Mateo Nicolás Salvatto (born January 10, 1999)[1][2] is an Argentine technology entrepreneur specialized in robotics, founder of Asteroid Technologies[3] and creator of the app Háblalo,[4] which eases communication for people with speech and talk difficulties. It is used by 125,000 users in 55 countries.[5]
He is co-author of the books La Batalla del Futuro: Algo en qué creer (The Battle of the Future: Something to believe in)[6] and País de Mierda: Ideas y Reflexiones sobre el Mejor País del Mundo (Country of Shit: Ideas and Reflections on the Best Country in the World).[7]
In 2018 Mateo Salvatto co-founded and became CEO of Asteroid Technologies,[10] a company that develops free technology for people in vulnerable situations and with disabilities.[11]
Since 2019 he serves as Head of Innovation at ORT Technical Schools of Argentina[12] and since 2020 he holds that same position at Nawaiam, a video game company.[13]
Other projects
Mateo Salvatto is also a speaker, having given lectures in cities of Argentina and other countries,[11] including TEDxRíodelaPlata,[14] the 11th Bali Democracy Forum in Indonesia,[15] the IDEA colloquium in Argentina,[16] the Yenching Social Innovation Forum in China[17] and the Global Conference on Educational Robotics in Oklahoma, United States,[18] among others.
In 2021 he joined as a columnist the radio show "Diego a la tarde", hosted by journalist Diego Leuco on Radio Mitre,[19] where he started his podcast "10 Minutos para Cambiar el Mundo (“10 Minutes to Change the World").[20] That same year he published, along with his brother Augusto Salvatto, the book La Batalla del Futuro: Algo en qué creer (The Battle of the Future: Something to believe in).[21] In 2023, both brothers published their second book, País de Mierda: Ideas y Reflexiones sobre el Mejor País del Mundo (Country of Shit: Ideas and Reflections on the Best Country in the World).[22]
Awards and honours
In 2016 he was nominated along with other entrepreneurs for the Entrepreneur of the Year award given by the United States embassy in Argentina.[8]
In 2019 he received the Premio Perfil a la Inteligencia in the Digital Innovation category[28] and was recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Young People (TOYP) of Argentina by the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services (CAC) and the Junior Chamber International (JCI).[29]
In 2017 the Háblalo application won the national application competition organized by the National Communications Agency of Argentina (ENACOM) and Scholas Occurrentes.[30]
The Háblalo application was also distinguished by the Congress of Argentina[25] and the Legislature of the City of Buenos Aires, which declared it "of social interest".[31] It was also chosen as the Best Social Innovation in China[32][33] and it appeared in Google's documentary "IMakeApps".[34]
In 2020 Asteroid Technologies was recognized as one of the Top 100 Global Startups by the Global Entrepreneurship Network in Saudi Arabia,[35][36] after Háblalo represented Argentina in the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC).[37]
In 2023 Salvatto was recognized by the British organization One Young World as one of the global entrepreneurs of the year.[38]
