Miami has been ranked No. 22 globally among startup ecosystems, as revealed in the 2025 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) released today by Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network.
In the United States, Miami holds the 10th position against its peers.
This extensive report draws on research and insights from over 350 entrepreneurial ecosystems and 5 million startups, making it the largest quality-controlled dataset in the industry.
The 328-page document not only assesses the current state of startup activity but also includes a ranking of the top 40 global ecosystems and the top 100 emerging ecosystems that are driving innovation.
However, the report indicates a significant slowdown in growth following the pandemic surge, with ecosystem value dropping 31% globally, marking a stark deviation from prior years of sustained growth.
For the first time, the GSER introduces an AI factor that aims to track the native transitions of startup ecosystems towards artificial intelligence over time.
The findings reveal that 90% of AI funding is currently concentrated in the United States (primarily Silicon Valley) and China, suggesting that other regions must quickly adopt specific entrepreneurial AI policies or face being left behind by these two giants.
“We stand at the beginning of the AI era, one that will define the economic trajectory of nations for decades to come,” said JF Gauthier, founder and CEO of Startup Genome, within the report.
In response, Startup Genome is initiating a global entrepreneurial AI policy coalition to help support these strategic efforts.
Miami’s drop in the rankings is notable, as it fell from No. 16 in the previous year’s report.
Only 16 ecosystems in the top 40 saw an increase in their rankings.
A primary factor contributing to Miami’s decline is the significant reduction in exit activity compared to the previous year.
The ecosystem recorded only 12 exits valued at $50 million or higher, about half of the total from the 2024 report, and did not witness any billion-dollar exits.
The largest exit in 2024 was Magic Leap’s at a valuation of $450 million.
Despite this setback, Miami has shown slight improvements in areas such as funding and market reach, aided by the region’s growing connections to Latin America and Israel.
However, seed-stage deals in Miami were halved, and seed funding value dropped by 40%.
Although Series A deals faced a decrease, it was not as pronounced.
A positive note in this year’s report is Miami’s increase in late-stage investment—though there were fewer late-stage rounds, the sizes of these rounds have grown.
Specifically, late-stage funding expanded from $665 million in the prior report to $732 million.
The timeframe for the particular deals assessed in this report extended from the second half of 2022 through 2024, which included part of 2022’s record-breaking funding of $5.8 billion in the Miami area.
According to Kuester, it is more appropriate to compare current funding levels to those of 2020, given that the funding spike during COVID-19 was not sustainable, and Miami’s metrics are now aligned with those levels.
Indeed, analyses of Miami’s venture capital landscape indicate a funding surge began in 2018, with the total funding of $2.77 billion in 2024 outperforming the total achieved over the three years prior (2018, 2019, and 2020 totaled $6.5 million), although it still falls short of the 2022 figures.
Looking ahead, 2025 appears promising, with Q1 already logging $900 million in investments.
Ultimately, Kuester remarked, “it’s perhaps a bit of normalization after the hype,” reflecting trends experienced by other ecosystems.
Additional results highlight Miami’s eight active pre-exit unicorns, a figure that has grown during the pandemic, indicating robust talent within the region and demonstrable startup scalability to attract investors.
Miami continues to excel in market reach, not just within the U.S. but also extending to Latin America and beyond.
This aspect of the ranking considers the number of companies with secondary offices established in the area.
Moreover, Miami companies maintain a significant number of secondary offices in international markets, enhancing their access to customers and exposing them to innovative business models globally.
In light of this, Kuester noted that Latin American startups may increasingly seek to leverage Miami as a launching point for broader market access.
Various soft landing programs, including those from Mana Tech, Global Ventures, and CIC, have expanded locally, strengthening Miami’s status as a facilitator for startups entering the market.
Long recognized as a preferred destination for Latin American startups, Miami is also intensifying its ties with Europe, Israel, and other international markets.
“Miami was this shining light during and post COVID, so maybe it’s now back to a more normal footing—this is pretty much what the data tells us,” Kuester commented.
