AI, climatetech and healthtech reign supreme on Day 1 of eMerge Americas' 10th anniversary

‘Over the last decade, we’ve been on a mission to help make Miami a global tech hub’ – Manny Medina

By Riley Kaminer and Nancy Dahlberg

eMerge Americas, the marquee event of Miami Tech Month crossed a milestone today: the 10th anniversary of their platform spreading the gospel of Miami’s tech scene far and wide. An estimated 20,000 tech enthusiasts descended upon the Miami Beach Conference Center to learn about the latest and greatest in innovation – all with a Miami twist.

“Over the last decade, we’ve been on a mission to help make Miami a global tech hub,” shared eMerge founder and chairman Manny Medina. “That can happen by bringing together all the constituencies that make that ecosystem: the universities, government, academia and companies. And the heart of eMerge Americas continues to be the startups.”

According to Medina’s daughter, eMerge CEO Melissa Medina, the organization’s impact over the last 10 years has been tangible: “We have helped generate over 10,000 jobs in our state, 81% of which are high wage jobs. And we have had over $2.6 billion in impact across our state.”

AI, climatetech, and healthtech all had a major presence at the event, especially the stream of presentations across four major stages. These were also major themes in the 110 startups with a presence in the conference’s so-called Startup Alley – all of whom are vying to make their pitch on the main stage and win an investment round from eMerge and its partners. These startups’ booths were noticeably active, with attendees eager to learn about the unique offerings that landed these companies at eMerge.

Peter Diamantis and Dr. Oz frame the day with optimism

It was an oh-so-Miami start to the day, with the futurist Peter Diamantis sharing his vision for a tech-filled world alongside interviewer and TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz.

The wide ranging conversation included Diamantis’s description of the blueprint he’s following to leverage technology to maximize his lifespan. Beyond the 70 supplements he takes on a daily basis, Diamantis is passionate about the longevity technology that is out there. “It’s about living the next five years,” he asserted, arguing that technology will improve significantly in that time, enabling those who make it to extend their lives longer than currently imaginable.

Diamantis also opined on how humans will “merge” with AI. “How will we challenge ourselves if we don’t have to struggle?” With all our free time, we need to figure out productive outlets for our energy to maintain purpose and, Diamantis hopes, try to make the world a better place along the way. “There are 2 kinds of companies at the end of this decade,” he said. “Those who are fully utilizing AI and those who are out of business.”

Equally, he underscored the idea that there is still so much we don’t know about AI. For instance in the healthcare area, years ago the consensus was that humans would play the role of the empath, with AI helping share the hard facts. “What we’ve actually learned though is that AI is more empathic – we don’t feel judged when speaking to AI.” Clearly, there’s still so much to learn.

eMerge Americas photo

The Startup Nation meets Miami

There are increasingly strong ties between Miami and Israel, the Startup Nation. These were on full display at eMerge Americas, with Israeli investors having packed a pavilion full of their country’s most interesting startups that are eyeing US expansion. The mere fact that these startups were able to make it stateside was a particularly impressive feat, as airspace in the Middle East had been closed over the weekend due to the political unrest.

One of the startups that made it is SitnStand, a company creating lift assist devices (really, the company’s name says it all). “Miami is a great space to be,” CEO Gal Goldner [pictured below] told Refresh Miami. “It made sense to enter the US market through Miami because of all the support that’s available here and the growing tech ecosystem.” SitnStand already has some presence in the US but it is looking to make a bigger splash this year.

Eyal Zor, CEO and cofounder of Airwayz, described his startup as the Waze for drones – and soon, for air taxis too. Their technology has been used by airports, seaports and cities, and most recently by the Israeli Defense Forces in wartime. With Miami expected to be one of the first US launch cities for eVTOLs, Airwayz has been in discussions with Miami-Dade County players involved in planning for the vertiports.

A panel discussion reinforced these ideas, including Israeli tech entrepreneurs active in the US, US investors doubling down on Israel, and public sector and community organizations that are actively helping all these partners come together.

One such group is FIBA, the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator. Their co-executive director, Pam Miniati shared that FIBA has worked with 90 companies, 34 of which have a presence in Florida. “I give a lot of credit to the Florida government in creating a climate in Florida that makes it welcome to these companies,” she said.

