Pento
Uruguayan ML engineers with a published rate band
What is Pento?
Pento is a Montevideo company with 10 to 49 people that designs, builds and deploys machine learning systems for mid-market and enterprise clients. Clutch shows an hourly band of $50 to $99 and a $25,000 minimum project, so you can budget before the first call. It describes its work as either augmenting internal teams or delivering whole systems. Uruguay's working day overlaps closely with U.S. Eastern time. The small team means one or two engineers at a time.
Pento works primarily with clients in Retail, Fintech, SaaS, Logistics, Media sectors. Its primary differentiator is: Published mid-range rate with close U.S. Eastern overlap.
Pento tech stack and services
| Service area |
|---|
| ML Engineers |
| Data Engineering |
| Published Rates |
| Nearshore LatAm |
Pento pricing
Short answer: Pento uses a $50–$99/hr (clutch band); augmentation or project delivery pricing approach. Minimum engagement starts at $25,000+.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time dedicated | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
| Project delivery | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
Pento pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +Rate band and minimum are public | -Very small team |
| +Close overlap with U.S. Eastern time | -Highest published minimum on this list |
| +Focused on ML systems, not general software | -Few public reviews |
Pento vs alternatives
How Pento compares to the other top AI Staff Augmentation providers.
| Company | Best for | Key difference | Rating | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tensorway | Starting small, testing fast and adjusting headcount every... | Full-time, part-time and two-week trial options from the same AI-only provider | 4.8 | Full comparison |
| Index.dev | Startups that want their money back if the... | A refundable 30-day trial on every placement, plus direct hire | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Toptal | A few hours a week of senior AI... | Hourly or weekly booking of screened freelancers with a no-risk trial | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| deepsense.ai | Long monthly contracts with employed senior ML engineers. | Monthly access to about 120 employed AI specialists with production experience | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| Uvik Software | Knowing the rate band before the first sales... | A public rate band and squads that scale on 14 days' notice | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Azumo | U.S. buyers who need the lowest published rate... | A $25–$49 Clutch band with engineers working U.S. hours | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Quantiphi | Procurement teams that want a defined staffing product... | Elastic Staffing, a packaged staffing program built with AWS | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Vstorm | Agent engineering bought at a known rate and... | Published rate and minimum for specialist agent engineers | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Go Fractional | Startups that need a senior AI engineer for... | A marketplace built only around part-time professionals | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Globant | Enterprises that want to buy AI delivery as... | Token-metered AI Pods subscription alongside conventional staffing | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Neurons Lab | Financial firms that want flexible, short engagements with... | Network model that makes short and part-time engagements easy | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| InData Labs | A small dedicated computer vision or NLP team... | Dedicated AI teams with ten years of computer vision and NLP work | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Revelo | U.S. companies that want a Latin American AI... | No upfront fees, no long-term contract and published salary benchmarks | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Turing | Several remote AI engineers matched quickly. | Automated matching across a very large developer pool | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Tribe AI | Senior ML practitioners bought by the project. | Project and part-time access to senior practitioners | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Andela | Companies buying long-term remote engineers at lower cost,... | Monthly marketplace or managed-team buying with assessments from its Woven acquisition | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Folio3 | MLOps or vision work with a two-week trial... | Start within 48 hours plus a two-week trial | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| BairesDev | U.S. buyers who want AI and software engineers... | One contract for mixed AI and software teams in U.S. time zones | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Algoscale | Cost-focused buyers who need Python data and AI... | Onboarding within 48 hours at offshore rates | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| N-iX | Enterprises that want to move between augmentation and... | Three clearly separated engagement models with a large bench | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Svitla Systems | Coverage in both Americas and European hours under... | Two delivery regions under one staffing contract | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Data Science UA | Companies that want to choose between a recruiting... | Recruiting fee or monthly outstaffing from an AI-only recruiter | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| SciForce | Healthcare data teams buying a monthly NLP or... | Medical data science with a multi-year staffing reference | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| Brainpool AI | Academic ML depth for one defined project. | Project access to experts from leading UK universities | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| micro1 | Many contract contributors, with a short test before... | High-volume AI interviews and a one-week test | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| KORE1 | U.S. companies that want to convert a contract... | Contract-to-hire terms for AI roles in the U.S. | 3.6 | Full comparison |
| Mercor | AI labs buying short-term expert work in volume. | Volume contractor hiring with a percentage platform fee | 3.6 | Full comparison |
Pento FAQ
What is Pento?
Uruguayan ML engineers with a published rate band
How much does Pento charge?
Pento uses $50–$99/hr (clutch band); augmentation or project delivery pricing. Minimum engagement starts at $25,000+. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does Pento use?
Pento works with Python, PyTorch, scikit-learn, AWS, Google Cloud, OpenAI. Primary industries served include Retail, Fintech, SaaS, Logistics, Media.
Is Pento right for enterprise?
U.S. teams that want a nearshore ML engineer at a known mid-range rate. 10–49 team size. Key consideration: Very small team.
What are the best Pento alternatives?
The best alternatives to Pento depend on your use case. Top options are:
- Tensorway: full-time, part-time and two-week trial options from the same ai-only provider
- Index.dev: a refundable 30-day trial on every placement, plus direct hire
- Toptal: hourly or weekly booking of screened freelancers with a no-risk trial
Compare Pento with other AI Staff Augmentation providers
Verify all details directly with Pento before making a decision.