TAMPA, Fla. — Artificial intelligence startup founders from across Florida gathered in downtown Tampa this week as local tech leaders say the city is quickly becoming a growing hub for technology and innovation.
The summit, hosted by Embarc Collective in downtown Tampa, brought together early-stage software and AI companies from more than a dozen cities across the state to network, share ideas and discuss the future of work.
“We had 155 early-stage tech companies from 21 cities across the state of Florida apply to attend,” said Tim Holcomb, CEO of Embarc Collective.
Because of the auditorium’s size, 91 tech companies were chosen to attend the Early-Stage Venture Summit.
“We increased applications almost 300% over last year,” Holcomb told Tampa Bay 28 reporter Michael Paluska
Over the past year, Paluska has reported on the rapidly evolving industry, including the impacts of hyper-scale data centers on Florida’s natural resources and power grid.
Holcomb said Tampa’s growing startup ecosystem is attracting more founders looking to build technology companies in Florida.
“What it tells me is the words getting out, the words now getting out across the state and outside the state, across the region that Tampa Bay has the resources to support companies like the ones that are here today,” Holcomb said.
The nonprofit focuses on helping startups survive in an increasingly competitive technology industry.
“The number one reason why a startup fails isn’t because it doesn’t have enough money or it hasn’t constructed the right team. It’s because, at the end of the day, they solve a problem that nobody cares about,” Holcomb said.
Among the founders attending the summit was Ryan Bailey, co-founder and CEO of Myelai, an artificial intelligence startup focused on helping companies identify waste and improve profits.
“You can think of it like a picture of that company that moves throughout time, that essentially allows us to know and find where money is leaking and where growth is hidden, and being able to act on that,” Bailey said. “The best ways I found to use AI myself is to allow it to morph around me. And that’s kind of even how we develop. We go in. And by mapping how we do things, we can find where the value flows most in the organization. And essentially, we just enhance those people as much as possible.”
Bailey said Tampa’s expanding tech ecosystem offers opportunities difficult to find in smaller markets.
“The other thing here is, like, so I’m from Melbourne, ecosystems are way smaller, right?” Bailey said. “I mean, it’s just a completely different way of there’s so much more action happening. And with that, there’s just way more opportunities.”
“In Tampa?” Paluska asked.
“100%,” Bailey responded.
Bailey also said Tampa’s growing healthcare industry has helped his company expand.
“The specific companies that we work with in healthcare is where we’re seeing most of the fit. So having that here has been pretty, pretty huge for us,” Bailey said.
Holcomb said artificial intelligence is expected to reshape the workforce in the coming years, but believes the technology will also create new jobs.
“Those early-stage companies that will take advantage of AI in the future will likewise produce jobs in the future as well,” Holcomb said. “I think one of the things we’ve seen here at Embarc is that we have 145 early-stage tech startups in the community today, they support over 1300 jobs, all Florida-based, driving over 100 million annually in direct economic benefits to the state. So I can say with confidence, a resounding yes, that those early-stage companies that will take advantage of AI in the future will likewise produce jobs in the future as well.”
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