8+ things to know in #MiamiTech: Dapta and Siprocal raise funding, plus news from Jeff Bezos, MoonPay, Sustainable Skylines, Freebee & more

1 No-code platform Dapta raises $1.2M pre-seed round

Dapta, a no-code platform facilitating seamless API and AI integrations for businesses, announced it closed a $1.2 million pre-seed funding round led by Fen Ventures and LatinLeap, with Seedstars International Ventures, Invariantes Fund, KuiperVC, and Paramo Partners also participating.

Dapta gives small and medium-sized businesses the tools to implement AI solutions, enhancing operational efficiency and customer engagement. The funding will be allocated to advance product development, focusing on user experience, security, and performance enhancements. It will also support Dapta’s expansion efforts in the U.S. market, the company said.

With Dapta, “a process which is time-consuming, costly, and tedious for companies becomes very simple. Its commitment to democratizing AI integration marks a pivotal advancement for SMBs, making high-tech solutions accessible,” said Cristóbal Silva, managing partner for Fën Ventures.

Dapta, led by CEO and co-founder Nicholas Rojas, reports it is serving over 1,500 companies across 37 countries. Refresh Miami reported on the first million dollars of this round in December.

2 Miami-based media platform Siprocal receives growth capital from Solace Capital

Siprocal, a Miami-based provider of an advertising, marketing technology, and digital media platform, received growth capital from Solace Capital. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. The company intends to use the funds to support its growth strategy.

Led by CEO Ari Segal, Siprocal is a media technology platform that helps publishers, operators, and advertisers in the Americas to grow and monetize their user base across multiple devices, using direct access to audiences and first-party data intelligence to drive new connections and conversions. Present throughout the Americas, Siprocal works across individuals’ favorite channels via mobile, connected TV, streaming, or gaming.

The company was formed in March 2023 through the merger of Digital Reef, a mobile software and technology solutions provider and global ad platform built for connected TV (CTV), and Gamers Club, a large video gaming matchmaking platform and community hub in Latin America. It serves customers throughout North America, Latin America, and Brazil.

3 Jeff Bezos purchases mansion No. 3

Jeff Bezos recently paid $90 million for a 10,000 square foot 7-bedroom waterfront estate in exclusive Indian Creek Village, less than a year after purchasing two waterfront properties on the island for $147 million. The guard-gated island, where the streets are private and only residents and invited guests are allowed, is north of Miami Beach. Fellow Indian Creek residents include billionaire Carl Icahn, hedge funder Eddie Lampert, Tom Brady, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner and Julio Iglesias, The Real Deal Miami reported.

Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, have been looking for a move-in ready mansion while he has a new estate built on the nearby properties at 11 and 12 Indian Creek Island Road, sources told The Real Deal. The adjacent lots have homes on them that Bezos will have demolished. Read more here.

4 Sustainable Skylines partners to create career training and certification

Sustainable Skylines, the aerial drone advertising and data analytics company, and USI, an aviation company focused on building aerospace skill sets, have partnered to create a training and certification program enabling aviators to operate within the Sustainable Skylines’ infrastructure.

Sustainable Skylines is the first drone banner towing company in the U.S. to receive Federal Aviation Administration approval for commercial operations. Their Section 44807 exemption approval, combined with a banner towing authorization, will allow Sustainable Skylines to launch full-size banner advertisements towed by a drone along Miami Beach in 2024.

“As we continue to refine our drone technology, we’ve also been diligently building the infrastructure needed for scalable drone advertising operations. This effort extends to partnering with USI so we can train pilots and flight staff to safely operate our drones,” said Jacob Stonecipher, the founder and CEO of Sustainable Skylines. “While we are launching operations in Miami Beach, we are poised for rapid expansion to new locations as we partner with new brands and showcase the advantages of aerial banner towing.”

5 MoonPay founder’s foundation partners with Northeastern and Miami nonprofit to provide scholarships

The Soto-Wright Foundation, MoonPay co-founder Ivan Soto-Wright’s foundation, has partnered with the Junior Achievement of Greater Miami and Northeastern University to provide scholarships for students involved in Junior Achievement programs, the South Florida Business Journal reported. By investing in education and fostering entrepreneurship from a young age, we can create meaningful opportunities for students and drive positive change in our community,” Soto-Wright said in a statement.

