1
Red hot month for #MiamiTech fundraises: $500M and counting
The temperatures have remained mild (for April that is, just wait…), but #MiamiTech startups are on a hot streak. Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area startups raised at least $500 million in April, and that is just the 12 fundraises that Refresh Miami documented; the total quite certainly will go higher. It’s also more than half of what Q1 brought in, $900 million, and the region is on pace to have a much stronger showing than the last two years.
The top raise? Cast AI’s $108 million raise. Refresh’s Riley Kaminer documented the cloud-automation startup’s amazing climb in the last couple of years. Investors noticed. “They came to us,” said co-founder Laurent Gil said. “We weren’t planning to raise that much, but when you have partners who really share your vision, you say yes.”
Other big raises included real estate tech startup Flow, at a reported $100+ million; chat based remittance platform Felix Pago at $75 million; and mextgen renewable energy startup Exowatt at $70 million.
Who will be next? Stay tuned to Refresh Miami.
2
FAU wins $2M grant to establish U.S. Air Force Center of Excellence
The United States military faces challenges when it comes to securing and protecting its communication systems in a time of advanced technology and shifting global power dynamics. A key issue is the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS), which are the airwaves used for wireless communication, radar, GPS and other critical systems. These frequencies are under constant threat of interference from adversaries, and as warfare becomes more high-tech, the ability to control and manipulate this spectrum will determine success or failure.
To address critical U.S. Air Force communications needs, Dimitris Pados, Ph.D. and principal investigator and director of the Center for Connected Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (CA-AI) in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University, and George Sklivanitis, Ph.D., co-PI and research associate professor in the CA-AI, have received a $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Air Force Research Laboratory to establish the FAU Center of Excellence for Research and Education in Programmable Wireless Networks, an FAU News report says.
FAU will lead the center and collaborate with the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. The center will serve as a critical hub for innovation in dynamic spectrum operations, secure wireless systems and training the next generation of national defense engineers. The FAU Center of Excellence will focus on research, development and education to produce advanced technologies and address the strategic gap of skilled professionals required to design and deploy these technologies in real-world scenarios.
“This is particularly urgent in today’s world, where everything from battlefield communications to satellite navigation systems relies on secure and robust use of the electromagnetic spectrum. The need to protect and control these invisible communication channels becomes paramount,” said Pados. “Without the right systems in place, adversaries can disrupt communications, affect navigation systems and cause chaos.” Read more here.
In a separate news development earlier this month, FAU’s Center for Connected Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence secured am $800,000 grant from the United States Department of Defense (Air Force Office of Scientific Research).The grant will fuel the development of autonomous AI systems, and the technology could eventually be used to help the Air Force modernize its national defense and space operations. With this grant, FAU is poised to become one of the nation’s first research institutions to house a high-end NVIDIA GPU infrastructure for AI-driven autonomous system T&E. Read more here.
3
Flex acquires Maza
Flex, the Miami-based fintech startup transforming back office finance for business owners, has acquired Maza, one of the largest entity formation and payments apps for Spanish-speaking solopreneurs and consumers in the U.S., for $40 million, TechCrunch reported. As part of the deal, Maza will rebrand as Flex Consumer, a new arm within Flex focused on enabling business owners to manage their commingled personal and business finances.
This transaction marks a continuation of Flex’s broader vision to build the most comprehensive financial platform for premium business owners. Flex has already seen over 50% growth since closing the deal in Q3, driven by integrating Maza’s consumer growth engine, user base and solopreneur tooling with Flex’s infrastructure and product suite.
“Maza was building the best onramp for ambitious business owners to start businesses and a suite of consumer fintech products. Flex strategically bridges both the business and consumer use cases in a cohesive all in one finance platform for business owners by combining the Flex and Maza products,” said Rahman, Founder and CEO of Flex.
Post closing, Maza’s founders, Luciano Arango, Robbie Figueroa, and Siggy Bilstein, will take on executive roles within Flex. Read more here.
READ MORE IN REFRESH: Mixing business with personal? Flex raises $25M to fix that
4
Barry University opens AI Center
Barry University announced the opening of its new Artificial Intelligence Center and programming at its Miami Shores campus. The AI Center marks a major step forward in Barry’s vision to become an AI-integrated university, embedding artificial intelligence across teaching, learning, student experiences, and operations to prepare students for an AI-driven future.
