Incorporating an AI-run company in Argentina, from abroad
What you can file today, what legally requires a local, and what to leave drafted for the law that is coming.
Short answer: the sociedad automatizada — the legal form designed for AI-run companies — cannot be filed yet: it is a bill in the Senate. What a foreign founder can register today is an S.A.S. (simplified stock company, Law 27.349), fully digital and workable from abroad with one hard constraint: at least one administrator must be an Argentine resident (art. 51). This guide is the from-abroad version of the process — for the local version, see incorporating an S.A.S. today.
The four things that change when the founder is abroad
- The resident administrator (the real constraint). The S.A.S. lets non-residents be shareholders and even administrators, but art. 51 of Law 27.349 requires at least one administrator resident in Argentina, and non-resident administrators must appoint a local representative. A solo foreign founder therefore needs either a trusted resident co-administrator or a professional service providing that role — price it in, and document who holds the emergency controls of your automated operation (that dovetails with the bill's director duties).
- Tax IDs before anything else. Every non-resident shareholder needs a CDI from ARCA (the tax agency, formerly AFIP), obtained through a local representative; residents use their CUIT/CUIL. Without these numbers the filing does not start.
- Paperwork with apostilles. Your passport copy and the power of attorney authorizing local counsel to sign and file must be notarized and apostilled in your country (Hague Apostille Convention — Argentina is a member), and translated by a certified public translator if not in Spanish.
- If the shareholder is your foreign company (an LLC, a Ltd.), it must first register under art. 123 of Law 19.550 to hold equity in Argentine companies — corporate documents apostilled, translated and filed with the registry. It adds weeks and ongoing obligations; many founders start holding shares personally and restructure later.
The filing sequence, from abroad
- Engage local counsel and sign the apostilled power of attorney. Everything else can run remotely through them.
- Obtain the CDI for each foreign shareholder (via the local representative) — and define who your resident administrator will be.
- Pick the jurisdiction: the registry of your corporate domicile (IGJ for the City of Buenos Aires, provincial offices elsewhere). Fees, quirks and timelines vary; your counsel's home turf is usually the pragmatic choice.
- Name and bylaws: reserve a name ending in "S.A.S." and choose model bylaws (fast) or custom ones — if you want the conversion-ready clauses below, you want custom, or model plus annexes where the registry accepts them.
- Capital: the minimum is symbolic (two minimum monthly wages, art. 40), 25% paid in at incorporation. Foreign-currency contributions arrive through the foreign-exchange market rules — ask counsel how to route it in your case.
- Registration, company CUIT and digital books — then the slow part: the bank account (see FAQ) and, if you sell software or AI services, an assessment of the Knowledge Economy regime (Law 27.506): payroll tax credits, reduced income tax and 0% duties on service exports — the step-by-step guide →
Drafting it today so conversion is paperwork, not surgery
If the bill passes, converting an S.A.S. into a sociedad automatizada looks set to be an amendment of bylaws and name — subject to the final text and regulations. The three clauses worth writing from day one (corporate purpose that expressly contemplates operating through automated systems; documented governance and kill-switches for those systems; amendment-friendly bylaws) are covered in detail in the S.A.S. guide — they matter twice as much for a founder who operates from another country and needs the company to run without them in the room.
Verified on September 1, 2026. Sources: Law 27.349 (Title III — arts. 40 and 51) and Law 19.550 (art. 123) at InfoLeg / argentina.gob.ar; bill status in our tracker. This is general information, not legal advice: requirements vary by registry and by your country's documents — engage licensed Argentine counsel for your case.
Frequently asked questions
Can I incorporate an AI-run company in Argentina without traveling there?
Yes, in practice: the S.A.S. filing is digital, and a power of attorney (apostilled, and translated by a certified public translator if not in Spanish) lets local counsel sign and file for you. What you cannot avoid is the residency rule: at least one administrator must be an Argentine resident (art. 51, Law 27.349), so a solo foreign founder needs a resident co-administrator or a professional providing that role.
Does the 'automated company' (sociedad automatizada) exist yet?
No. It is a bill amending the General Companies Law, in Senate committee as of late August 2026, with no committee vote yet. What exists today is the S.A.S. (Law 27.349), which you can run automated in fact and draft for conversion later. Our bill tracker follows every milestone.
Do I need an Argentine tax ID as a foreign shareholder?
Yes. Non-resident individual shareholders need a CDI (identification code issued by ARCA, Argentina's tax agency, formerly AFIP); obtaining it goes through a local representative. Resident founders use their CUIT/CUIL. The company itself gets its own CUIT at registration.
Can my foreign company (LLC, Ltd.) be the shareholder of the Argentine S.A.S.?
Yes, but the foreign entity must first register with the public registry under art. 123 of Law 19.550 (registration to hold equity in local companies), with corporate documents apostilled and translated. It adds weeks and ongoing filings, which is why many foreign founders hold the shares personally at the start and transfer them to the holding company later.
How much does it cost and how long does it take?
It depends on the registry (the IGJ in the City of Buenos Aires or the provincial office of your corporate domicile), on whether you use model or custom bylaws, and on translations and apostilles for foreign documents. With everything ready, model-bylaws filings are resolved in days; the foreign-founder overhead (POA, apostilles, CDI) usually dominates the calendar. Budget the professional fees of local counsel — this is not a DIY-friendly step from abroad.
What about a bank account for a foreign-owned S.A.S.?
It is the slowest part. Traditional banks apply full KYC on foreign shareholders and can take longer than the incorporation itself; many companies start with a business payment account (billetera/fintech) for operations while the bank file advances. Plan for this gap in your launch timeline.
Get told when the automated company opens for filings
One email at the committee vote, one at enactment, and the definitive one when registries start accepting incorporations.