1
Amazon to open 50,000 square foot office in Wynwood
Just over a year ago Jeff Bezos announced he was moving to Miami. Now Amazon has signed a 50,333-square-foot lease in a new office building in Miami’s Wynwood. It is the largest office lease ever in the tech-focused, art-centric neighborhood.
L&L Holding Co. and Oak Row Equities, along with partners Shorenstein Investment Advisors and Claure Group, announced they signed a lease with e-commerce giant Amazon for Wynwood Plaza. The 1 million-square-foot mixed-use project is under construction at 95 N.W. 29th Street.
An Amazon spokesperson told the South Florida Business Journal that it couldn’t disclose how many people would be employed there. “We’re always evaluating our office footprint based on the needs of our businesses. This office will include several different teams and business functions,” she said.
Construction of Wynwood Plaza should be completed early next year. The 12-story building will feature 266,00 square feet of office space, along with 25,000 square feet of retail and 509 apartments. Amenities for office tenants include a fitness club with showers and lockers, a golf simulator, conference rooms, a 25-foot-tall lobby, a rooftop deck with seating, and a 26,000-square-foot public plaza at the street level.
In addition to Amazon, office tenants will include 25,400 square feet for the headquarters of Marcelo Claure’s Claure Group and 18,000 square feet for law firm Weitz & Luxenberg. Read more here.
2
Research Park at FAU reports $708M of impact
The Research Park at Florida Atlantic University announced that its businesses have a $708 million economic impact on South Florida. Those ventures helped support more than 3,049 direct, indirect and induced jobs in South Florida, according to the Research Park’s new economic outlook report.
During 2024, the ventures based in the Research Park at FAUc supported 978 jobs while 160.5 net new jobs were created, in addition to 34 internships for Florida Atlantic University students. Total revenues generated by Research Park and Global Ventures companies increased to $657 million, the report said.
The five-year economic impact to South Florida by the ventures growing in the Research Park is forecast to create 4,591 direct jobs and about 2,300 indirect and induced jobs annually with a total economic output of $4.82 billion from 2024 through 2028. Over the five year period, $1.3 billion of personal income also will be added to the economy, the report said.
The Research Park was launched in 1985 and is governed by the Florida Atlantic Research and Development Authority, an independent special district created by Palm Beach and Broward counties in partnership with FAU. The park is home to Global Ventures, an incubator program for growth-stage tech firms, and FAU Tech Runway, a public-private startup accelerator.
The Research Park is home to businesses in everything from healthcare technology to ocean technology to aerospace businesses. The share of health tech companies has increased from 50 to 59%. Advanced engineering ventures make up 20% and software & technology represent 17% of firms, the report said.
“For 40 years, the cutting-edge technology developed and deployed here has added knowledge and job opportunities to our region, making it more resilient in the face of economic volatility, improving the lives of our residents.” said the Research Park President Andrew S. Duffell.
READ MORE IN REFRESH: Approaching 40th anniversary, the Research Park at FAU drives innovation across South Florida
3
Togal.AI registers 333% annual revenue growth
Togal.AI, a company that uses artificial intelligence to automate construction project estimates, announced today a 333% revenue growth in 2024. The Miami-based startup reports that over the past year, more than 4,000 users uploaded 3 million construction documents into the platform, logging the equivalent of 15 years of active use to streamline their workflows. Direct sales bookings increased sevenfold.
Togal.AI uses advanced algorithms to automatically identify spaces, calculate areas, and measure distances with unmatched speed and accuracy. Launched in 2021, Togal.AI has transformed construction estimating, reducing a process that once took weeks to mere seconds.
“We’re proud to see contractors of all trades—painters, drywallers, flooring companies, and more—turning to Togal.AI to increase efficiency,” said Patrick E. Murphy, founder and CEO of Togal.AI. “This growth is a testament to our team’s dedication to creating a tool that is as easy to understand as it is powerful. We are bullish on growth as we look to 2025, where agentic AI will help us expand even further.”
Togal.AI also reported that it is preparing to usher in a new era of artificial intelligence in 2025 by introducing agentic AI. This next-generation technology will allow Togal.AI to deploy intelligent AI agents capable of calling users, asking questions, taking notes, and organizing feedback — all designed to enhance user experience and drive new business growth, the company said in its announcement.
READ MORE IN REFRESH: A Q&A with Patrick Murphy in 2024
4
Brightline revenue and ridership hit records
Brightline, the privately owned higher-speed intercity rail service connecting Miami and Orlando, transported nearly 2.8 million passengers in 2024. That’s a 35% increase compared to 2023, and a new record. The company generated $187.9 million in total revenue, a 114% increase from last year’s reported $87.7 million. Brightline’s 2024 passenger count breaks down to 1.6 million long-distance travelers, a 432% spike from2023, and 1.1 million short-distance travelers, a 35% increase.
Long-distance passengers paid an average fare of $73.25, down 19% from $90.07 due to promotional pricing, while short-distance passengers paid an average fare of $29.33 in 2024, up 34% from $21.84. Brightline grossed $152.5 million in total ticket revenue in 2024, a 134% increase compared to 2023.
The rail service launched an Order to Seat app feature in September, and more recently announced it is restarting a commuter pass program in March. Read more in the South Florida Business Journal.
5
Doodles swaps CEOs
Doodles co-founder and artist Scott Martin, aka Burnt Toast, is taking over as the CEO of Ethereum NFT project Doodles, replacing former Billboard executive, Julian Holguin.
Under Holguin’s leadership, Miami-based Doodles announced collaborations with Adidas and McDonald’s—the latter just taking place over the last couple months. The project also developed a close relationship with famed musical artist Pharrell Williams, who a Doodles representative confirmed continues to serve as the project’s chief brand officer amid the CEO shakeup.
