Guest Author
In the high-stakes race between the United States and China for global technology leadership, Florida has emerged as a franchise player in America’s quest for victory. But a new study finds that onerous new regulations — both at the international level and here at home — threaten to tear Florida’s innovation muscle, undermining our national security and economic prosperity and hurting thousands of small businesses and startups in the Sunshine State.
Florida’s emergence as a high-tech powerhouse is a true success story. Over the past seven years, Florida’s net tech employment has soared by 32%, compared to just 18% in the United States overall. There are 552,995 Floridians employed in the state’s tech sector (fourth most in the United States), and Florida ranks first in the nation in the number of new tech businesses created in 2023.
Now, with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), businesses are already embracing this technology across numerous sectors of Florida’s economy, positioning the state for economic growth for decades to come. Florida’s AI activity, fueled by tech hubs like Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa and Fort Myers, an AI talent pipeline from the state’s universities and community colleges and a host of hungry startups, is creating jobs, attracting investment and developing game-changing solutions to some of society’s most pressing challenges. AI is also transforming core Sunshine State industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, health care, tourism, transportation and more.
But here’s the bad news: A recent study by my organization, the American Edge Project, using data from PitchBook, found that a growing surge of anti-innovation regulations both in the United States and globally could significantly damage Florida’s tech ecosystem, putting jobs and growth in jeopardy.
For example, aggressive proposals to limit mergers and acquisitions (M&A), pushed by both the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), could make it harder for Florida’s startups to raise capital, scale their operations, create jobs and successfully start new enterprises.
The study also highlights the importance of maintaining a regulatory environment that supports, rather than hinders, business investment activity.
Venture capital (VC) is especially crucial for tech innovation. In the past decade, Florida has been flooded with a massive $34.3 billion of VC funding to help support more than 4,880 business deals. Yet implementing anti-innovation regulations, namely Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Digital Markets Act (DMA), could not only dampen business investment but also limit the development of new and emerging technologies, which are vital for maintaining our global competitive edge.
The promising benefits of AI for Florida’s industries and education are at risk by misguided regulatory overreach. In the U.S. alone, 688 AI-related bills have been introduced to date, with 14 introduced in the Florida Legislature. This total doesn’t include the thousands of other tech-related regulations introduced in other countries worldwide.
The bottom line: Florida is a rapidly growing center of America’s technological advancement, and it would have much to lose if well-intentioned but misguided legislation were adopted.
Fortunately, the Sunshine State’s political leaders are in a prime position to inform their peers about the dangers of anti-innovation legislation and its potentially harmful effects on startups and businesses both within the state and across the country.
It is essential for both federal and state policymakers to advocate for and nurture innovation; failing to do so risks undermining our own technological progress and ceding a long-term advantage to China in the global tech competition.
___
Doug Kelly is CEO of the American Edge Project, an advocacy organization dedicated to advancing and protecting American leadership in technology and innovation.