The non-profit Junior Achievement of Greater Miami prepares offers a signature JA Company Program helps high school students to launch and manage their own business ventures as well as other entrepreneurship programs to prepare young people for the business world. Students who successfully complete the JA Company Program, Junior Achievement High School Heroes or similar initiatives who are admitted to Northeastern University as full-time students are eligible to apply for a Soto-Wright Scholarship. The award will be matched by the university to total up to $80,000 over four academic years. Read more here.

6 Freebee seeing record ridership

Miami-based Freebee’s popularity is cruising along. Coral Gables and Doral are seeing Freebee ridership records, as numbers continue to grow.

This past year, Coral Gables has reported more than 62,000 rides were booked on the service and the Freebee fleet is being upgraded to Tesla vehicles to improve service. Doral is reporting about 51,000 passengers have also used the Freebee service this past year.

The rideshare service was initially launched in 2017 and offers free, on-demand rides in electric-powered vehicles to those requesting it within the service area. Read more in Miami Today.

7 MIA getting autonomous mobility services

WHILL, a developer of electric mobility devices, announced the first commercial installations of its autonomous mobility service in the United States within American Airlines terminals at Miami International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.

One of the most common challenges affecting airports and airlines today is providing quality service to passengers with reduced mobility. Recent trends include more wheelchair pushes, longer wait times, and an increased number of staff injuries.

WHILL and Envoy Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group, have been testing the service since late 2022 at MIA and LAX. Once a user selects their destination on a touch screen, the WHILL autonomous power chair takes over, safely and reliably transporting the customer to their desired gate.

8 Scooter company Bird emerges from bankruptcy as private company

Electric scooter rental company Bird Global has gone private after emerging from bankruptcy. The Miami-based business sold its assets to micromobility firm Third Lane Mobility, its new parent company. Its subsidiaries also include Spin, a scooter company acquired by Bird in 2023, the South Florida Business Journal reported.

Bird and Spin will continue to operate in hundreds of locations around the world under Third Lane. Both brands will enter new markets in the coming months after winning bids to launch service in cities such as Corpus Christi, Texas; Greensboro North Carolina; Surrey and Mississauga, Canada; and Napes and Torino, Italy. It’s unclear if Bird will maintain an HQ in Miami. Read more here.

PLUS

Opportunity knocks

BITE-CON is helping 1,000 people build their AI skills and get Microsoft certified on Azure for the InnovationChallenge. Join BITE-CON’s weekly webinars with Microsoft trainers along with Office Hours sessions for the next 8 weeks during this challenge — Microsoft is covering the cost of your certification exams. The challenge has started but you can still register this week. Learn more and register here.
Alexis Ohanian’s 776 Foundation is giving $2 million in 20 2-year $100,000 fellowships to 20 ambitious young people, ages 18-24, who want to take a big swing to combat climate change. Apply by April 22 at 776.org
EndeavorLAB Black Founders Cohort: A cohort based program to support underrepresented founders in Florida in building a foundation for scale. Endeavor selects 10 companies following its global selection for high-impact entrepreneurs. Applicants submit an application online. Finalists are interviewed by Endeavor Staff. Apply by May 5.
Miami-Dade Innovation Authority launched its third Public Innovation Challenge: MDIA seeks proposals from local and global early-to-growth stage startup companies with innovative approaches to enhancing cargo visibility at PortMiami, with a focus on public data-based solutions. Together with PortMiami and Miami-Dade County, MDIA will select at least three startups and provide $100,000 in funding to each company to support pilot testing at the Port so that they can be scaled to others globally. The deadline to submit seaport-related proposals for the third challenge is April 26, 2024. To submit, visit mdia.miami/port.
The Mark Cuban Foundation and Boca Raton-based ODP Corp. are bringing a free AI Bootcamp to high school students. It will be hosted at the Alan B. Levan NSU Broward Center of Innovation in Davie on Nov. 2, 9 and 16. High school students can apply here.

ICYMI

Have news to share? Email Nancy Dahlberg at [email protected] and follow her on X @ndahlberg

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Nancy Dahlberg

I am a writer and editor with extensive media experience and a passion for journalism and serving the community. Most of my career has been spent with the Miami Herald in business news, and my expertise is writing about tech and entrepreneurs. I love hosting this blog for Refresh Miami and we aim to be the go-to site for South Florida startup and tech news, features and views. Have news? Contact me at [email protected]. Thanks for reading!

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