Thousands of people gathered at the Miami Beach Convention Center Thursday to attend the opening day of the eMerge Americas conference.
Approximately 20,000 people registered to attend the two-day event, making it eMerge's biggest year to date. Launched in 2014, the conference connects technology entrepreneurs, investors, venture capital firms and more with the goal of transforming Miami into the tech hub of the Americas.
The 2023 conference kicked off with a keynote conversation Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion who retired earlier this year from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He discussed his career in professional football and pivot to entrepreneurship in a discussion with eMerge CEO Felice Gorordo and President Melissa Medina.
While the conference expects to host plenty of heavy hitters local to the Miami region — including Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the work being done at eMerge can boost the state's rising star in the startup world.
"[Tampa and Miami] ... we're different but we're very complementary and very collaborative," Gorordo said in an interview with Tampa Bay Inno. "They have different attributes but we're all very like-minded; we truly want to transform the Sunshine State into the startup state. We've got a lot to learn from each other, share our lessons learned and find ways to fulfill that common mission."
Check out the photo gallery to take a look inside the event.