Rony Abovitz’s SynthBee partners with Miami Dade College, aiming to boost regional startup ecosystem

South Florida serial tech entrepreneur Rony Abovitz, co-founder of Mako Surgical and Magic Leap, announced at eMerge that he and his new company, SynthBee, are partnering with Miami Dade College on an innovation lab offering access to SynthBee’s technology platform, with opportunities for internships, fellowships and careers at SynthBee. The partnership will also extend beyond campus, and include collaboration with other local universities, physical-digital worlds, and more. The goal: to catalyze innovation by amplifying and supercharging ideas and new companies “to make this region one of the most interesting places for startups to happen anywhere in the world,” Abovitz said in the talk with MDC President Madeline Pumariega.

The time is now for initiatives like this, because Abovitz says AI currently is synonymous with what he calls computational autocracy. “This side of the world should be the lighthouse for computational democracy because the other coast is all about computational autocracy… giant companies hoarding all data, all the know-how, in gigantic brains. They’re going to slurp up your company and slurp up jobs. And they’re saying, don’t worry, it will all be fine. It won’t all be fine,” said Abovitz on stage during the Miami Tech Talent Coalition talk. “The company we’re building, SynthBee, is hopefully an iconic computational democracy company. No one can get to control it.”

eMerge Americas photo

Kushki co-founder and CEO shares his perspective on entrepreneurship and #MiamiTech

Ecuadorian-American serial entrepreneur Aron Schwarzkopf [pictured above] made a name for himself first for successfully exiting fintech startup Leaf to Heartland Payment Systems at the ripe age of 26. Over the last seven years, he’s been at it again: developing Kushki, Ecuador’s first unicorn (latest valued at $1.5 billion).

The company is now active in Miami, and Schwarzkopf lives here. In a talk organized by his alma mater, Babson, Schwarzkopf gave tangible advice to startups looking to follow in his footsteps. “You don’t need to be an expert to start a business,” he said. Much to the contrary, injecting a fresh perspective into a staid industry can be a competitive advantage.

Schwarzkopf painted a picture of Latin America as “the promised land” for startups, describing the “Latino Dream” that he pursued. It’s the inverse of the American Dream: finding an opportunity abroad and taking advantage of it. And in LatAm, opportunities abound. “Nothing is built yet” in the region, he asserted; yet the young population (half under age 40) is an increasingly ripe target market for international innovators.

Climatetech is warming up

eMerge Americas photo

One major track of the conference was a smattering of climatetech presentations from public sector leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs such as Kind Designs’ Anya Freeman working to save the planet by leveraging the latest and greatest tech.

Officials from Miami-Dade County in particular were very visible, including Mayor Daniela Levine Cava, Chief Innovation and Economic Development Officer Francesca de Quesada Covey, and Climate Tech and Economic Innovation Manager Galen Treuer. All three were singing the same song: Miami is at the forefront of the world’s climate woes, and we have an opportunity – and even a responsibility – to pioneer some of the solutions that will unlock climate innovation at scale.

We’re on the right path, they asserted, since the federal government has designated South Florida as one of 31 Tech Hubs – the only with focus on climate. The initiative aims to create 23,000 jobs, foster 500 startups, and upskill 3,000 workers. South Florida is currently in the process of applying for the second stage of this program, which would bring $70 million to the region.

One bit of good news for startups, de Quesada Covey noted: “This hub will open up academic and testing environments for extreme weather to startups.” This includes FIU’s Wall of Wind and UM’s wind-wave tank, among others.

“It’s about equity and resilience,” affirmed Levine Cava, underscoring the human needs at the core of any climatetech innovation or investment.

Photos here and at top of post from eMerge Americas

Stay tuned. We’ll be back Friday for Day 2 that promises keynotes by Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani, two-time NBA champion Shane Battier and of course Pitbull, the crowning of the Startup Showcase Champion (and $520K winner), and more.

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Riley Kaminer

I am a Miami-based technology researcher and writer with a passion for sharing stories about the South Florida tech ecosystem. I particularly enjoy learning about GovTech startups, cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, and innovators that leverage technology to transform society for the better. Always open for pitches via Twitter @rileywk or www.RileyKaminer.com.