The Year Ahead — Miami’s Renaissance | by Felice Gorordo | Aug, 2022

Since 2014, eMerge Americas has been leading the charge to transform Miami into a global tech hub, and there has never been a more exciting time to be part of the incredible South Florida tech ecosystem. According to a recent article by the Wall Street Journal, “Miami has ‘caught a wave’ and [has become] the hot new tech hub”. Miami is now #1 in the nation for tech job growth and migration with 300,000 people moving to our great state during the pandemic, and we have led the nation in net income migration gaining $20 billion from 2019–2020 (WSJ).

Furthermore, our tech ecosystem continues to flourish. In 2021, South Florida-based companies raised $5.3 billion in venture capital (2021 eMerge Insights) solidifying its position once again as a top 10 startup community in the United States with Miami claiming 75% of the state’s venture capital take in dollars. As I was quoted in Fortune Magazine, “Miami is going through a renaissance at all levels, but especially in terms of technology.”

This past April, we all experienced first-hand at the 7th Annual eMerge Americas Conference & Expo how when the entire Miami tech ecosystem comes together, magic happens. We are thrilled to share that a record-breaking 20,000 attendees from 53 countries and 44 states, 200 speakers and 250+ sponsors and exhibitors convened at eMerge Americas 2022.

Since its inception, eMerge Americas has stood as an advocate on behalf of the entire Miami tech ecosystem by putting diversity, equity and inclusion at the forefront and we believe representation starts with us. We are proud to share that over 40% of speakers on our stages were women and over 65% identified as a minority, which was mirrored in our attendee ratios.

And our work is just getting started.

eMerge Americas’ plans for the upcoming 2022–2023 season (you can find our prospectus here) will add more events, activations, year-round programming and content than ever before. We are doubling down on our commitment to convene all major stakeholders, connect the dots between talent and capital, and be the platform to share the inspiring stories of Miami tech with the world.

We’ve listened to the feedback of our partners, attendees and sponsors, and we have developed several new initiatives to further strengthen and support the welcoming and ever-growing tech community here in South Florida. Opportunities abound for everyone to get involved and we look forward to partnering with all of you.

Beginning in October and running through February, eMerge Americas will once again kick off our eMerging Markets Roadshow, bringing the eMerge brand to four select cities in the US and four in Latin America. These one- and two- day stops connect us with amazing startups, founders and investors. Through special programs and pitch competitions, we will recruit the best-in-class to compete with 100 startups in our Global Startup Showcase 2023 at the eMerge Americas Conference.

Also starting this October is a new three-part series dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion in tech. These three, unique events will celebrate Hispanic, women and Black entrepreneurs and community leaders creating opportunities for the entire Miami tech ecosystem to come together, network, share and give back to the community through some remarkable charity endeavors. The series includes; Celebrar (October), Black History Month (February) and Women in Tech (March).

Leveraging the excitement around Art Basel, November 30, 2022, eMerge Americas is partnering once again with Florida Funders & Carve Communications to host the second annual, exclusive event named La Casa. This one-day, invite-only event is designed for founders and investors to connect, converse and collaborate providing unique access to institutional investors, Family Offices, VCs, angel investors and a contingent of the most successful startup founders.

Additionally, we are growing our digital media footprint to stay in touch with the Miami Tech ecosystem year-round and we are adding several new digital initiatives to our portfolio. This past April we launched the eMerge Magazine, which will publish bi-annually both digitally and in print (October & April). The fact that our community is booming with talent and innovation is no accident, and eMerge Magazine is capturing our growth through compelling data, interviews, and business profiles.

Our revamped YouTube channel is now complete with playlists of our featured Main Stage sessions from the conference, inspiring videos, a new POVs series and more to come! Furthermore, we have taken social media by storm with new content and insights along with special features from our award-winning weekly newsletter, The BRIEF.

Finally, eMerge Americas 2023 will once again anchor Miami Tech Month along with hosting MiamiTechMonth.com. Last year, over 100 events took place during #MiamiTechMonth with $200 million invested in South Florida startups. We cannot wait to see how much more we can do in 2023. The eyes of the tech world were watching Miami this past April. Those who came, experienced magic; those who watched from afar, heard the story of our incredible rise.

Looking ahead to #MiamiTechMonth 2023, eMerge Americas will host its well-known Hackathon, along with a Miami Tech Hiring Fair, 5K Innovation Run, a community-wide Beach Clean-Up event, the eGov Summit and our tentpole event, the eMerge Americas Conference & Expo on April 20–21, 2023 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

As the South Florida tech community continues to evolve, we at eMerge Americas are committed to growing with you to remain the destination of choice for our tech ecosystem. We look forward to partnering with you in the year ahead on multiple fronts!