1
Mark Cuban invests in Kind Designs
Renowned investor Mark Cuban, alongside early stage climate tech VC firmAnthropocene Ventures, has joined Miami startup Kind Designs’ $5 million seed round. The new capital enables Kind Designs to triple production capacity and expand its team to meet explosive demand for its Living Seawalls.
Anya Freeman, Kind Designs’ founder and CEO, called the undisclosed investment “a huge vote of confidence in our mission to regenerate marine ecosystems and protect coastal communities.” In September, Kind Designs announced that they have raised a $5 million seed round co-led by GOVO Venture Partners, M4 Investing, and the Florida Opportunity Fund.
Kind Designs has devised a solution to 3D print 95% of seawalls, making them less expensive to produce. They call them “Living Seawalls” because their design mimics coral reefs and mangroves, which promote biodiversity and improve the water quality. Additionally, the seawalls will have embedded sensors to monitor data such as pH levels and water temperature in real-time.
“Kind Designs surpasses our criteria with its immediate real-world application, clear business model, path to revenue, and the merging of nature’s smarts through biomimicry with 3D printing technology. Yet, what truly solidified our commitment is the performance of the founder, Anya. In a brief span, she has demonstrated exceptional execution,”said Anthropocene Ventures’ Managing Partner Matthew McGraw in a statement.
This month, Kind Designs, now a team of 10, delivered the first Living Seawall panels in November 2023. The company plans to triple its production capacity by February 2024, with its recent purchase of two additional printing robots. Looking ahead, Kind Designs plans to further disrupt the coastal construction industry by working with government agencies to offer Living Seawall tax incentives on the county, state and federal levels. This program will be similar to incentives already in place such as solar energy and EV tax credits.
READ MORE: Kind Designs raises $5M in seed funding to deploy 3D-printed seawalls
2
WeWork’s South Florida locations to remain open
Although the New York-based company has filed for bankruptcy, coworking giant WeWork has vowed to keep its Miami-Dade locations open.
“Miami is one of WeWork’s top markets in the country and we are fully committed to providing our members here with world-class, flexible workspace solutions for the long term,” the company said in a statement.
In 2020, WeWork closed two locations in Miami but its six remaining locations in Miami-Dade are among WeWork’s highest performing venues with occupancy at 96% as of the fourth quarter of 2022, the South Florida Business Journal reported. WeWork also has one of the largest shares of office space in South Florida. Its six locations in Miami-Dade, including Brickell City Centre and Wynwood Garage, total about 304,000 square feet.
3
LG Group subsidiary joins with QuickNode to accelerate web3 adoption
LG CNS, the IT solutions subsidiary of LG Group and a key player in South Korea’s tech landscape, has joined forces with QuickNode, the Miami-based blockchain deployment platform, to accelerate the adoption of web3 services and drive innovation in the blockchain space.
The collaboration also involves LG Technology Ventures, the venture capital arm of LG Group, making an undisclosed investment in QuickNode. This strategic move further solidifies the ties between the two companies, with a shared vision of driving blockchain adoption and innovation in South Korea and beyond.
4
Leap Financial adds AI product for immigrants
Leap Financial, a Miami-based financial services technology company focused on the specific needs of immigrants and their families abroad, has launched Lola4i.com, an AI assistant that coaches recently arrived immigrants to the U.S. as well all next-gens who may struggle to get fully integrated.
Lionel Carrasco and Marcela Henao, Leap Financial’s co-founders, saw an urgent need when it came to providing guidance to recently arrived immigrants in the U.S. Lola provides answers to questions that recent arrivals may be hesitant to ask in the real world. Lola facilitates faster economic integration and provides guidance on dealing with anxiety related to legal status, family separation and access to basic healthcare.
5
EVQLV wins Dell for Startups Pitch Competition
EVQLV won 1st place and MyCabinet took second place at the Dell for Startups Pitch Competition powered by Endeavor Miami. EVQLV took home $10,000 in Dell product credits and advances to the national pitch competition.
EVQLV, founded by Andrew Satz, leverages its proprietary technology to sell antibody sequences to bio and pharmaceutical companies. MyCabinet, founded by Delia Passi, is a patented virtual medicine cabinet that serves as a family health hub.
The other finalists were EducUp, Glamo, Roam Around, Rook and We Are Seeders.
READ MORE: Life sciences startup EVQLV is leveraging AI to sell antibody sequences
6
Miami-based OneOf rebrands as Superlogic, partners with Amex
Miami-based OneOf recently rebranded as Superlogic and announced it’s teaming up with American Express and eligible Amex merchants will be provided with special discounts to access next gen loyalty and connected commerce technology that amplifies customer experience, while driving new data and revenue.
Superlogic technology is white labeled for each enterprise client on a SaaS basis, and seamlessly integrates with existing CRM, CDP, and traditional loyalty management systems. “Consumers are seeking new loyalty experiences that offer benefits or technology that legacy loyalty systems cannot provide,” said Lin Dai, CEO and Co-Founder of Superlogic.
