From defense tech to nano fertilizer, Miami proves we’re more than just beachside buzz
By Riley Kaminer and Nancy Dahlberg
It was Day 2 at eMerge Americas, and if anyone was dragging after a night of South Beach “networking,” Manny Medina made sure they perked up fast.
“Whatever you did last night never happened,” he joked, quoting Pitbull and setting the tone for another day at Miami Beach’s signature tech event. But behind the punchlines was a serious message: This conference is no longer just a local or even regional affair. It’s a global platform.
“When we launched eMerge, we wanted to build an ecosystem,” Medina told the crowd. “Today, that ecosystem has helped more than a thousand startups raise over $2 billion. We’ve had unicorns come through here. It’s working.”
Medina’s own track record – scaling a Miami tech company to a multibillion-dollar exit – gives him the credibility to say so. But the real proof is on the expo floor, where entrepreneurs from Chile to Hungary are making their bets on Miami as their U.S. beachhead.
Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner, speaking moments later, was quick to underscore the city’s transformation. “We still have the beaches and the nightlife,” he said. “But now we’re also a serious tech hub.”
[Catch up quick: Find our Day One eMerge Americas coverage here.]
Palmer Luckey, defense tech, and a wake-up call for the West
What do you get when you put a defense subcommittee congressman on stage with a billionaire founder who was once labeled the most controversial man in tech? At eMerge Americas, it turns out the answer is a surprisingly frank – and often funny – conversation about national security, global power shifts, and why the U.S. needs to rethink how it builds for the future.
Palmer Luckey, best known for founding Oculus and selling it to Facebook for $2 billion before the age of 25, now leads defense tech company Anduril Industries. Unlike traditional contractors, Anduril builds and funds its own products first, then brings them to government – flipping the typical model on its head. “Our job is to make products that work, not do work,” Luckey said. “It’s a crazy idea in defense, but normal in every other industry.”
Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, who sits on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, pressed Luckey on his motivations. Why defense? Why now?
“Because it matters,” Luckey said. “It’s the hardest customer in the world, but it’s worth it. If we’re not building for our own security, who will?”
The discussion ranged from U.S.-China relations to the future of software-powered warfare. Luckey warned that while America still holds an edge, its lead is shrinking. “We used to have decades-long advantages in hardware. That’s gone. Today, software is where we can still pull ahead, if we move fast.”
Luckey also didn’t shy away from criticism. “There are a lot of smart people in Silicon Valley who bent over backwards for China,” he said. “They thought peace was permanent, that war was over. Ukraine and Israel should’ve been the wake-up call.”
Luckey called for a renewed national focus – not just on spending, but on speed, innovation, and scale. “You don’t win a war with white papers. You win with what’s actually on the shelves when it counts.”
From Santiago to Budapest, a global expo with local sunshine
White papers aside, you’d be forgiven for mistaking the eMerge Americas expo floor for a miniature United Nations. With startups pitching in Spanish, Hungarian, and more than a few accents in between, this year’s event is a reminder that Miami is becoming a global launchpad.
One of the nations leading the international charge is Chile, which, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, ranks as the best environment for entrepreneurs in Latin America. That’s more than just a data point here: Chile brought 17 startups to eMerge, the largest delegation from any one country, complete with a sleek pavilion and a steady stream of curious passersby.
“eMerge is the platform that lets us show the world all Chile has to offer,” said Claudia Serrer, Chile’s trade commissioner in Miami. “For me, it’s the heart of Miami.”
That’s no small compliment from a country that’s all about exporting (especially services) and sees the U.S. as its top market. More Chilean ventures are choosing Miami as their North American base, like BH Compliance and Solubag, looking to grow beyond their home turf of 20 million people.
Not everyone’s eyeing the U.S. though. Carlos Palma, CEO of fintech Cler Ticket, said the company is using eMerge to connect with partners in Peru and elsewhere in the region. “We’re a small, very isolated country, so to grow, we need to look outward, and we need to innovate.”
