5 things to know in #MiamiTech: New arrival, Plum expands, Novo scales, opportunity knocks

1

Digital payments company moving in, with incentives

ACI Worldwide, a global digital payments firm,  is relocating its HQ to Coral Gables.
ACI Worldwide Corp. signed a lease for office space last month after Miami-Dade County approved a $360,000 economic incentive deal to move ACI’s home base from Naples to the Miami area and create at least 182 jobs paying an average wage of $180,000, the South Florida Business Journal reported.
ACI Worldwide has offices across the U.S. and international locations in Brazil, Colombia and Canada. The company earned $1.3 billion in revenue in 2020 and has almost 4,000 employees. Read more about ACI here.

2

Plum forges partnership in smart-home appliances

Plum, the venture-backed Dania Beach startup founded by David Koretz that created the wine-by-the glass appliance, is getting into the smart home appliances business.
Plum announced recently it forged a partnership with BSH Home Appliances Corp. to build smart devices for the kitchen. It has already created a suite of software to make appliances smart.  
“Our goal at Plum has been to revolutionize the way people can enjoy wine to match the way they actually live,” said Plum CEO Michael Traub, in a statement. “Teaming with an incredible partner such as BSH to introduce future innovations helps us do just that.”

3

Novo surpasses $1B in transactions

Novo, the small business digital banking platform, today announced that the company surpassed $1 billion in small business transactions since launching in 2018, with more than $600M in transactions completed during the first three months of 2021 alone. The company also reported a surge in users — more than 40,000 small businesses signing up for Novo during Q1 2021.
Earlier this month, the digital banking startup, announced it was opening an office in Miami for the CEO and growing team. Read more about the startup on Refresh here

4

Opportunity knocks: Deadlines approaching on two opportunities
  • Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 awards program recognizes the top public and private companies in the technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech industries. Applications are now open through June 25, and eligible companies are selected based on percentage of fiscal year revenue growth and the list is compiled from applications submitted directly to the Technology Fast 500 website. Last year 7 Florida-based companies made the list. The state’s highest-ranking was South Florida’s ShipMonk, which was ranked as the 73rdfastest growing tech company in North America. Second was KnowBe4, of the Tampa Bay region, at 109.
  • Aerospace and tech companies from related industries are invited to apply to present at the virtual half day Aerospace Innovation & Tech Forumon June 10, 2021, hosted by the Florida Venture Forum and Space Florida. Presenting companies will also have the opportunity to compete for the Space Florida’s Accelerating Innovation (AI) awards, totaling $100,000.  Find out more here.
  • Endeavor has just opened applications to EndeavorLAB, Cohort Three. EndeavorLAB is a two-month accelerated growth program designed to support local early-stage companies led by minority founders by leveraging Endeavor’s global methodology of mentorship and peer support and over 20 years of experience with scaleups.The Simkins Family foundation has partnered with Endeavor to support entrepreneurship within the Jewish community in South Florida. Endeavor will reserve 50% of the spaces in the cohort for female and minority entrepreneurs in the community. Read more and apply here

5

500 Startups bringing Pre-Money back to Miami

500 Startups has announced it is  bringing back its PreMoney to Miami on Dec. 1, which coincides with Miami’s wildly popular Art Week highlighted by Art Basel. Those weeks will have a packed tech event calendar too. 
Launched in 2013, the one-day event will gather LPs, fund managers, investors and angels to discuss disruptive strategies, models and technologies in venture capitahighlights disruptive strategies and technologies of interest to venture capitalists. It held a conference in Miami in 2015. “We are thrilled to be able to gather once again in person, and offer investors a platform to network and gain valuable insights in a post-Covid-19 world,” said 500 Startups founding partner and CEO Christine Tsai in a statement.
500 Startups opened its office in downtown Miami in 2018 and has partnered with local entities, including the Knight Foundation and the city of Miami, to operate founder bootcamps and VC education programs. Sign up for updates here.
Have news? Email Nancy Dahlberg at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @ndahlberg

Nancy Dahlberg