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On/Go launches product to diagnose multiple respiratory conditions
On/Go, a healthtech platform known for its at-home rapid COVID-19 tests, launched Sniffles, a first-of-its-kind solution to diagnose and treat cough, the common cold, flu, RSV, COVID, and a variety of other upper respiratory conditions. This all-in-one fix is packed with the essentials to fight off whatever has you sniffling with fast-acting cold and flu medication, defense-boosting immunity tabs, at-home testing and more.
On average, consumers spend upwards of $10 billion annually on cough and cold remedies, and in the U.S., only 10 percent of patients seek treatment. Sniffles aims to solve the cold and flu epidemic by providing a rapid fix that’s convenient, easily accessible, and highly effective. For $39.99, Sniffles offers 24/7 telehealth services (no health insurance required), seamless integration with CVS MinuteClinic for in-person support, and $75 worth of remedies and medications.
8
Babson names new director for Miami
Babson College announced Carla Curiel will steer the Miami location toward a dynamic future. Babson College, founded in 1919 in Massachusetts, established its presence in Miami in 2017 to contribute to the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and provide world-class business education to individuals and corporations through its Blended Learning MBA program.
Curiel is a serial entrepreneur, most recently serving as the co-founder and CEO of Lanugo Media, a family entertainment company focused on creating culturally relevant content that promotes diversity. An alum, she has remained closely connected to the Babson community since her graduation, serving as President and Vice President of the SoFla Alumni Club, initiating WinLab’s arrival in Miami, and representing Babson in the White House’s Hispanic Heritage Celebration and 25th anniversary of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence.
Departing Director, Gustavo Trindade, is joining the College’s Finance team.
9
Biller Genie opens Orlando office
After securing $5 million in a Series A investment in 2022, Biller Genie told Miami Inno it would seek office space in Orlando – and it has. Since September, 23 of Biller Genie’s 35 staffers have been working out of a 4,000-square-foot office at 7680 Universal Blvd. President and Co-founder Garima Shah said it’s a second headquarters.
“The pandemic hit right after we launched, as soon as we started getting traction, so we hired an almost all-remote staff,” said Shah. “When we started collecting ourselves and trying to figure out where we needed to be, we found that the talent in Orlando is so much richer, and we’ve been able to find great candidates from various technical companies because we’ve got such a big tech scene here.”
Shah said the company signed a two-year lease and chose the office building in southwest Orlando because it is centrally located and accessible. Biller Genie is a cloud-based automated billing platform that Shah said gets businesses paid much faster than manual billing. Read more here.
10
Opportunity knocks
- Miami Tech entrepreneurs and startups, seize the opportunity to pitch your startup live to the renowned VC Tim Draper for a chance to secure a $50,000 to $1 million investment. The deadline is November 24th. Apply here.
- eMerge Americas opened applications for its 2024 Startup Accelerator and Showcase. Entrepreneurs have the chance to win a $520,000 investment for their venture. Joining forces with Florida Funders, Medina Ventures and BIP Ventures, eMerge will select 110 startups from across the world for a seven-week program that will culminate in a pitch competition next April. All selected startups will also receive 2 free Tech Passes and prime exhibit space at eMerge Americas. Find out more and apply here by Jan. 31.
- The Synapse Innovation Awards recognizes Florida’s innovators, risk-takers and creators for daring to see an opportunity to make something better, and doing it! Find out more and apply here.
- Apply to present at the 2024 Florida Venture Capital Conference Feb. 1-2, 2024 at the JW Marriott Marquis in Downtown Miami. The conference attracts over 700 attendees, including 200+ active venture investors. The final application deadline is Jan. 8, but early submissions are strongly encouraged. Find out more and apply here.
- Dreaming of a tech career? Check out these scholarship opportunities offered by BITE-CON and 4Geeks Academy for Full Stack Developer and/or Data Science and Machine Learning bootcamps. Apply on BITE-CON website here.
- The Venture Miami Scholarship Fund provides tuition support to provide gap funding for at-need City of Miami residents who have been accepted into STEM or defined-demand occupation programs at participating colleges and universities, including Florida International University, Florida Memorial University, Miami Dade College, and the University of Miami. How to apply: Students who meet the program requirements and are interested in applying to the Venture Miami scholarship are encourage to complete this survey to begin the application process.
- The Alan B. Levan/NSU Broward Center of Innovation is accepting applications for the 100 Startup Project. Applicants who are accepted will receive a yearlong membership to the Levan Center of Innovation. Apply here.
ICYMI
- BeMe Health clinches $1.5M in funding, partners with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas to improve teen mental health
- Mission-driven Apogee Robotics launches personalized companion robot for autistic and neurodivergent people
- 35 Mules announces 3rd cohort. Let’s meet them.
- New-to-Miami AudioCardio is the workout your ears are screaming for
- This SF-turned-Miami innovator is helping to address the tech equity gap
- It’s a record-setting year for tech sector expansion, according to Beacon Council report
- 18-month-old Forward Therapeutics raises $50M to advance small molecule immune therapies
- CAST AI secures $35M to revolutionize cloud cost optimization
- Top AIG exec to join Palantir to lead global financial services - September 2, 2026
- 8+ things to know in #MiamiTech: News from NEXA, A1R water, SPARC South Florida, tech salaries, Guident, Remitian, jobs opportunities & more - August 29, 2026
- For the win, Miami-based basketball startup league Unrivaled raises $100M+ Series C - August 26, 2026