That same outward mindset is alive and well a continent away in Hungary. Just a year after launching its Innovation Agency, the Central European country is making its eMerge debut with five startups and big plans. “We want to put Hungary on the innovation map,” said Barbara Balazs [pictured below], who helps run export development for the new agency.
One of the newcomers is EV.analytica, a software startup focused on simplifying EV charging experiences. Co-founder Zoltan Papp is enjoying his first taste of eMerge… and the weather. “It’s lovely, coming from weather in Budapest – about 10 degrees Centigrade (50 degrees Fahrenheit) and always raining,” he said. “And compared to European conferences, it’s so welcoming and friendly.”
Stephen Ross and Melissa Medina announce new initiative to connect Miami and West Palm Beach as Florida’s innovation corridor
This year’s event saw the launch of a high-powered partnership between eMerge, Related Ross, and the Florida Council of 100. The goal? To solidify Southeast Florida’s position as the nation’s go-to entry point for global capital, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
eMerge Co-Founder Melissa Medina and Related Chairman Stephen Ross shared the vision: a business corridor running from Miami to West Palm Beach, backed by infrastructure, universities, accelerators, and corporate support. “It’s Florida’s moment to lead,” Medina said, highlighting a record $2.77 billion in venture capital activity across South Florida in 2024 alone.
Ross, a native Floridian who returned to the state during COVID, compared the region to an East Coast version of Silicon Valley. “When you look at it, Miami is probably the most exciting city in the country right now,” he said.
Plans are already underway, including new graduate programs from Vanderbilt University, a Cleveland Clinic hospital and research center, and nearly 3 million square feet of Class A office space led by Related. The full corridor will be backed by both public and private stakeholders, and Medina teased that the initiative may soon have an official name.
SmArT takes top prize at eMerge startup pitch competition
The final spotlight of eMerge 2025 belonged to SmArT, an early-stage agriculture tech startup based in Miami, which won this year’s startup pitch competition. Co-founder Shruti Choudhary, a PhD student at the University of Miami, delivered a pitch that wove together personal story, global food security, and hard science.
Her company’s patented nano fertilizer technology claims to boost crop yields by up to 80% while cutting fertilizer use by up to 45x. The product has already seen field validation, including support from the Illinois Farm Bureau, and is being positioned as a sustainable solution for large-scale farming operations – starting with trials in Florida.
“I started this because of my grandfather, a farmer,” Choudhary said during her pitch. “At SmArT, we’re making agriculture sustainable, scalable, and viable.”
SmArT was one of five finalists. Other contenders included Realfinity, another Miami-based company, offering embedded mortgage solutions for real estate agents, and MRGN, which helps restaurants increase profit margins in real time. RxPharmacist and Arovia rounded out a competitive field spanning medtech, hardware, and edtech. They were all part of the 100 startups selected to compete and exhibit at the conference, out of a pool of 1,300 applicants, eMerge said.
Mr. 305’s message to founders: Bet on yourself
You can’t really close out a Miami tech conference without a mic drop from Mr. Worldwide. On day two, Pitbull (a.k.a. Armando Christian Pérez) hit the eMerge stage with his usual energy, humor, and unmistakable Miami swagger. But beyond the charisma, he delivered a message founders in the room clearly needed to hear.
“To all the entrepreneurs out there… the best bet you can ever make is bet on yourself. Bet on your business. Bet on your goals,” he said. “Why dream when you can live it?”
From talking about the evolution of tech in music to his work expanding SLAM charter schools across the U.S., Pitbull made one thing clear: the grind doesn’t stop, and neither does the city that raised him. Miami, he said, has always been underestimated – but that’s what gives it its edge.
And before walking off stage? One last reminder: “What happens in Miami… never happened.”
A few more scenes of eMerge Americas 2025:
Doreen Hemlock contributed to this report.
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