By Jon Swartz
Puerto Rico is gaining momentum with a growing tech scene, after decades of success as a manufacturing hub
Hurricanes, a pandemic and an earthquake can’t stop a swelling tech movement in Puerto Rico. They might have even spurred the movement.
A devastating confluence of Hurricane Maria in late 2017, COVID-19 and a rash of earthquakes that wreaked havoc on infrastructure have steeled the resolve of entrepreneurs here.
“We are a resilient economy,” said Christian Gonzalez, chief executive of Wovenware, the AI/machine-learning arm of a major U.S. space technology company.
The journey has been fraught with obstacles, both natural and man-made, but Puerto Rico is slowly gaining momentum as a place to be for tech after decades of success as a manufacturing hub for multinational companies.
In late October, the Biden administration named Puerto Rico a biotech hub for biopharmaceutical and medical-device manufacturing, making it one of 31 designated tech hubs across 32 states and U.S. territories.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and Meta Platforms Inc. (META) have also increased their presence on the island, approximately 1,000 miles southeast of Miami, as a midpoint for operations between Latin America and the U.S.
“If entrepreneurs can make it here, they can make it anywhere,” Laura Cantero, executive director of non-profit Grupo Guayacan, said in an interview. “You will…
