What happened in Miami tech in 2022? We’ve got the recap for you!

Read about hot startup sectors, VC, tech talent, migration momentum & more. In #MiamiTech, it was ‘time to build.’

By Riley Kaminer and Nancy Dahlberg

Amid formidable recessionary headwinds, a bullish #MiamiTech notched another pivotal year. If 2022 has a theme, it seemed to be “It’s time to build.” Two years after The Great Miami Migration was kicked off by early movers like Keith Rabois and then amplified by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s How Can I Help tweet, the founders and funders are still coming – and staying. [New to #MiamiTech? Catch up with our 2021 recap.]

You may be surprised by our summary on VC – indeed, our results separated us from the tech hub pack – in a good way. We also covered some hot sectors to watch – read on to see why proptech is knocking at our door. It was also a big year on the tech talent front, with the academic and philanthropic communities coming together to ready our future talent.  And of course we checked in on our leading sectors and took note of new funds, OG exits and much more.

At Refresh Miami, we’ve been bringing together the community and chronicling #MiamiTech stories since the early days, and so here, in no particular order, are some of our biggest stories, themes and milestones of #MiamiTech 2022. 

Look up! PropTech is on the rise

Real estate looms large in South Florida. Buying and selling properties is a game that has led to immense wealth in Miami for some, while causing great financial strain for others.

Either way, 2022 saw a proliferation of startups working in the real estate space – and some major fundraises. Top of the list was WeWork founder Adam Neumann’s Flow, which raised a $350 million investment from a16z to rethink the residential rental market. The startup, which already has a $1 billion valuation despite not yet having commenced operations, has already purchased apartments in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

This year, Bungalow, a full-service tech platform for renters, relocated its headquarters from San Francisco to Wynwood. Equally, Spanish real estate investment platform Reental chose Miami as the hub for its expansion to the Americas. Belong, a property management platform serving both renters and homeowners, made Miami home this year. And Propy, which swapped Silicon Valley for Miami last year, has sold over $5 billion worth of properties through its blockchain-powered platform. 

Belong CEO Ale Resnik in Cafecito Talk with Mayor Suarez

Vacation rental investment platforms saw particular success this year, with Here raising $5 million and Getaway – founded by two Bungalow alumni – snagged $5.9 million in combined equity and debt. BLCK, a digital platform that aims to help people make money hosting short-term rentals without owning property, was also founded in Miami in 2022.

– Riley Kaminer

Reental team

It’s been a GREAT year for VC. Say what? Locally, that is …

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area logged $5.3 billion in venture capital in 2021, according to my analysis.  Will we set a record, at a time when other major metro areas are logging large declines? Drum roll, please …

According to preliminary calculations, the Miami area will come very close to – and will likely exceed – last year’s record $5.3 billion total in terms of venture capital dollars flowing to South Florida companies. To put this in perspective, other major metros and tech hubs are down 25% to 50% from their 2021 totals. (My analysis on South Florida venture capital includes data from the major venture data trackers and my own research and tracking throughout the year.)

By number of deals, we will absolutely hit a record – in fact, we already have, according to Pitchbook’s totals through Q3. Any way you slice that, this is pretty impressive, considering we are in recessionary times, amid a  global VC slowdown, and enduring a crypto winter. Let that sink in.

Will FinTech hold on to the most active sector? Probably, but investments into crypto, web3 and blockchain will definitely exceed last year’s total of $859 million, when crypto burst onto the scene in the second half of 2021. (OK, that’s a no-brainer given two of our area’s largest deals this year were in this space: Yuga Labs’ $450 million raise, also the region’s largest deal, and Flow’s haul of $350 million.)

HealthTech continued to draw attention, including incisionless surgery company Insightec, which raised a $200M credit facility, and mental health telehealth player Brave Health, hauling in a $40 million Series C. Big gainers in other #MiamiTech sectors this year included Recurrent Ventures ($300M); OppZo ($260M, debt and equity);  Muck Rack ($180M); Material Bank ($175M), PayCargo ($130M) and Novo ($125M in two rounds).

Unfortunately, the year’s news was not pretty for South Florida’s female founders. Through Q3, $538 million was invested across 47 Miami-Fort Lauderdale area startups that had at least one female co-founder on their teams. This would represent about 11.5% of the total VC dollars flowing into South Florida companies during that time period, badly trailing the 17.2% logged nationally — and in the Bay Area, New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago. South Florida badly trailed the national average for deal count in women-founded companies, too.

The 10 local startups founded by all-women teams raised $33 million in the first three quarters of 2022. But that’s just 0.7% of the capital invested, compared to 2.3% nationally.

So far, by my preliminary calculations, fourth-quarter funding of female-founded startups would keep the percentages at around the same place.

