For all the excitement surrounding artificial intelligence, plenty of businesses are still struggling with a basic question: What exactly are we supposed to do with it?
Miami entrepreneur Ja’dan Johnson thinks he has an answer. And now, he has some serious backing to put it into practice.
Terminal, a global engineering company co-founded by Palantir and 8VC co-founder Joe Lonsdale, Atomic founder Jack Abraham, and Terminal’s CEO Dylan Serota, has acquired Johnson’s Miami-based AI startup Stationed. The deal will form the foundation of Terminal AI, a new division focused on helping midmarket companies put artificial intelligence to work.
Johnson, who founded Miami Hack Week, will lead the division, overseeing engineers who work directly with businesses to develop and deploy AI systems. “I’m excited to keep doing this work,” he told Refresh Miami, “and being able to do it at scale.”
Rather than advising companies on what AI might accomplish, Terminal AI plans to send engineers into organizations to build working solutions. These so-called “forward-deployed engineers” will work alongside company leaders to identify opportunities, automate processes, and integrate AI agents into daily operations.
For Johnson, the initial seeds for the acquisition were sewn through organic conversations with executives who were eager to understand AI but unsure how to apply it.
He began organizing workshops to introduce business leaders to emerging AI tools while quietly building Stationed, which had already deployed AI agents for companies across several industries.
Eventually, Johnson connected with Terminal’s leadership, including Serota, and realized their businesses could complement one another.
Stationed had the technical expertise and relationships with executives. Terminal, founded in 2017, had an established global infrastructure for recruiting and managing engineering talent. After roughly a month of conversations and collaboration, the companies decided to join forces.
The move also represents another chapter in Johnson’s relationship with Miami’s technology community. Originally from Jamaica, Johnson spent years organizing developer events before moving to South Florida. He subsequently founded Miami Hack Week, which brought thousands of technologists and entrepreneurs together and attracted support from investors and companies including Atomic, Founders Fund, and SoftBank.
Now, he hopes to build something with a more permanent footprint.
Terminal AI currently has approximately 10 employees, with another 10 positions open. Johnson said the company was actively recruiting engineers in Miami to work from its Wynwood office.
“We’re going to keep hiring,” Johnson asserted.
Beyond expanding the team, Johnson sees an opportunity to influence how businesses operate as AI becomes increasingly capable.
“I think many people are starting to realize what AI means for their businesses and their teams, and we get to help companies answer this big question of what comes next,” he said.
He’s particularly interested in serving midmarket businesses, which he believes have received relatively little attention in the broader conversation about enterprise AI.
For Johnson, joining Terminal provides the resources to expand a business model that can otherwise be difficult to scale, while remaining close to the companies implementing the technology.
And with a growing team in Wynwood, Miami will have a front-row seat as those ideas move from workshops and experiments into the workplace.
Pictured above: Ja’dan Johnson, left, who founded Stationed and now will run the Terminal AI division, and Terminal CEO Dylan Serota.
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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.
