South Summit Brings the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem to New York to Drive New Investment Opportunities

South Summit, the global platform that fosters connection and growth within the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem and co-organized by IE University, held its first Scaleup Series in the United States on October 2 at the IE New York College campus in SoHo. The event brought together around one hundred founders, investors, and innovation leaders to promote new business opportunities and international growth.

New York, the world capital of business and entrepreneurship, became the venue for an event that has previously visited Munich, London, Paris, Milan, Lisbon, Oslo, and Brussels. Its purpose is to connect local ecosystems and expand global growth opportunities for rapidly scaling scaleups.

The day featured unicorns such as Oyster or Capchase and high-potential tech startups like Seedtag, among others. The Scaleup Series highlighted global leaders in investment, innovation, and entrepreneurship, who shared their vision of the trends that will shape the ecosystem’s future.

The opening remarks were delivered by María Benjumea, President and Founder of South Summit, and Juan José Güemes, Vice President of IE University and President of the IE Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In her opening speech, Benjumea stated: "This collaboration with IE New York College is very special and meaningful because, ultimately, the growth of scaleups is closely linked to education, knowledge, and developing leaders who can navigate an increasingly complex world. Universities and the entrepreneurial ecosystem cannot operate separately—they need each other. Education provides vision, values, tools… and entrepreneurship turns all of that into real impact, into purpose-driven innovation that goes far beyond our borders."

Benjumea also added: "The future belongs to those who dare—to innovate, to grow, to think big. That’s why we’re here in New York: to support our scaleups on that journey, to build bridges across continents, and to show—once again—that when entrepreneurship and education come together, there are no limits. The best is yet to come."

For his part, Juan José Güemes highlighted: "New York is one of the world’s leading entrepreneurship hubs, and at IE University we are proud to contribute to its dynamism with an ecosystem that connects talent, investment, and innovation. IE New York College, in the heart of SoHo, is much more than a campus: it’s a transatlantic bridge linking Europe and the United States and projecting our entrepreneurs onto the global stage. Initiatives like South Summit’s Scaleup Series not only accelerate the international expansion of startups but also multiply opportunities for collaboration and investment in the economy of the future."

The event program included discussions on:

• Unlocking Global Opportunities, with Miguel Armaza (Gilgamesh Ventures), Jenny Fielding (Everywhere Ventures), and Christian Nagel (Earlybird Venture Capital), who analyzed the main investment opportunities in emerging markets.
• Powering the Innovation Ecosystem, with Kathryn Minshew, entrepreneur and investor, and Crystelle Desnoyer, CEO of How2Scale and leader at Adobe, who shared key strategies to strengthen innovation and support startup scaling.
• Navigating Growth Across Borders, with Jack Mardack (Oyster), Miguel Fernández Larrea (Capchase), and Albert Nieto Riera (Seedtag), in a panel moderated by Juan José Güemes on the challenges of internationalizing scaleups.

The day concluded with a networking session where unicorns, startups, investors, and U.S. ecosystem experts explored new business opportunities.

Following the New York event, the Scaleup Series will continue its international tour with new editions in 2025 and 2026 in capitals such as Amsterdam, Lisbon, Paris, and London.