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8+ things to know in #Miamitech: Welcome home, Jeff Bezos! Plus tech hub growth charted and news from Blue Frontier, Novo, Moonlighter, FloSpine, eVTOLs, Cruise, more

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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1

Welcome to #MiamiTech, Jeff Bezos!

In a surprise to absolutely no one, Jeff Bezos announced he was moving to Miami from Seattle, his home for nearly three decades.

Calling it “an emotional decision,” the Amazon founder and executive chair posted on Instagram last week, in part: “I want to be close to my parents, and Lauren and I love Miami. Also, Blue Origin’s operations are increasingly shifting to Cape Canaveral.”

We knew this was coming. First we heard his parents moved here and there have been Jeff and Lauren sightings around town. Then there was the real estate. Bezos recently paid $79 million for a seven-bedroom mansion in the “Billionaire Bunker” of Indian Creek, shortly after buying a neighboring mansion for $68 million. Last year, he also reportedly helped his parents buy two homes next to each other in Coral Gables for a combined $78 million. And Bezos, of course, is an alum of Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Pinecrest, graduating in 1982. Also, Blue Origin has been expanding its footprint in Cape Canaveral since 2015.

#MiamiTech of course was all atwitter about this huge news and what having one of the world’s greatest tech and space entrepreneurs in our midst will mean for us. How can he help?

Perhaps the biggest impact of his expertise and money could benefit generations to come.

Last year, Bezos pledged to donate most of his wealth to charitable causes within his lifetime. As part of that, he established the Bezos Earth Fund, aimed at fighting climate change, with $10 billion in  grants targeted to be disbursed by 2030. Miami-Dade, a ground zero target for climate change, has made no secret of its aspirations as a  climatetech hub. Hmm…   

Welcome back, Jeff Bezos. A lot has changed in the 305 since your high school days! PS, we all loved your post with a throwback to Amazon’s first “office.”

2

New report sheds light on #MiamiTech growth

Jeff Bezos, if you want a primer on our ecosystem, we’ve got you covered.

In 2021, the Miami metro area jumped onto the VC map as a tech hub, ranking among the top 10 US venture hubs for the first time, and increased funding in 2022,, unlike other hubs. While funding has tumbled like the rest of the country so far in 2023, deal counts have largely  held up.

For real-time insights, check out our new #MiamiTech Dashboard, powered by Dealroom and supported by Vultr here or through the dashboard link on refreshmiami.com.

According to a new report by Dealroom, Dealroom projects that te Miami metro area will rank 9th in the nation for VC investments totaling about $14 billion made from 2021 through 2023, and for 2023 alone will rank 5th by number of deals.

Their report, The Miami Tech Ecosystem, also found that while Miami is earlier in its development as a tech hub – only year  3 – the ecosystem is growing at a much faster growth rate than nearly all of its peers.

More findings:

  • Investment in Miami startups is expected to reach $1.6 billion, according to Dealroom.
  • By early stage venture capital in 2023, the Dealroom team projects Miami will rank 8th in the nation.
  • The Miami metro counts 21 unicorns and exits over $1 billion (the list includes now-public companies as well as the privately held unicorns) across a wide variety of segments with healthtech and biotech having the most.
  • Miami is predominately a Saas ecosystem, with marketplace and hard tech startups making up just 30% of the startups.

READ MORE: We’ve got the data: Refresh Miami unveils Miami Tech Dashboard

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3

Blue Frontier named one of the world’s top climate companies

Boca Raton-based  Blue Frontier  is fighting to keep us cool without taking such a severe environmental toll. Their mission: They are developing a proprietary air conditioning system aimed at reduce gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions by decarbonizing building cooling .

 The startup recent made MIT Technology Review’s 15 Climate Tech Companies to Watch list. The list recognizes businesses that have the greatest potential to reduce carbon emissions and the threat of global warming. The company received a $20 million investment led by the Bill Gates-founded firm Breakthrough Energy Ventures last year.