He added, “But this is not a doom and gloom message—Miami is number 22 in the world; my goodness!”
Nonetheless, challenges persist in the Talent & Experience category, with Miami scoring just 3 out of 10, as well as in the Knowledge category, which received a score of only 1 out of 10.
These categories often lag in younger ecosystems, though slight improvements were noted since the 2024 report.
In the Talent & Experience category, success factors include the number of significant exits, Series A funding rounds over the past decade, the volume of well-ranked developers on GitHub, and the count of STEM students enrolled in local universities.
Notably, the highest scoring factor for Miami in the Talent & Experience category was STEM access, underscoring positive contributions from local higher education institutions.
Meanwhile, the Knowledge category primarily reflects the number of patents generated by universities and corporations, as well as the output of university research.
Given Miami’s lack of elite universities compared to higher-ranking ecosystems, no substantial increase in that category was expected; however, the impact of this category is relatively minor, comprising only 5% of the overall ranking.
Encouragingly, there has been a rise in satellite university campuses—ulike Babson, Northwestern, and most recently Northeastern—which have opened recently, while other institutions are actively contemplating establishing a presence in the Miami region.
Kuester’s guidance for the Miami ecosystem emphasizes the urgency of engaging with the advancing AI sector: “Make sure you participate in the AI steam train that’s left the station. Currently, you are not that much,” he cautioned, noting that Miami received a low score of 2 out of 10 in the newly introduced AI category.
He outlined the necessity for stronger collaborations between corporate entities and startups, as well as enhanced partnerships with academia and research and development-focused companies to bolster Miami’s AI capabilities and broader economic impact.
This challenge isn’t confined to Miami; such issues are present across many ecosystems worldwide.
“It is a train that’s moving so quickly, and it’s going to hit 90% of all ecosystems around the world if you don’t take the right measures,” Kuester continued.
The GSER has been published annually since 2012, with Miami first entering the global rankings as a runner-up (tied at 36th with four other ecosystems) in 2019.
In 2020, Miami advanced to 31st, and despite experiencing momentum in 2021, the ecosystem fell off the list, ranking No. 10 on the Emerging Ecosystems list due to the rapid growth of competing ecosystems.
However, Miami rebounded in 2022, ranking 33rd among the Global Top 40, and moved up to 23rd in 2023, followed by a leap to No. 16 in 2024; it has now settled back to 22nd globally.
Additionally, Miami is recognized in the top 30 within StartupBlink’s global ranking for this year.
On the Emerging Ecosystems front, this year’s report highlighted two Florida ecosystems—Orlando and Tampa—among the Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems.
Orlando placed in the 31-40 grouping, down from the 21-30 range last year, while Tampa landed in the 51-60 group, down from the 31-40 in its previous ranking.
Orlando has now ranked on the Emerging Ecosystems list for two consecutive years and demonstrated consistent strength across categories, particularly in market reach.
Its geographic region encompasses the Space Coast, hosting numerous defense and aerospace corporations that are producing a wealth of patents, aided by local university programs such as the University of Central Florida and multiple tech-focused colleges.
For its part, Tampa, which has appeared on the Top Emerging Ecosystems list for the third consecutive year, boasts an engaged corporate community, particularly within fintech and cybersecurity sectors, supported by robust startup organizations and universities.
While Tampa scored highest in funding and knowledge categories, its performance dropped primarily due to the absence of significant exits, paralleling challenges faced by Miami.
The call to action for Miami, and indeed ecosystems around the world, is clear.
As Jonathan Ortmans, president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network, notes, “The lesson is unmistakable: The bold change the world. Ecosystems that move rapidly to develop AI-specific strategies will reap the greatest rewards. Those that hesitate risk being left behind.”
For those interested, the complete 2025 Startup Global Ecosystem Report (GSER) is available now.
image source from：https://refreshmiami.com/news/miami-ranks-22nd-in-startup-genomes-global-ecosystem-ranking-but-heed-this-ai-warning-sign/
