor known for early bets on Zoom and Canva (Jamaica Observer). Lily Dash, who founded Future Caribbean, is a co-founder of ACTAI Advisors. Together they bring the investor and founder network.
Institutions and market access
These partners open doors to governments, export markets and investors.
| Partner | What it offers |
|---|---|
| New York Stock Exchange | Hosts the finalists' live pitch and shows their names on trading-floor screens |
| Export Barbados | National export agency, listed as a presenting partner |
| OECS | The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, named in partner lists |
| Government of Jamaica | Listed among institutional partners |
| Cayman Enterprise City | Route to DMZ incubator scholarships |
| DMZ at Toronto Metropolitan University | A one-week programme on entering the North American market |
| EY-Parthenon | Strategy advice, listed as a presenting partner |
Sources: About page, impact report, GlobeNewswire.
The NYSE point needs care. The original launch release says the exchange hosts the pitch day but "is not a sponsor or financial partner" (launch release). Its contribution is visibility.
Silicon Caribe also named the Abed Foundation among supporters. Its contribution has not been disclosed.
Computers and AI tools
AI agents need a lot of computing power to run, and that is expensive to rent from the Caribbean. This group covers it.
- Highrise AI and Impala AI give every selected team managed access to NVIDIA H200 processors, some of the most powerful chips for AI, for the full 21-day build (About page).
- Nebius, a cloud computing company, is listed with Highrise and Impala as a provider of this computing power (impact report).
- NoInfra offers an optional environment for running agents, backed by a shared US$10,000 computing commitment.
- Shogo AI and MiniMax give platform and model credits to teams (Jamaica Observer).
- Other World Computing (OWC) supplies the hardware prizes: US$20,000 of Thunderbolt 5 machines for running AI locally, split among the top three teams (FAQ).
The impact report notes the computing is set up for running systems in daily use, rather than training new AI models. That fits the programme's focus on products that work today.
Payments, travel and community
Powertranz may be the most practical partner for a Caribbean business. Formerly First Atlantic Commerce, it is a Bermuda-based card payment gateway founded in 1998 that connects merchants to more than 20 banks and processors in 30 countries across the Caribbean and Central America (powertranz.com). Winners get its gateway service free for 12 months, so a winning product can take card payments from day one (About page).
Bookit covers flights and hotels for finalists travelling to New York. ClawCamp, a builder community founded by Steven Echtman, co-led the July Assembly in Barbados with Dash (GlobeNewswire).
What it adds up to
Put together, the partners cover most of what an early AI company lacks in the region. Institutions lend credibility, the chip providers cover computing costs, Powertranz handles payments, DMZ helps with expansion and the NYSE brings attention.
What is missing so far is committed investment. None of the partners has announced money for the teams beyond the US$50,000 cash prize pool, and no winners had been named publicly as of 11 October 2026.
What to watch
Watch whether IDB Invest, Export Barbados or the Government of Jamaica turn their names on the partner list into paid pilots or contracts. That would be the clearest sign the programme is creating lasting businesses.
Future Caribbean is recruiting partners for a second cohort through membership and track sponsorship (impact report). If your company has a specific problem it wants solved, sponsoring a track is the most direct way in. Our judges post covers who will decide which teams win.