The return of South Florida’s international event to match VC with entrepreneurs
More international and more diverse. That’s how to sum up the latest edition of South Florida’s premier tech conference, eMerge Americas, held March 27-28 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
This year, participants came from more nations than ever: 60-plus, with central Europe’s Hungary exhibiting for the first time. A record 230-plus speakers discussed a wider range of topics than before, with a greater focus on defense tech and even a workshop helping military veterans with skills to transition to civilian careers in defense tech and other areas.
The annual eMerge conference and expo was launched in 2014, part of a push by tech promoter and entrepreneur Manny Medina to develop Southeast Florida as an international tech hub. This year, the event again attracted some 20,000 people from the Americas, Europe, and beyond. The prize for its startup pitch competition went to a venture in agriculture tech, SmArT, pitched by a co-founder from India who is pursuing her PhD at the University of Miami.
“It’s Florida’s moment to lead,” said Melissa Medina, CEO of eMerge Americas, in announcing a new partnership at the conference to boost South Florida business and the state’s economy. eMerge is joining with real estate heavyweight Stephen Ross and nonprofit business group Florida Council of 100 to expand innovation, tech, and investment in the metro area spanning Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
The conference followed a strong year for startup funding in Greater Miami and Florida. South Florida startups raised $2.77 billion last year, up 15%; ventures across all of Florida raided $4.13 billion, up 18% from their 2023 totals, according to the 2024 eMerge Insights research report. By deal value, Florida ranked 6th among states and Miami 9th among U.S. metro areas for venture capital, with fintech (27% of funding) and medtech (20% of funding) leading the way.
Here are some highlights from eMerge’s 11th annual event, which featured 126 sessions:
Speakers: Headliners included Daymond John, founder of urban clothing line FUBU and known for his role on TV show Shark Tank, who advised entrepreneurs not to seek funding too early, but instead to invest time to prove that their concept truly meets market needs. Other top speakers included Martine Rothblatt, founder of Sirius Satellite Radio and health-tech venture United Therapeutics; “El Presidente” Dave Portnoy, founder of digital-media venture Barstool Sports; Palmer Luckey, founder of defense-tech company Anduril Industries and Oculus VR; and Miami’s own Mr. 305, entertainer Armando Christian Perez, better known as Pitbull, who talked about what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Exhibitors: A record 330-plus exhibitors took part in this year’s expo, including the first booth from Hungary’s new innovation agency, featuring several Hungarian startups. South America’s tech powerhouse Chile, showcased 17 startups at its top-notch pavilion, while Israel boosted its presence to kick off the first Israel Tech Week in Miami, concurrent with the eMerge event. This year’s expo also included a new small business section; Finance giant JP Morgan Chase and tech funding group Tech Equity Miami teamed up to launch SMB Growth Lab, a six-week accelerator program that helped some 30 small businesses prepare for eMerge.
Focus areas: Artificial intelligence, health-tech and defense-tech commanded broader attention this year. Speakers saw opportunity for AI in applications ranging from early detection of Parkinson’s and movement disorders to predictive maintenance in real-estate projects.
The 12th edition of the annual eMerge conference and expo is set for April 23-24, 2026, with topics to include AI+quantum computing.