Many people have asked what are the stats for Black-founded companies locally? If anyone has a good data source to suggest, I are all ears because I want to track this, too. To be sure, the national stats around black-founded startup fundings are miserable too, and I believe unfortunately the trends are similar locally.

Stay tuned for my comprehensive 2023 report on #MiamiTech VC for eMerge Americas that will be released in the spring.

 – Nancy Dahlberg

READ MORE: Flow of Miami metro VC is strong in Q3 – and you can thank Adam Neumann for that

Rising tides lead to a focus on ClimateTech

Kind Designs

The ClimateTech sector has ballooned over the last year, with PitchBook estimating that the market will reach $1.4 trillion globally in the next five years. This growth can be seen tangibly in the Miami startup ecosystem. And the need is particularly acute here, considering our region’s vulnerability to the negative effects of climate change.

The Aspen Ideas: Climate conference in May showcased Miami’s climate chops. Mayors and members of congress came together with researchers, climate entrepreneurs, and big business leaders to chart a path for tech-enabled climate resiliency. The goal: for Miami to be a shining example of climate innovation that can be replicated on a global scale.

“Technology is driving this climate transformation,” said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber. “It’s technology that gives us the solutions and the options for responding to climate change.”

One of these top technologies: 3D printed seawalls from Miami-based Kind Designs. These seawalls cost the same as traditional alternatives but take only a fraction of the time to construct and are significantly more environmentally friendly. Kind Designs is part of the Seaworthy Collective climate tech incubator that, with the support of Miami-Dade County and global investors, aims to unlock the power of our oceans for climate resiliency.

In 2022, Spanish startup ClimateTrade relocated its headquarters to Miami to expand its decarbonization platform stateside, and Boca-based Blue Frontier raised a $20 million Series A to make our AC tech climate-friendly. Carbon Limit, SustainaBase and CoreZero are also South Florida ClimateTech companies to watch, and more startups participated in Endeavor Miami’s climate-focused accelerator. The Miami-Dade Beacon Council’s Opportunity Miami rolled out its community platform, and one of the initiative’s key areas of focus for economic development is ClimateTech.

Mobility has also become a focus for climate-minded Miami innovators. Miame Beach is home to Blink Charging, one of the largest companies in the US that designs, manufactures, and owns/operates EV charging stations. At least five air taxi companies are now circling the Miami market, from startups to major enterprises. We could be seeing flying eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing aircrafts) within the next few. And while 2022 saw the end of Miami’s scooter sharing program, it also saw the rise of two new tech-powered scooter shops with global footprints: Fluidfreeride in Little Haiti and NIU in Brickell.

– Riley Kaminer

Blink Charging

GO DEEPER: South Florida is a hub for climate innovation. Here are 5 reasons why.

Broward and Palm Beach continue to be our northern powerhouse

Danielle Mousseau heads up 35 Mules

The county lines separating Miami-Dade from our neighbors to the north are increasingly being blurred as Broward and Palm Beach startups continue gaining considerable momentum.

Powering this growth are a handful of regional innovation initiatives, such as FPL’s 35 Mules program, the Levan Center at Nova Southeastern University, and various initiatives at Florida Atlantic University. This year, you could hop the Brightline to an expanded, rebranded TECHpalooza produced by South Florida Tech Hub.

Broward and Palm Beach companies saw some major funding rounds this year, including a $38 million Series B for Boatsetter, a $42.8 million Series D for ILiAD Biotechnologies, and a $12 million Series B for Tienda Pago. But equally, bootstrapped companies thrived – such as ZeroBounce, INMYTEAM, and Salesmsg. One rising star to keep an eye on: Boca-based TicketRev, which just bagged a $500k pre-seed and joined a Techstars accelerator.

Startups with public purpose saw particular growth in the northern counties this year. For instance, AgeTech platform Carevocacy expanded to 27 locations and won a pitch competition sponsored by Miramar-based Spirit Airlines. A Civic Hacking Day in Fort Lauderdale opened local technologists’ minds to the opportunity of working with the public sector. And DiaM’s diabetes education platform surpassed 100,000 members.

Riley Kaminer

NSU’s Levan Center plants the flag during its inaugural Space Day.

Here comes the money: VCs continue flocking to Miami

Katherine Boyle, Miami GP, a16z

The big headline news landed about mid-year: Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital giant, planned to put down stakes in the Miami area. Yes, a16z signed a five-year lease for a new office in Miami Beach, building on 2021 news of Founders Fund, Atomic VC and SoftBank opening offices here. But beyond these marquee names, venture capital interest and activity in #MiamiTech continued to intensify.

