Bio

I was born in 1999 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was always passionate about technology. Thus, since I was a kid, I decided to get involved with it as much as I could. My high school studies (at ORT Argentina), oriented in electronics, led me to carry out many interesting projects such as launching three experimental rockets or building robots that fight sumo autonomously. Robotics became my passion. I am champion of Argentina's National Robotics League and, in 2016, together with a partner and our coach, we were international ''Robotraffic'' champions at the Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. But, after all this, something inside me told me that I could use all the technology I had learned to impact the world in a more useful and direct way. And so, Hablalo was born: A mobile app to help people with communication disabilities. Although I was extremely happy with Hablalo's success, I wanted it to grow and help more people, so I decided to found, together with a group of partners, a tech start-up dedicated to developing and supporting free life-changing products for people in vulnerable situations: Asteroid Technologies. Thanks to our work at Asteroid, Hablalo already helps +250k people with different disabilities in 65 countries across the 5 continents, 100% free. I also made my personal goal to use technology as an equalizing tool for everyone, not just for disabled people... That's why between 2017 and 2019 I collaborated with the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires thinking, developing and scaling projects and policies that helped improve the quality of life and technical learning skills of Buenos Aires' inhabitants. Also, I believe it's essential to share all my acquired knowledge with as many people as possible, mostly with the younger generations. That is why I'm part of the ORT Argentina team as Head of Innovation, promoting, impulsing and developing the entrepreneurial skills of our students. I'm also the founder and one of the teachers at our successful entrepreneurship & innovation course, ORT Launchpad. Meanwhile, I tour Argentina and the world offering motivational talks and technology oriented conferences, which have reached +10 countries and more than 75.000 people. Finally, thanks to the work of these last years, I was recognized with important awards such as: MIT Humanitarian Innovator of the Year - Best Social Innovator, Peking University, China - Entrepreneur highlighted by the National Congress - Social Entrepreneur of the Year (EY) - among others. For more info, visit www.mateons.com