Automated company vs. S.A.S. vs. DAO vs. Wyoming, Tennessee and Utah
Status as of September 7, 2026. The Argentine sociedad automatizada is a bill in Senate committee, not law. Every row about it describes the proposed text plus the amendments announced in committee, and can still change. Nothing here is legal advice.
The one-paragraph answer
They solve different problems. The Argentine automated company is about who runs the business: AI agents execute the corporate purpose, with no employees required for ordinary operations and at least one human responsible person. The US DAO statutes (Wyoming 2021, Tennessee 2022, Utah 2023) are about how owners govern: decisions and ownership recorded on a blockchain, wrapped in a limited-liability entity. The plain Argentine S.A.S. is the vehicle that exists today and can already be run by software in fact — it just does not say so on the tin. If you need something incorporable this quarter, the S.A.S. is the only Argentine option; if you need statutory recognition that the operation is autonomous, only the Argentine bill offers it, and it is not in force.
Side by side
| Automated company (Argentina, bill) | Plain S.A.S. (Argentina, in force) | DAO (Argentina, same bill) | Wyoming DAO LLC (US, 2021) | Tennessee DO LLC (US, 2022) | Utah LLD (US, 2024) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can you form one today? | No — Senate committee, no vote yet | Yes — Law 27.349 (2017) | No — same bill | Yes — W.S. 17-31, in force since Jul 1, 2021 | Yes — LLC Act amended in 2022 | Yes — H.B. 357 (2023), effective Jan 1, 2024 |
| What is automated | The operation: AI agents carry out the corporate purpose | Nothing by statute — automation is a private fact | The governance: rules and votes run by protocol | Governance and/or management by smart contract | Governance by smart contract (“decentralized organization”) | Governance by protocol; the LLD is its own entity type |
| Legal personality | Yes — a quality of an S.A., S.R.L. or S.A.S. | Yes | Yes — separate personality proposed | Yes — an LLC | Yes — an LLC | Yes — a new entity, not an LLC |
| Ownership | Ordinary shares or quotas | Ordinary shares | Tokens or cryptographic units on a distributed ledger | Membership interests, may be tokenized | Membership interests, may be tokenized | Membership on-chain, recorded by the protocol |
| Humans required | At least one human responsible person in the administration body (amendment announced Aug 19, 2026) | Directors must be individuals; single-shareholder allowed | Legal representation must be vested in one or more individuals | A registered agent in Wyoming; algorithmic management allowed | A registered agent in Tennessee | A registered agent in Utah; no manager requirement |
| Employees required | No — the definition presupposes none for ordinary operations | No minimum — Argentine law never required employees | No | No | No | No |
| Disclosure in the name | “Automatizada” in the company name + declaration in bylaws | None | Identifies as DAO | “DAO”, “LAO” or “DAO LLC” in the name | “DO” identifier under the amended Act | “LLD” designation |
| Who is liable for harm caused by the software (detail) | The company with all of its assets; directors keep the art. 102 duty of configuration and supervision of the system and its results — four verbs in ICBT’s reading: select, configure, supervise and audit the AI | Ordinary regime today: strict liability for risky activities (art. 1757 CCyC) + veil-piercing (art. 54, Law 19.550) | The company; representatives answer under general rules | Members shielded like any LLC; the smart contract governs internally | Members shielded like any LLC | Members shielded; statute limits liability to on-chain assets in some cases |
| Registry | Public registry of the domicile (IGJ in Buenos Aires City, provincial registries elsewhere) | Same | Same | Wyoming Secretary of State | Tennessee Secretary of State | Utah Division of Corporations |
| Designed for | Software, content and digital-service businesses run by agents, founders who want the operation recognized as autonomous | Any small company; today’s practical vehicle for an AI-run business | Token-governed communities and protocols | Token-governed communities and protocols | Same | Same, with an entity type built from scratch |
Sources for the US column: Wyoming SF0038 (2021), Utah H.B. 357 (2023), Tennessee HB 2645 (2022), Proskauer’s three-state overview. Sources for the Argentine columns: Law 27.349 (S.A.S.), Bruchou & Funes on the bill, La Nación on the Aug 19 amendment.
The three confusions this table fixes
- “Argentina is copying Wyoming.” It is not. Wyoming, Tennessee and Utah wrote statutes for DAOs — governance by blockchain — and the Argentine bill has its own DAO chapter for that. The automated company is a separate figure with no US equivalent: it regulates a company whose day-to-day work is done by AI agents, not one whose votes happen on-chain. The DAO chapter, topic by topic, is in DAOs in the Argentine bill.
- “You need the new law to run a company with AI and no employees.” You do not. No Argentine rule requires employees, so an S.A.S. formed today can already operate through software. What the bill adds is recognition (the automated quality in the name and bylaws), specific duties over the AI, and a mandatory human responsible person. Our guide on incorporating an S.A.S. today covers how to draft it so the future conversion is a bylaw amendment.
- “The automated company means AI gets legal personhood.” No statute on either continent does that. In every column, the legal person is the company; the AI or the smart contract is the tool it operates or governs with.
Which one should you pick right now?
- You are in Argentina (or want an Argentine entity) and need to operate this year: a plain S.A.S., drafted for conversion. Follow the bill tracker for the committee vote.
- Your product is a token-governed protocol: a US DAO vehicle is available today; Wyoming has the longest track record, Utah the most purpose-built entity.
- You want statutory recognition of an AI-operated company: nothing is available anywhere yet. Argentina’s bill is the only one on the table; the realistic window for the first incorporations is the second half of 2027 (see where the bill stands).
Main sources
- Wyoming Legislature, SF0038 — Decentralized autonomous organizations (2021); the statute as amended in 2022, quoted section by section, is in our Wyoming DAO LLC profile.
- Utah Legislature, H.B. 357 — Decentralized Autonomous Organizations Amendments (2023).
- Tennessee General Assembly, HB 2645 (2022).
- Proskauer, With new DAO law on the books, Utah joins race with Wyoming and Tennessee.
- InfoLEG, Law 27.349 — Apoyo al Capital Emprendedor (S.A.S.).
- Bruchou & Funes, Comprehensive reform of the General Companies Law.
- La Nación, Cambios en el Senado: el Gobierno cede y ya no promueve las sociedades automatizadas sin responsables humanos (2026-08-19).