6+ things to know in #MiamiTech: New HQ for global fintech; Seaworthy’s cohort; Ironhack scholarships; and much more
1
Global fintech Paysend opens Americas HQ in Miami
Paysend, a UK-based fintech with over 6.5 million customers in over 150 countries, has opened its Americas headquarters in Miami.
Formed in April 2017, Paysend is on a mission to change how money is moved around the world. Supporting both businesses and individual users, Paysend introduced international card-to-card transfers, allowing connections between 12 billion cards globally – Mastercard, Visa, China UnionPay and others. The company has 330 employees currently of which 50% are in software development, and it has secured $125 million in Series B funding to accelerate the expansion of its global payments platform May 2021.
“We see Miami as a strategically important location for Paysend so opening our Americas headquarters in Miami was a logical step for us to take advantage of the leading entrepreneurial ecosystem and dominant talent pool that’s developing there. We recently consolidated our Americas areas – Canada, America and Latin America – into one region and Miami provides the best location to serve our customers in those areas as well as providing a bridge into the Caribbean and Central America,” said Abdul Abdulkerimov. Founder and Chairman at Paysend.
Paysend has grown 14,498% over the past four years and is one of the world’s fastest growing FinTech companies, the company said. Recent partnerships with MOVii, a leading mobile wallet service in Colombia, Visa Direct and Mastercard Send have expanded Paysend’s cross-border money transfer services for US customers, particularly to Latin America.
2
Seaworthy Collective announces 2nd cohort. And they are …
Seaworthy Collective, a Miami-based community leading regenerative ocean and climate impact, announced its second cohort of sea change makers. Ten startups will be participating in its 12-week venture studio program to either build co-created startups or grow existing ocean and climate impact-focused startups.
Over the next 12 weeks, Seaworthy’s cohort members will have the opportunity to make catalytic connections, with access to Seaworthy’s network of over 250 mentors and collaborators, a community of over 2,000 current and aspiring founders and operators, as well as investing partners with over $1 billion in assets under management. All of this leads up to Seaworthy’s startup showcase happening in July.
“Our second cohort startups are scaling up reef regeneration, driving carbon dioxide removal, taking on plastic pollution (both upstream and downstream), and leveraging technologies from sensors to blockchain to create meaningful data and value. From Hawaii to South Africa, we’re excited to continue growing our global community driving regenerative blue economy development for South Florida and beyond.” said Daniel Kleinman, Founder, and CEO Seaworthy Collective.
Seaworthy Collective’s second cohort participants were selected from over 200 applicants. The two co-created startups will be working with a team of innovators to co-found their own impact venture within one of Seaworthy’s Opportunities for Sea Change. The cohort companies are:
- Clean Earth Rovers – Cincinnati, OH
- Seed World – Kahinani Way, Kaneohe HI
- ReefVitalize – Austin, TX
- Smartfin – Seattle, WA
- SUPER – San Francisco, CA
- Rovon Technology – Orlando, FL
- Lilly1 – Miami, FL
- Capital Swish – KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
- Co-created web3 x coastal resilience startup (launching this summer) with co-founders Ryan Sedegat (Coral Gables, FL) and Jordan Gluck (Boca Raton, FL)
- Co-created regenerative publishing company startup (launching this summer) with co-founders Ben Hone (Hoboken, NJ), Angela Betancourt (Miami, FL), Rachel Small (Toronto, Canada)
Read more about the startups here.
3
Ironhack announces $200,000 in tech talent scholarships and Hackathon winner
At the 2022 eMerge Americas conference, eMerge Americas and Ironhack announced $200,000 in scholarship diversity funds to develop local tech talent and support the growth of the #MiamiTech ecosystem. Ironhack is building the leading global talent marketplace for emerging tech talent that is powered by their 10,000 and counting bootcamp alumni with the goal of becoming the most outcomes-focused institution in the world.
The fund will consist of 50 partial scholarships ranging from $2,000 to $9,500 to be put towards Ironhack tuition. The scholarship will prioritize women and underrepresented minorities (i.e. Black, Latino/Hispanic, Native American) who are at least 18 years of age on the date of entry.
