Tech Millionaires Are Building a City of the Future in Uruguay: AI, Neo-Gothic Architecture and $1 Billion for a New Utopia

Thirty-year-old tech entrepreneur Dryden Brown and his investors are planning to build a futuristic city in Uruguay virtually from the ground up. The creators of Praxis promise to establish a utopian settlement where artificial intelligence will become one of the foundations of a new economy, culture and social life. The first residents are expected to move in as early as mid-2027.

New York-based Praxis chose Uruguay because of its “natural beauty, political and economic stability.” The project’s founder and CEO, Dryden Brown, also claims that his investors include a fund founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, according to The New York Times.

Brown envisions the architecture of the future city as a “fusion of Gothic elements and space-age futurism.” The entrepreneur himself plans to move to the construction site as early as December.

This week, Brown is expected to meet with Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi in New York, where the president is attending the United Nations General Assembly.

The first phase of the project is planned for the site of the existing +Colonia complex near the city of Colonia del Sacramento. The project is being led by Eduardo Bastitta, who also serves as an adviser to Argentine President Javier Milei.

Praxis says it aims to mobilize around $1 billion in investment over the next three years. According to the company’s plans, the first residents should move in by mid-2027.

The project’s creators believe the coming artificial intelligence revolution could transform society on a scale comparable to the way banking and trade once helped turn Florence into a center of the Renaissance.

“The AI industry is creating technologies that will fundamentally change the role of human labor. We are building a place where we can explore what comes next,” Brown said.

He also wants to address one of the biggest questions of the future: what people will do and where they will find meaning in a world that could bring unprecedented levels of wealth.

“How do people find purpose in this world? How do we turn vast new wealth into prosperity and a civilization that is actually worth living in? Those are the questions we want to make practical in Uruguay,” the entrepreneur said.

Brown dreams of creating more than just a technology hub — he wants to establish an entirely new culture. His vision is inspired by Ancient Greece and Rome, while artificial intelligence would help fund a new generation of artists, architects and thinkers.

One of Praxis’ principles is that luxury real estate should help finance the city’s cultural life.

“We want the sale of extraordinary homes to fund extraordinary culture. The people who make a city worth living in should be able to afford to live there,” the company said in a statement.

For now, however, the idea of a self-governing city has been put on hold. Last year, Brown spoke about his intention to turn Praxis into a separate city-state that would govern itself and operate outside the laws of other countries.

Brown now says independence is not an immediate goal. At this stage, Praxis has agreed to comply with Uruguayan law.

Before choosing Uruguay, the project team considered other locations, including Greenland.

Praxis is far from the only example of wealthy figures in the technology industry attempting to create their own spaces and experiment with new models of society. In Silicon Valley and among major investors, projects for entirely new cities designed to reshape the way people live have been discussed for several years.

One such project was backed by investors including Marc Andreessen, Reid Hoffman and Laurene Powell Jobs. They attempted to build a new city in California’s Solano County but faced significant opposition from local residents and lawmakers, effectively putting the project on hold.

The creators of Praxis hope to avoid similar problems and are already preparing for the next stage. The company plans to begin acquiring land within the +Colonia site by the end of next year.

And Brown appears to view the very existence of a physical space of their own as one of the project’s main goals.

“Having, like, a real place — that’s really, really cool,” he said.