Coinciding with the unveiling is the rollout of new curriculum initiatives, seminars, and workshops designed to provide practical, experiential AI learning opportunities for students, faculty, and local South Florida businesses and nonprofits. At the core of the center is the Digital Transformation Lab (DX Lab), where students collaborate with local businesses, nonprofits, and tech companies to develop AI solutions, both pro-bono and for-profit, to tackle real-world challenges in the community.
An undergraduate certificate in AI Fundamentals and Applications, providing students from all disciplines with essential AI skills, will be offered in the Fall of 2025. New graduate-level courses and certificates in high-demand areas, such as an MBA specialization in AI Strategy, are also being rolled out.
“What makes Barry’s AI initiative truly distinctive is our integrated, mission-driven approach. We’re not siloing AI into a single department but embedding it across every discipline. Whether a student is studying health sciences, business, education, or the arts, they will graduate equipped to both enter and influence their profession with a deep understanding of AI’s potential and ethical impact. This isn’t about future-proofing careers; it’s about future-shaping leaders,” said Dr. Pablo Ortiz, Barry University Provost, in a statement.
5
Moderne launching inaugural Code Remix conference
Software development company Moderne is hosting its first annual conference, Code Remix, on May 12-14. It will be held at the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort.
The Code Remix Summit will feature three specialized tracks: Practitioner, Leadership, and a Hack Track. The Hack track, which runs concurrently with other tracks during the event, offers an opportunity to address a relevant business case and work directly on a solution that can be put to use back on the job.
Moderne launched the first Code Remix Summit to create a vibrant forum for software developers and architects to learn and practice new approaches for using automation and AI to modernize, maintain, and secure the billions of lines of code in existing businesses. This is the first of what is planned to be an annual must-attend event for the software development community, say the founders Jonathan Schneider and Olga Kundzich. Find out more here.
Moderne, which has raised two venture rounds since relocating to Miami from Seattle in 2022, is also the creators of OpenRewrite.
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Myosin Therapeutics awarded $3M NIH grant
Biotechnology company Myosin Therapeutics was awarded a $3 million grant to support a clinical trial for a therapy to treat methamphetamine use disorder. The grant comes from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. Myosin will use the capital to kick off a Phase 1 clinical trial to assess the safety of its medication MT-110, the South Florida Business Journal reported.
“There are currently no FDA-approved medications for methamphetamine use disorder, and we believe MT-110 has the potential to fill this critical unmet need,” said Myosin co-founder Dr. Pat Griffin. Methamphetamine addiction is a public health crisis. At least 2.5 million people in the U.S. alone struggle with the disorder, which can lead to overdose deaths.
The Jupiter-based biotech company is a spin-out of the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute, a research institute focused on developing neuroscience and oncology therapies. Read more here.
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CoinDesk’s Consensus coming to Miami in 2026
CoinDesk announced that Consensus, the longest-running large-scale event on the crypto conference calendar, will be coming to Miami in 2026. It will take place May 5-7 2026 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
Consensus 2025 is in Toronto May 14-16, featuring headline speakers such as Eric Trump, Charles Hoskinson and Sergey Nazarov. Up to 15,000 attendees are expected, according to the organizers. Tickets for the Miami conference will go on sale during Consensus 2025. Read more here.
8
Coastal Breeze Partners PE firm launches
Coastal Breeze Partners, a Boca Raton-based middle market private equity firm, announced that it has started operations. The firm, founded by Brian Urbanek and Matthias Gundlach, focuses on partnering with management teams and sellers to build middle market businesses. It also combines deep sector expertise in industrial and business services sub sectors with a proven track record of value creation. The firm invests in in companies with over $20 millionin revenue and EBITDA of $4 million to $20 million that are either family/founder owned or corporate carve-outs in essential business services, materials and chemicals, and specialty industrials.
Gundlach has 25 years of investing, merger & acquisition and corporate finance experience, most recently as managing director at OpenGate Capital, and has completed over 30 transactions for businesses across multiple jurisdictions, sectors and types. Urbanek brings over 25 years of investing, merger & acquisition and corporate finance experience, most recently as managing director of Harbor Beach Capital, and has completed over 40 transactions for businesses across multiple industries.
9
SS Innovations makes Nasdaq debut
SS Innovations International of Fort Lauderdale, a developer of robotic surgical technology, made its Nasdaq debut under the ticker symbol SSII. SS Innovations, currently doing business in India, is preparing to enter markets in the U.S., Europe, Nepal, Ecuador, Guatemala, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Ukraine, the South Florida Business Journal reported.