“I am stepping in as CEO of Doodles,” Martin posted on X. “We’re moving to a vision with a strong bias for risk, disruption, radical transparency and the authenticity that made us who we are in the first place.”
A Doodles spokesperson said that the firm and Holguin “mutually decided to part ways as part of our broader shift.”
“Execution isn’t just code or partnerships–it’s culture too. The extractive corpo era of Doodles is over,” Martin posted on X. “Big things are cooking.” Read more in Decrypt.
6
Kind Designs wins Navy grant
Kind Designs won a NAVSEA (Navy) Grant, Anya Freeman, CEO of Kind Designs said. “We’ll be using the funds to partner with a local Navy Research facility to deploy Living Seawalls at their base and protects essential coastal assets.”
Kind Designs creates 3D printed Living Seawalls. The Miami-based startup will receive up to $175,000 for the project, and could eventually install its seawalls at the NAVSEA Ocean Measurement Facility in Broward County.
The Miami-based startup also won an AFWERX (Air Force) Grant last year. “I can’t wait to see the Living Seawalls in beautiful US bases around the world. We love to contribute to the strength of our Department of Defense!!” Freeman announced on LinkedIn.
7
Dave Portnoy to keynote at eMerge
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy will be a keynote speaker at the 2025 eMerge Americas conference this March. Portnoy will appear in a conversation moderated by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, eMerge announced. “From building a media empire brick by brick to turning pizza reviews into a pop culture phenomenon, El Presidente is bringing his bold insights and entrepreneurial mindset to Miami,” the post said.
Barstool Sports, a digital media company, publishes sports journalism content and hosts popular podcasts such as “Pardon My Take” and “Chicks in the Office.” The venture originally purchased the “Call Her Daddy” podcast before host Alex Cooper took it to Spotify in 2020.
eMerge Americas takes plan March 27-28 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. More speakers will be announced soon.
8
IMPACTIFI, eMerge team up to launch International Immersion Week
IMPACTIFI, a startup dedicated to helping startups and SMBs with their operational needs, has partnered with eMerge Americas to launch the International Immersion Week Program. This 3-day event, taking place March 24–26, 2025, will connect international tech companies with Florida’s dynamic and rapidly growing innovation ecosystem, giving participants the chance to gain exclusive access to U.S. market opportunities, connect with top investors, and engage with industry leaders from all around the world. The program will culminate at the eMerge Americas Conference, where global tech innovators can network and explore new growth avenues.
“Florida has established itself as a global hub for tech innovation, and this partnership with eMerge Americas allows us to amplify what we do on a much larger scale,” said Teresa Cusse, CEO & Co-Founder of IMPACTIFI. “This program is crucial because it connects innovators from around the world with the tools, resources, and opportunities they need to successfully expand into the U.S. market. By fostering collaboration and building bridges across borders, we’re helping to drive innovation and create meaningful global partnerships.”
9
AvenueZ growing Miami office footprint fivefold
Avenue Z, a media and technology company based in Miami, announced that it is increasing its Miami office footprint fivefold with the inclusion of community content creator studios. The studios will provide the setting, tech and tools for podcast production, live shopping, and social commerce content creation, the company said.
“Continuing to expand in Miami was a natural step as we scale at the pace of growth of new businesses moving to Miami,” said Avenue Z CEO Jeffrey Herzog. “This city is more than a business hub-it’s vibrant ecosystem of leaders and innovators. Our investment here is to strengthen relationships, while building reputation, and new revenue for our clients. It’s about driving influence – and that begins with strategic, authentic content across all channels.”
Avenue Z has teams in New York, Boston, Orlando and Miami. Since launching at the start of 2023, Avenue Z has acquired Bevel, a communications consultancy for tech and venture capital that expanded to Miami in 2023, Orlando-based marketing and SEO company Designzillas, and The Snow Agency, a Miami social media marketing firm.
10-PLUS
Opportunity knocks
- Emerge Americas Celebrate! Pitch Competition for Black founders in the Miami community is now open for applications. The winner of the Feb. 26 competition will receive $2,500 and standard passes to eMerge Americas. Apply by Feb. 10 here.
- GET Champions Miami, run by Radical Partners, is an initiative that helps leaders create workplaces that attract, retain, and support diverse tech talent. This 4-month program is designed for forward-thinking tech leaders to reshape their companies’ hiring, retention, and support systems for women, trans, and nonbinary employees, and offers free virtual training, exectuve coaching and invitations to hiring events for accessing top talent.
- Endeavor Miami is accepting applications for its next ScaleUp Program. Apply for the ScaleUp program here.
ICYMI
- Latest funding news: Fintech startup Crowded lands $7.5M to bring nonprofits into the digital age
- Tribes, not transactions: How Base leverages tech to curate connections
- VRAL Games doubles down on expansion with investment in game studio PolarityOne
- UM to be prime testing site for Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain chip startup
- Agentuity raises $4M seed round to build an AI-first cloud for autonomous agents
- Surfing the future of energy with NEPTUNYA
- 19 South Florida startups to present at upcoming Florida Venture Capital Conference and they are …
- Will Miami’s crypto scene in 2025 be a new era or just more of the same?
- From tech to turf, Miami is flexing its sportstech muscles
Have news to report? Email Nancy Dahlberg at nancy@refreshmiami.com and follow her on X @ndahlberg. Subscribe to Refresh Miami’s free weekly newsletter here featuring startup news, tech job opportunities and events. Thank you for supporting Refresh Miami.
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