By: Mark Wilson, President & CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce & Foundation
Florida is on the cusp of something extraordinary. With the right investments, partnerships, and vision, Florida not only has the potential to accelerate its impressive growth, but to be a global leader as well.
We already have the nation’s third-largest population, a fast-growing economy, and a globally recognized quality of life. But to truly futureproof Florida’s economy, we go beyond maintaining momentum…we must super fuel it through increased investments in innovation, technology, and economic diversification.
The 2025 Florida Technology & Innovation Solution Summit, presented by the Florida Chamber Foundation, arrives at a pivotal moment. This summit is one of Florida’s premier gatherings of experts, a high-level working session to identify barriers, spark collaboration, and fast-track the strategies needed to make Florida one of the most competitive, diversified economies in the world.
While Florida has a strong foundation of agriculture and consistently, we’ve been successfully diversifying our economy, automation, artificial intelligence, and global competition are reshaping the economic landscape. States and nations that invest in innovation, advanced manufacturing, venture capital, research and development, cutting-edge AgTech, and talent development will thrive. Those that do not risk being left behind.
The Florida 2030 Blueprint lays out bold and measurable goals:
These goals are not only aspirational, they are also achievable economic imperatives. But only if we take deliberate, coordinated, and focused action now.
That’s why the Solution Summit matters. It brings together business leaders, economic developers, educators, policymakers, and entrepreneurs from across Florida to ask the hard questions: What can make Florida more attractive to investors, founders, and high-growth companies? How do we better align education with emerging industries? Where are the missed opportunities for businesses to collaborate with university R&D?
These aren’t just theoretical discussions. They’re about real results from training students in quantum computing and aerospace to help startups scale and attracting talent to Florida’s cities and rural counties alike.
Take manufacturing, for example, where we’ve seen recent site selection investments in Florida from Williams International, Point Blank Enterprises, HOLON, and so many others. With the right workforce pipelines, incentives, and infrastructure, Florida will be the magnet for reshoring advanced manufacturing jobs. Or consider research and development: our universities and research institutions are already producing world-class discoveries. By strengthening public-private partnerships like those between Tampa General Hospital and USF, and increasing access to venture capital, we can turn those discoveries into patents, products, and prosperity.
And when it comes to startups, Florida is rising fast. We’re already the top state for new business formation. But we must ensure that entrepreneurs—especially in underserved communities—have access to the capital, mentorship, and talent they need to scale, by tapping into networks throughout our state like the Florida Small Business Development Center, Tampa Bay Wave, and Embarc Collective.
This moment requires collaboration, not silos. Innovation doesn’t live in just one sector; it lives at the intersection of education, technology, policy, and capital. The Summit is designed to be that intersection. It’s where ideas become blueprints and relationships become partnerships that keep the movement to make Florida the innovation capital of the world going nonstop.
When we succeed, the benefits are immense: high-wage jobs, global investment, resilient supply chains, and a diversified economy that can weather any storm. Florida has natural advantages. We now have the strategy. What we need is collective action.
Let’s build the future Florida deserves, defined not by yesterday’s successes but by bold innovation, inclusive growth, and global competitiveness.