Interested individuals can apply here. Cohorts are available starting in May for in-person, remote and hybrid courses. Applicants can choose between courses offered on Web Development, UX/UI Design and Data Analytics.
Also, at eMerge Americas, the winner of the eMerge America’s + Ironhack Hackathon was announced. The theme of the hackathon, held April 12, was Deploying web3 for social good and the prize was $10K The winning team presented a project called GreenCrate, a decentralized platform for donors to pool money to help subsidize groceries for families going through unexpected financial hardship.
Ironhack’s U.S. operations have been headquartered in Miami since 2015, and has campuses throughout Europe and Latin America.
4
Over 1,000 attend SoFlo Dev Con 2022 hosted by South Forida Tech Hub at NSU
South Florida Tech Hub hosted the 17th annual edition of one of the largest conferences for software developers, designers, engineers and tech professionals across the region. SoFlo Dev Con 2022, on April 16, saw upwards of 1,000 attendees and more than 100 speakers descend upon Nova Southeastern University’s Carl DeSantis building in Davie.
Topics and workshops included Machine Learning, AI, VR/AR/MR, IoT, .NET, DevOps, MVC Framework, JavaScript, JQuery, SQL Server, Business Intelligence, Software Testing, Xamarin/Mobile Development, Azure/Cloud, Business/Career Development, and more. There were 17 tracks including web3, blockchain, AI, cloud, web development, leadership, and investment. The event was free for attendees.
5
Inspected.com of Plantation raises $2.2 million
Inspected.com, a Plantation -based provider of remote virtual inspection platform, announced it raised $2.2 million in funding. The backers were not disclosed. The company plans to use the funding to accelerate development of its virtual inspection software platform as it continues to expand to additional customers across the United States.
Inspected.com is a patent-pending remote video inspections mobile application that allows inspectors to perform inspection right from office/home, saving travel time, increasing efficiency, and ultimately saving money. The platform also enables geo-locating of homes to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the inspection.
It is already being utilized by hundreds of construction and renovation industry professionals for remote permitting and verification. Examples include HVAC companies, pool service companies, logistics and shipping companies, and others, he company said.
6
Opportunity Knocks
Florida Power & Light recently announced an $800,000 investment in scholarships for black students to facilitate the completion of baccalaureate degrees at Miami Dade College in the technology field. The funds from FPL will be used to cover tuition, fees, books and transportation costs for eligible black students facing a financial need over the next 4 years. This support will allow students to focus on their education, accelerating completion and entry into the tech workforce in South Florida. For more information and to apply to the scholarship, go here.
READ MIAMI TECH MONTH COVERAGE ON REFRESH MIAMI:
- The future of mobility is on display at CoMotion, with Miami as focal point
- Seen and heard at eMerge Americas (Day 2): Thought leadership, new program announcements – and we have winners!
- eMerge Americas goes IRL with a splash, celebrates the new Miami
- Top technical talent descends upon Miami Beach for South Florida’s first React Conference
- eMerge Insights report: South Florida startups raised $5.33B in VC in 2021. But wait, there’s more
- A buffet of Web3 and Florida Tech at Florida Funders’ pre-eMerge brunch for early-state investors
- Get in on the #techweek action! (There are free events at Miami Tech Week, too)
- A Miami for Everyone: Venture Miami Tech Hiring Fair brought out 1,300 job seekers and 74 companies
- Step into the #MiamiTech future with South Florida’s HBCU
- Laser eyes on Miami as world’s largest Bitcoin gathering goes down
- Let’s grab the future by the crypto horns: Meet #MiamiBull
- Who needs sleep? Miami Tech Month is off and running. Catch up! Here’s your list
- Miami NFT Week draws thousands and doles out inspiration, community learnings. ‘We’re creating this world in real time
- 6+ things to know in MiamiTech: News from Locality Bank, MoonPay, Synapse, SVB, DataCore, PeakActivity, JPMorgan plus many opportunities - January 27, 2023
- Miami-Dade Innovation Authority to provide funding and pilot-testing to startups addressing community challenges - January 26, 2023
- Innovation center at FMU opening today is a cornerstone of Ted Lucas’s big vision for the community - January 26, 2023