A Quiet Revolution: Martin Curzio and Eldes’ Journey to Transform Sign Language Education

Martin and Fabian Curzio, Co-Founders of Eldes

When Martin Curzio decided to take a risk that would change his life, and ultimately the lives of many others, the world was in lockdown. Businesses shattered, uncertainty filled every conversation, and on his personal journey he was about to become a father. But instead of stepping back, he and his brother Fabian stepped into the unknown and built something extraordinary.

Today, Eldes is helping thousands around the world learn sign language through a revolutionary AI platform, winning international acclaim including “Most Innovative EdTech Solution” at the Global EdTech Startup Awards, opening doors that had long been shut for the Deaf community.

How to Sign for “Vanilla Ice Cream”?

It all started, as many impactful ventures do, with a simple question: why was it so hard for hearing people to learn sign language?

Fabian Curzio had definitely tried. Motivated by a personal goal, he enrolled in a sign language course only to encounter endless barriers, as Martin described:

“The main problem was that if you wanted to learn sign language, the only way was to go to an institute at night. And if you couldn’t find one close to where you lived, or you didn’t have time, you couldn’t learn.”

Around the same time, Martin witnessed a deaf child struggling to order an ice cream at a fast-food restaurant, unable to communicate with the staff and causing true frustration for both the child and the server. That frustration, that moment of silent helplessness, planted the first seed.

Children in Uruguay Learning to Sign with Eldes

A Leap of Faith and an Open Door

Neither Martin nor Fabian came from a background in AI or education. Martin was an architect. Fabian worked in media and production. But they knew the world needed a better solution for individuals with hearing disabilities. They set off, in the middle of the pandemic, with no guarantees or clear roadmap and started their startup journey. They hired a small team of developers who were willing to try to build a system that could detect sign language with a camera. It was a gamble, fueled by their personal savings and blind faith. If the technology failed, they would lose everything. “It was a huge risk”. Marin shared. “I was about to be a dad. I didn’t know if this would work. But we decided to bet everything on the idea.”

As every entrepreneur knows, the journey is never a smooth one. “The first version could only recognize an open hand and numbers one to five”. Martin recalled. “It wasn’t impressive, but it was a start. It gave us enough to get a government grant and keep going.” mThey began building the platform that could do something no traditional classroom ever could: offer real-time feedback to sign language learners, detecting hand shapes, positioning, and even correcting mistakes instantly with accurate feedback.

Uruguay as the Perfect Test Bed

From those humble beginnings, Eldes grew. Launching first in Uruguay, a small country of just 3 million people, gave the team an unexpected advantage. In a small market, every user’s feedback was heard, analyzed, and implemented. “We launched Uruguay in March 2023”, Martin remembers, “and in that year, we thought we had a really, really good product. Obviously we didn't.” But thanks to their first users, mistakes could be made on a small, survivable scale. When early users complained that the platform didn’t correct mistakes or mis-identified hand gestures, the team listened, and taught the AI to not just validate, but actively teach.

Even in that early stage, the impact was already clear. One of the most moving examples of Eldes’ impact comes from a school in Uruguay. Students aged ten and eleven, none of them Deaf, spent a year learning sign language using Eldes. By the end of the program, they had transformed. In addition to Sign Language, they learned patience, resilience, problem-solving, teamwork and empathy. They had planned and coordinated to greet their parents in sign language during their end-of-year celebration, an act that went far beyond coursework.

"They didn't sound like 10-year-olds anymore," Martin recalls. "They sounded like young adults who understood what it means to truly communicate with another person."

While Eldes has secured corporate clients and partnerships with government agencies to train teachers and public servants, it’s these moments, the silent conversations that never could have happened before, that drive the team forward.

By the end of 2024, Eldes expanded into Argentina and then Spain. Today, it serves thousands across Latin America and Europe and is growing its impact to bridge the hearing and Deaf communities. 

The Impact of Winning the Global EdTech Startup Awards

Winning “Most Innovative EdTech Solution” at the 2024 Global EdTech Startup Awards and becoming the first Latin American startup to achieve this honor was, Martin admits, unexpected. "We were used to seeing startups from the U.S. or Europe win these awards. We thought, we’re just a small bootstrapped company from Uruguay, what’s the chance?" But their authenticity, innovation, and social impact shone through.

The recognition has already started to open new doors. Google and other major companies have approached Eldes for contracts and pilots. Government entities in Uruguay and Spain are in discussions for wider deployment. Invitations are coming from global organizations, including UNESCO. The GESAWards truly opened doors for Eldes on their path for global success. 

Yet Martin remains grounded. He knows that raising venture capital, while important, is not the only metric of success, and to startups contemplating whether to apply to the GESAwards, Martin’s advice is simple: go for it. 

"You never know what’s going to happen. Forget about how much money you raised. Forget about where you’re from. If you have a good product, if you’re creating real impact, go for it. Great things are about to happen."

What the Future Holds for Eldes and Sign Language Education

Looking ahead, Eldes is expanding globally and piloting a bold new feature: making self-service points in banks, hospitals, and public offices accessible to the Deaf community by enabling communication with machines through sign language. A Deaf person could simply sign to a kiosk and get the help they need without waiting for human translation.

For Martin, the vision is clear. “I am dreaming of a world where a deaf customer can walk into a fast-food restaurant, a hospital, a university, and be understood. Where every hearing person knows enough sign language to say: "Hello. How can I help you?" or “Would you like an Ice Cream cone?” It’s a vision that is beginning to become very real with the work of Eldes. 

Martin and Fabian Curzio and Eldes prove that sometimes, in the silence of uncertainty, the most powerful voices emerge.