SS Innovations makes a range of surgical robotics technologies, with the goal of making robotic surgery more affordable and accessible for patients. Its products include the SSi Mantra, a system that features 3 to 5 robotic arms and an ergonomic surgeon command center. According to the company, the device uses more than 40 surgical instruments to support a range of operations, including cardiac surgery. Read more here.
10
Jobs, jobs, jobs
Who’s hiring?
Blue Frontier – Software Engineer
Boats Group – CRM & Automation Lifecycle Manager
Doorloop – Lead AI Engineer andMarketing Production Coordinator and Lead AI Engineer
Exowatt – Manufacturing Engineer
Flow – Head of Creative Operations and Sr Product Designer
Gemini Sports – Sr Full-Stack Engineer
Handtevy – Sr Backend Software Engineer
Infinite Reality – QA Engineer
Kandji – Director of Enginering and Staff Security Engineer
Kiwibot – Mid/Senior Robotics Engineer
NSU Broward Center of Innovation – Chief Innovation Officer
Royal Caribbean Group – Associate Creative Project Manager and Sr Engineer, Threat Hunter
Slalom – Google Cloud AI Leader
Find many more job openings on Refresh Miami’s job board HERE.
PLUS
Opportunity knocks
- SPARC South Florida (Startup Pitch Accelerator Regional Competition) is accepting applications to compete for a $1 million prize in the Startup World Cup Global Pitch Competition and receive broad exposure for your startup and access to coaching and mentorship. Apply by May 18 here.
- The Ventures, a global startup award born in Silicon Valley that now runs across 19 countries, is holding its first in-person Ventures Award in Miami on June 5. Startups can apply by May 26 here.
- Seaworthy Collective, a Miami-based non-profit BlueTech (ocean innovation) entrepreneur support organization and community, has opened applications for Cohort 6 of its updated flagship Startup Program, The Continuum Ocean Enterprise Studio and Incubator. This year, the Studio and Incubator will exclusively support US-based startups developing ocean data technologies and services, in alignment with the priorities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Enterprise Initiative. The Continuum partners include Braid Theory, Ocean Exchange, Seaworthy Collective, St. Pete Innovation District, Tampa Bay Wave, World Ocean Council, and the University of South Florida. Learn more and apply here by June 26.
- Endeavor Miami is accepting applications for its next ScaleUp Program. Apply for the ScaleUp program here. Endeavor Miami is also taking applications for two of its upcoming 2025 EndeavorLab programs for earlier state startups. Apply here by May 9h for the EndeavorLab Black Founders cohort and apply here by August 22 for the EndeavorLab Women Founders cohort.
- Black Ambition is accepting applications for its 2025 Black Ambition Prize Competition with a $1 million grand prize and other prizes and services awarded. The call for entries is for startups in consumer products and services, healthcare, media and entertainment, technology and AI. Find out more and apply here by May 2.
- The Cade Prize for Inventivity, named after Dr. Robert Cade, lead inventor behind Gatorade, celebrates inventors and entrepreneurs, who, through an innovative invention, demonstrate a creative approach to addressing problems in their field of expertise. Each year, Cade Prize winners receive over $100,000 in cash prizes and legal services with no strings attached. Find out more and apply here by July 10.
- Are you a pre-Series A startup founder looking to make your mark on a global stage for a $100,000 equity-free priae? Applications for TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 are now open. Go to the Startup Battlefield 200 page to learn more and apply by June 9.
- The Veterans Florida Entrepreneurship Program’s Facilitated Growth Cohort at Florida International University offers training to help you grow and expand your business. You are not required to have any employees but should have a business generating revenue. You will create a Business Model Canvas with mentorship and will determine if your business is validated/marketable and if it is scalable/expandable. Find out more and apply here.
ICYMI
- Latest funding news: Cast AI turned cloud chaos into opportunity, and just raised $108M to do even more
- With $60M in new funding, 1NCE is building the future of IoT from the inside out
- With $10M in tow, Kiwi takes on Latin America’s $60 billion healthcare gap
- MayMaan is harnessing the convenience and power of internal combustion without the environmental harm of fossil fuels
- Adam Neumann’s Flow attracts another $100M+, doubling valuation to $2.5B, reports say
- Titl automates titles for homebuyers, saving money and time
- These two longtime friends are using AI to take the busywork out of property management
- 10+ things to know in #MiamiTech: Black Ambition’s new program for Florida founders, how to pitch to Dubai, plus news from Mission Space, Infinite Reality, FAU, Lazo, 1909 & more
- And much more here.
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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