The next phase of Puerto Rico’s economy is underway
A new generation of companies is helping shape Puerto Rico’s next phase, building capabilities in emerging industries and expanding the island’s role in the global economy.
By Invest Puerto Rico
A quiet transformation is underway in Puerto Rico’s economy, and it is not being driven only by the usual players. A new generation of companies is beginning to define it.
For decades, the island’s economic story has been closely tied to large multinational companies, especially in advanced manufacturing and life sciences. That foundation remains essential. But alongside it, another layer of growth is taking shape: a new wave of small and midsize companies is choosing Puerto Rico and helping define the next phase of the island’s economy.
These companies are not simply entering established sectors. They are expanding what is possible, introducing new capabilities across artificial intelligence, defense technology, human-centered engineering, and advanced aquaculture. In doing so, they are driving innovation, strengthening local expertise, and creating new opportunities across talent, infrastructure, and supply chains.
Players like Topdoerr, a company developing applied AI solutions from Puerto Rico. Its technology helps businesses forecast demand, optimize operations, and identify risks across industries such as e-commerce, aviation, and fuel distribution. Its acceptance into NVIDIA Inception signals that the company is building globally relevant technology from the island. At the same time, it is helping accelerate the development of a local AI ecosystem by creating demand for specialized talent and connecting advanced tools with more traditional sectors.
In another highly specialized field, iTerra Solutions is helping position Puerto Rico within defense technology and electronic warfare. The company develops tools that detect and analyze radiofrequency signals, the backbone of many security and defense systems. Its work ranges from identifying unauthorized devices to helping protect critical infrastructure and interpret potential threats across the electromagnetic spectrum. Originally founded in Virginia, iTerra later moved to Puerto Rico, drawn by talent, quality of life, and opportunity for growth.
Puerto Rico is also becoming a platform for advanced, knowledge-based services tied to innovation. Aptima, a firm dedicated to human-centered engineering, is expanding on the island with expertise at the intersection of technology and human performance. The company works on complex challenges related to training, decision-making, and system design, often in highly technical environments. Its presence reflects a broader shift: the island is attracting not only production, but also high-value engineering and specialized services that are increasingly critical to modern industries.
Meanwhile, Cultimar Technologies is building a different kind of industry altogether. Inside a 30,000-square-foot facility, the company is producing fresh fish through land-based aquaculture systems. The model reduces dependence on imports, strengthens supply resilience, and introduces a more technology-driven approach to food production, with ambitions to serve both Puerto Rico and the wider Caribbean.
Individually, these companies are promising ventures. Collectively, they represent something larger: the early formation of Puerto Rico’s next generation of industry. In areas where ecosystems were largely nonexistent just a few years ago, new value chains are now taking shape, driven by companies that are hiring specialized talent, collaborating with research institutions, and reactivating underutilized infrastructure.
They are not growing in a vacuum. Puerto Rico has built a more robust entrepreneurial platform than many outsiders realize. The island attracted more than $520 million in startup investment in 2022 and has recorded more than 120 funding rounds since 2020. At the center of that ecosystem is Parallel18, whose programs for international and local founders have supported more than 600 startups across 17 countries.
Around it, a more intentional talent pipeline is taking shape. Universities such as the University of Puerto Rico are working more closely with entrepreneurs and early-stage companies to develop the commercial, technical, and applied skills these industries require. The result is an ecosystem that not only attracts new ventures but also actively builds the workforce needed to sustain and grow them.
A notable part of this shift is who is driving it. Many of these companies are led by Puerto Ricans who studied or built their careers abroad and are now returning with technical expertise and global networks. Their decision to build in Puerto Rico reflects a growing confidence in the island’s ability to compete and win in emerging industries, combining global ambition with the advantages of operating within a U.S. jurisdiction and direct access to the mainland market.
Puerto Rico’s economic foundation is entering a new phase, one shaped not only by global corporations but by a new generation building what comes next.
Invest Puerto Rico
www.investpr.org/why-puerto-rico
InvestPR works to elevate Puerto Rico as a world-class business destination.Our mission is to promote Puerto Rico as a competitive investment jurisdiction to attract new business and capital investment to the island. Our vision is to be a transformational and results-oriented accelerator of economic development in Puerto Rico.
