MIAMI TO BECOME THE NEXT SILICON VALLEY
Francis Suarez’s 2017 mayoral run agenda did not include building the next Silicon Valley in Miami but this December, venture capitalist Delian Sparouhov suggested on Twitter that the tech industry relocate to Florida. Suarez immediately responded, “How can I help?”
How can I help? https://t.co/hIC1k8ka1i
— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) December 5, 2020
Last month, Oracle announced it is moving its corporate headquarters to Austin, Texas. Places like Boulder, Colorado, and of course, Miami have been on the radar for Tech Giants. Tech leaders are steering away from cities like San Francisco. Many have spread across the country to locations with lower taxes, more moderate lockdowns, and where the cost of living is lower to help them pay employees at a lower price.
“It’s become this virtual meeting place where new founders, venture capitalists, and even engineers … are completely rallying around this sort of marketing campaign,” Suarez said. “It’s something that’s created a tremendous amount of momentum for our city that we’re going to capitalize on.”
As a plan to improve the lives of current Miami residents who lie a quarter below the poverty line, Claure and Suarez announced that SoftBank would invest $100 million in Miami-based startups. “I don’t know another way to try to deal with income inequality than actually having entrepreneurs and inventors creating the kind of jobs that allow your residents to be successful and provide for their families,” Suarez told WIRED.
“My job is… to make sure people understand this is not a moment. This is a movement,” he said. “We’re going to continue to do everything we can to attract the entrepreneurial and intellectual class of our country to Miami to create high-paying jobs in a city like ours that wants to continue to grow.”
So could Miami become the next Silicon Valley? Well, it is certainly possible, but the sunny shore has a long way to go. Miami would need to improve its’ large-scale public transit and establish tech hubs in health care and education. While Suarez may be able to bring the hype, it’s not promised that he will be able to bring in the changes the tech industry will demand, but fingers crossed.
