{"id":181312,"date":"2026-03-06T21:59:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T21:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/181312\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T21:59:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T21:59:32","slug":"tech-hub-pulse-explores-ai-drones-and-the-future-of-south-floridas-tech-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/181312\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech Hub Pulse explores AI, drones and the future of South Florida\u2019s tech economy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Technology is moving quickly, and South Florida is determined not to be left behind.<\/p>\n

At this year\u2019s Tech Hub Pulse produced by South Florida Tech Hub<\/a> on Thursday, hundreds of founders, investors and civic leaders gathered at the Broward County Convention Center to hear how the region plans to evolve as a technology hub. During his keynote, Saif Ishoof, founder of Lab22c, took the audience back to what he described as the spark that ignited the current era: former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez\u2019s 2020 tweet, \u201cHow can I help?\u201d That four-word message helped draw significant capital to the region. As major firms such as Blackstone and Apollo Global Management established a presence in South Florida, the geography of wealth began to shift. Brickell transformed into what Ishoof described as a financial hub, while Palm Beach emerged as what he called a \u201ccontrol room for capital\u201d among limited partners.<\/p>\n

Ishoof said the days of Florida founders constantly traveling to raise capital are fading. The region now has access to investors locally, reducing the need for founders to fly to New York or Silicon Valley to secure funding.<\/p>\n

Ishoof then turned to the future, describing what he called the \u201c2026\u20132030 economic super cycle,\u201d a period when the region will shift from attracting capital to deploying it.<\/p>\n

He predicted a surge of investment in space and defense technology, noting that Florida is the only state with three combatant commands and new designations for local spaceports such as Homestead and potentially Kendall Executive Airport. With the current administration encouraging early-stage founders to reshore American supply chains, Ishoof also predicted the region could see three to five large initial public offerings within the next 60 months.<\/p>\n

Ishoof concluded by asking the audience whether South Florida would be ready if Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang \u201cpulls up tomorrow.\u201d He said the region must prepare for rapid infrastructure growth, talent recruitment and economic expansion.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, he said, the winners in this next phase will be those willing to learn and adapt to emerging technologies.<\/p>\n

\"\"Saif Ishoof, founder and CEO of Lab22c<\/p>\n

Envisioning South Florida\u2019s future<\/p>\n

Panels throughout the day explored what a more technologically advanced South Florida could look like. During the \u201cDrones: From Takeoff to Flight Transformation\u201d session, speakers discussed how drones are increasingly capable of making autonomous decisions in real time. Michael Brubaker, vice president at Skydio, described how drones are already being used as first responders. When a 911 call identifies a specific location, drones can automatically launch from docking stations and reach the scene before human responders. \u201cThey have full situational awareness on that particular event long before your men and women in blue ever show up on scene,\u201d Brubaker said.<\/p>\n

Speakers also said drones are becoming essential safety tools because they can collect large amounts of data before human crews arrive. Using thermal sensors, drones can detect heat anomalies and generate maps showing whether an area is too hot, too cold or within safe operating conditions. Because drones collect large volumes of high-definition video and live streams, Chris Nielsen, CEO of Levatas, said reviewing that data manually is no longer practical.\u201cIt doesn\u2019t even make sense for a single human or a team of humans to do all the review manually,\u201d Nielsen said. Instead, companies increasingly rely on artificial intelligence and computer vision systems to identify potential hazards and direct responders to the areas where help is needed most.<\/p>\n

Rethinking mobility in South Florida<\/p>\n

The conversation later shifted from the sky to the streets during a panel on transportation challenges across the region. Panelists said the area\u2019s current transit systems, many designed decades ago, are struggling to meet growing demand. Brian Gettinger, senior vice president of growth at Glydways, pointed to the financial imbalance within existing transit infrastructure. \u201cMiami spends over $100 million a year operating Metrorail, and they collect $13 million in fares,\u201d Gettinger said.<\/p>\n

To address these challenges, panelists highlighted several emerging mobility solutions. One concept, developed by Glydways, involves small four-to-six passenger vehicles operating on narrow guideways separated from traditional traffic. These vehicles, known as Glydcars, could transport up to 10,000 passengers per hour, comparable to heavy rail but at a lower cost, according to the company. The system uses artificial intelligence to coordinate vehicles, manage routes and prevent traffic conflicts across fleets ranging from 10 to 500 cars.<\/p>\n

Another approach comes from REGENT, which is developing all-electric \u201cseagliders,\u201d or wing-in-ground-effect vessels. These vehicles operate in what the company calls a \u201cfloat, foil, fly\u201d sequence: starting in the water, lifting above waves at low speeds and eventually flying just above the ocean\u2019s surface at speeds of up to 180 mph. Because they remain within a wingspan of the water, they are classified as maritime vessels rather than aircraft.<\/p>\n

The final concept focused on premium transportation through Blacklane, a global chauffeur service that uses technology to modernize luxury ground transportation. By integrating artificial intelligence into its operations, Blacklane automates processes such as vehicle verification and cleanliness checks to maintain service standards.<\/p>\n

\"\"Mobility Panel: from left, Maria Dominguez (eMerge Americas), Adam Triolo (REGENT), Olivia Caringi (BlackLane), Brian Gettinger (Glydways). <\/p>\n

Tools for the next phase of growth<\/p>\n

The event\u2019s final sessions focused on practical tools needed to support the region\u2019s continued growth. One panel introduced an \u201cAI Playbook\u201d for small and medium-sized employers, developed by CareerSource Broward to help businesses adopt artificial intelligence more effectively.<\/p>\n

That focus on practical execution carried into a women\u2019s leadership panel, where speakers shared strategies for advancing within the South Florida tech ecosystem. Rather than offering broad motivational advice, panelists encouraged founders to identify specific obstacles and push beyond their comfort zones to reach the next stage of growth.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the event, Imran Siddiqui, CEO of South Florida Tech Hub, said the gathering demonstrated the region\u2019s progress. \u201cToday wasn\u2019t about any one organization or individual. It was about the ecosystem,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter a two-year hiatus, the turnout and the level of leadership on display made it clear that South Florida is ready to move into its next chapter as a connected and collaborative tech community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pictured at the top of this post: Meggie Soliman (DSS Inc.),\u00a0Heather Monahan (Boss in Heels, LLC.),\u00a0Stephanie Cartin (Entreprenista),\u00a0Iman Oubou (Vocable.ai).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:<\/p>\n

\"Anayansy<\/a> I am a University of Florida graduate and Miami native who is passionate about writing stories that highlight Miami’s thriving tech ecosystem. I especially enjoy writing stories about technologies creating a social impact, digital assets, and EdTech. Have a story to share? Contact me via Twitter @anathemarketer or
[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>. \"Anayansy<\/a>Latest posts by Anayansy Hernandez (see all<\/a>) \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Technology is moving quickly, and South Florida is determined not to be left behind. At this year\u2019s Tech…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181313,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-181312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}