This week @ The LAB.

OpenDoor, a Builder on Big Bike, and Meetups Aplenty.

Author

Daniel Lafuente
August 25, 2026

Weekly roundup

Welcome back team and Happy Tuesday!


ICYMI in recent tech news:

Between mega-rounds cementing data infrastructure dominance (Databricks) and hardware acceleration quietly rewriting the economics of enterprise AI pipelines, the narrative is moving fast.

Add to that the late-stage IPO engine showing signs of life (with Oura eying a massive listing and Hugging Face in the crosshairs) and public-market appetite for real tech revenue is back in focus. Weren't there others? Oh yeahhhhh

Closer to home, TIME’s list of top US incubators and accelerators dropped, and South Florida was conspicuously missing. A quick skim through the list and a once over on the (convenient) methodology still leave me scratching my head. But it’s a candid reminder that building a sustainable tech hub takes more than attracting high impact founders, investors, and capital. It’s also about the need to double down on the homegrown support systems that turn early ideas into scalable institutions. Which reminds me.

Any who, lets take a look at what's on the docket at the LAB this week...

Danny

Meet the Builder

Serge Leon

Sergio “Serge” Leon is a Miami-based technologist, engineering leader, and community builder focused on software, AI, and open-source technology.
He serves as CTO at Extendly and co-hosts hello_miami, including its Hack Night community for local builders. A longtime software engineer and product builder, his work spans AI-driven architectures, developer tools, technical leadership, and strengthening Miami’s grassroots technology community.
Sergio's latest startup, Ingenio Ventures, empowers Cuban entrepreneurs to build a future for themselves through online commerce.

Fun fact:
Serge rides a blue "tall" bike around Miami that gives him a fantastic view 8 feet in the air. Drivers and visitors around Wynwood and Downtown Miami are often surprised at the sight and almost always ask "how do you get on that thing!!??", to which Serge usually responds: "carefully!"


“I believe Miami has everything it needs to be a first-class global tech hub. My mission is to bridge the gap between "sun & fun" and "serious engineering" by fostering a community of builders who hold themselves to the highest standards.”

Serge
Want to learn more about Serge?
Do you have what it takes to be our next builder spotlight?
Upcoming Events

MAIN EVENT

Wednesday, August 26th | 6-9 PM

Fireside 305 × Opendoor

An Unscripted Conversation with CEO Kaz Nejatian

Fireside 305 with Opendoor CEO Kaz Nejatian 🔥

Miami engineers, and engineers who want to be in Miami: Opendoor is hosting Fireside 305 on Aug 26 at The LAB Miami in Wynwood.

The LAB has been a collision point for Miami's builders, helping the city's startup tech ecosystem grow since 2012.

Kaz Nejatian, our CEO, will take questions on re-founding and scaling Opendoor. Chintan Parikh (Head of Eng) and Eyal Klein (Head of Data) will go into the technical calls behind it.

Considering Miami but not here yet? We're flying down a handful of standout engineers who want to make the move. Mention it when you register.

The Lab | Wednesday, August 26th | 6-9 PM

Wednesday, August 26th

We Create: Women AI Build Night

Build, Create & Connect: An AI Hack Night for Women ✨

​Join us for an evening of learning, making, and connecting with women who want to build with AI.

Think of this like a “hack night” but you don’t need to be a coder (great if you are!). You can ideate, design, and build with AI-first or AI-enabled platforms.

​Who should come: Women builders, makers, designers, founders, and anyone excited about creating with AI. No experience necessary.

​How you participate: Create something, be a test user for others, give constructive feedback, introduce collaborators or resources, and help build a stronger community of women in tech and creativity in Miami. Let’s learn from each other!

The Dock | Wednesday, August 26th | 6-9 PM

Wednesday, August 26th

5th Miami Hardware Meetup @ The DOCK

Miami Hardware Meetup: Build, Demo & Connect 🔧

​Bring your latest build, bring your curiosity, and come find your people. 

​Hardware Meetups happen across 50+ cities around the world, bringing together hardware professionals to network, share knowledge, and support each other and the larger hardware ecosystem.

​Agenda:

6:30 - 7:00: Arrival + Welcome Drinks + Snacks
7:00 - 7:15: Opening Remarks
7:15 - 8:00: Networking + Demos
8:00 - 9:30: Mix & mingle

The Dock | Wednesday, August 26th | 6:30-9:30 PM

Thursday, August 27th

The Product Collective: 0-to-1 / Building from Scratch

From Zero to One: Building Products When There’s No Playbook 🚀

This month, The Product Collective is digging into the messiest, most exciting phase of product work: taking an idea from zero to one. Our panelists have lived it, validating (and killing) early concepts, shipping v1s with duct tape and conviction, and figuring out what to build when there's no playbook to follow.

Whether you're a PM scoping a new bet inside a larger company, a designer or developer building something from scratch, or a founder-curious operator, you'll leave with tactics you can put to work Monday morning.

The Lab | Thursday, August 27th | 6:30-9:00 PM

Weekly Meetups

Tuesday, September 1st

Hack night v0.169

Hello_miami's weekly hack night is back in Wynwood

Every Tuesday at 6:30pm. Hardware people, software engineers, and exited founders showing up to ship side projects and learn new tech together.
Someone from the community does a lightning demo each week. Five to ten minutes of showing what they have been building and getting live feedback from the room.

See you next week!