READ MORE: Blue Frontier is on a mission to keep us cool, while being kind to the climate

4

Novo teams with LegalZoom

Novo, the powerfully simple financial solutions platform for small businesses, and LegalZoom.com, the industry leader in online small business formations and a leading online platform for legal, compliance and tax solutions, today announced an extensive new partnership that provides small businesses with access to each other’s services. “Integrating LegalZoom services into the Novo platform marks a significant step forward in Novo’s mission to create an all-in-one solution for small businesses’ financial and operational needs,” said Brad Paterson, EVP of Marketing and Partnerships at Novo.

Novo customers can access LegalZoom services through the Novo platform, giving small businesses seamless access to formation services for LLCs, S-Corps, C-Corps, and nonprofits, as well as registered agent and business advisory services. 

READ MORE: Q&A with Novo’s Michael Rangel on empowering small businesses to make a positive impact on their local communities

5 

Moonlighter wins $100K grant

Moonlighter FabLab received a grant of $100,000 over two years from The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation, as part of the third edition of the Pérez CreARTE Grants Program. “This grant will provide the critical funds needed to onboard new technical educators, train our team with internationally recognized Maker educator certifications, and expand our educational programs for broader impact in the community,” said Tom Pupo, Executive Director of Moonlighter FabLab.

Moonlighter FabLab is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering makers of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, with skills, tools, and opportunities. Since 2015, Moonlighter FabLab has worked with over 15,000 students, served over 250 members, and partnered with local non-profits organizations, museums, and schools to build over 15 social impact projects in the community with our students. One of its projects is the popular Maker Faire Miami.

6

Biotech startup gains FDA clearance, expands

  FloSpine and the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University  announced that FloSpine has achieved 510(k) clearance for its KeyLift Expandable Interlaminar Stabilization System from the FDA, and has expanded out of the Global Ventures entrepreneur support center into a new, larger office to support its growth.

The newly approved device addresses spinal stenosis, a common and debilitating condition that affects more than 100 million people worldwide, resulting in approximately 600,000 surgeries annually in the United States alone.

7

First eVTOL test flight in Florida wasn’t in Miami

Here at Refresh Miami, we have written a great deal about eVTOLs, a new category of aircraft that focuses on short- to medium-range flights powered by electric propulsion,  and the handful of companies that want to make Miami one of their first launch markets. But Tampa had the news last week: At Tampa International Airport, Volocopter, a German-made air taxi, made the first-ever flight test of an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in the state, St. Pete Catalyst reported.

The company expects to receive a final certification of its commercial eVTOL aircraft, the VoloCity, from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency  next year. Hoke said operations would initially start in France and Italy. An official of the company said it is interested in furthering discussions about production in the US.

As Refresh has reported,there are at least five other companies also wanting to make Miami an initial market, including Eve Mobility, an Embraer spinout, that is partnering with GlobalX and collaborating with engineers at the University of Miami to bring their eVTOL here.   

8

Sorry to see you go, Cruise, we hardly knew you

In other autonomous transportation news, Cruise, the robotaxi operator, announced last week it was  pausing driverless operations in every market it had started to charge for its fully autonomous taxi service, including Austin, Houston, Phoenix and the very recently and quietly launched Miami market.

 The GM self-driving subsidiary said it was taking the action to rebuild public trust and added it was not related to any new on-road incidents. Cruise said it will continue with supervised autonomous vehicle operations, which means that a human safety operator will be behind the wheel, TechCrunch reported.

PLUS

Opportunity knocks

  • Interested in learning more about Techstars Miami or applying for its upcoming accelerator cohort? Join Techstars Miami for in-person co-working and application office hours on Nov. 8 where you can meet the Techstars Miami team and have your application questions answered directly. Find out more and sign up here. The deadline to apply for the next Miami cohort is Nov. 29.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Venture Miami is teaming up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to bring the Miami Founder Summit on Nov. 14. This free one-day gathering at Builders Collective in Wynwood is dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs and fostering innovation, with valuable insights on building, growing, and scaling thriving businesses.  Sign up 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

Have news to report? Email Nancy Dahlberg at nancy@refreshmiami.com and follow her on X @ndahlberg

Nancy Dahlberg
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