“I’m still consistently on a weekly basis meeting new high quality investors and founders who have recently moved to Miami at the #MiamiTech happy hour, direct introductions from mutual friends, social media tags or just by talking to people when out at coffee shops, dinners, and social gatherings. The drum beat actually has been stronger in 2022 of people making a long term commitment to Miami by planting roots and moving their lives here,” says Chris Adamo, a super angel, co-founder of Flamingo Capital and a #MiamiTech OG.

Adamo rattles off investors who have moved here in 2022: John Paul Milciunas, founder and GP, Base Layer; Ariana Thacker, founding partner, Conscience VC; Peter Boyce, formerly of General Catalyst, now Constellation VC; Kerry Miller, GP Overton Venture Capital; Alpen Sheth, Partner, Borderless Capital; and Ashley Tyson, GP of Hypersphere Ventures, to name a few. Others, like Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, founder of Gilt Group, are deepening their investing ties with growing funds, he says. 

 “Our funding sources are more consistent, the founders are more experienced, and the relationships are stronger than ever to other regions that are investing in Miami-based organizations,” says Adamo, who recently joined Alumni Ventures as their first Super Angel, with a focus on the South.

Dami Osunsanya, SoftBank

Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six raised two funds totaling $500 million and the investor has grown his #MiamiTech holdings. Meanwhile, the state’s most active venture firm, Florida Funders, raised a $60M Fund 2 this spring. Nico Berardi’s Animo Ventures announced a $77 million fund, and homegrown Las Olas Venture Capital raised a $50 million second fund, and Animo Ventures announced a $78 million Fund 3. Under new leadership, Miami Angels is focused on growing its membership so one of the state’s largest angel networks can back even more local startups. Miami’s Dami Osunsanya became a director for the SB Opportunity Fund, which has invested in 73 companies founded by Black and Latinx entrepreneurs. Earlier this year, Fuel VC said it surpassed $100 million in investments in South Florida startups alone.

Magdalena ‘Mags’ Kala, Double Down

New venture firms now call Miami home, like Magdalena “Mags” Kala’s Double Down, an early-stage venture firm focused on mainstream adoption of web3 through consumer culture. Her first $30 million fund sports LPs and advisors such as Chris Dixon and Marc Andreessen of a16z, Ohanian, Paris Hilton and Sara Blakely. “I moved here because I like a high energy place with great weather and I’ve somehow found myself in what I believe to be the epicenter of web3 native culture,” Kala says.

Others in the Miami region making moves in 2022 include Syn Ventures announcing a $300M cybersecurity fund, Protagonist launching a $100M blockchain protocols focused fund and Hartmann Capital with a $30M metaverse fund. Core Ventures launched with an international investors group, and Jeanine Suah founded Rezilyent Capital with a focus on investing in early-stage companies led by nontraditional and diverse founders. Seedfunders expanded to Miami. 

– Nancy Dahlberg

Miami provides shelter during the crypto winter

The Gateway, Art Week, 2022

2022 was not the best year for crypto connoisseurs, with down markets and scandals plaguing the fledgling industry. And to a certain extent, Miami played a central role. For one, FTX had planned to move its headquarters here. As recently as a day before the exchange imploded, it was showing off the view from what was supposed to be its new Miami office. Yet the company already loomed large in Miami – literally, through its $135 million naming rights deal for the home of the Heat.

Despite the volatility, Miami’s web3 community plodded on. The general consensus: “It’s time to build.”

Web3 was a major focus during Miami Art week, with a global audience flocking to South Florida for conferences trying to make sense of the state of web3 – particularly in the wake of the implosion of crypto exchange FTX. From politicians such as Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis to music stars such as Timbaland and the “Madonna of China,” Annie Yi, experts urged entrepreneurs to stay the course and focus on the long-term benefits of web3 tech.

DCentral Miami 2022
OnChain Studios’ Cryptoys

This year also saw some notable fundraises for Miami-based web3 companies. In November, Ping landed a $15 million fundraise for its crypto-powered payment platform. OnChain Studios raised a $23M Series A led by a16z crypto to build ‘the future of play’ before later inking a multiyear partnership with Mattel, while CoinRoutes closed a $16 million Series B to bring algorithmic crypto trading platform to institutional investors. Meanwhile, Milo secured a $17 million Series A for its digital banking and home mortgage and originated more than $10 million in crypto mortgage loans. Relocation and expansion news continued, including a new Wynwood HQ for Blockchain.com.

Miami’s web3 community focused on equity and inclusion, led by Michelle Abbs’ Web3 Equity and their Tuttle Tribe NFT drop that are aiming to shape the future of technology through education and female empowerment. 

Riley Kaminer

Tuttle Tribe

GO DEEPER: Web3 for good, blockchain construction, easing VC and more. Here are our 5 trends in the #CryptoCapital

Universities and colleges prime the tech talent pipeline

Does South Florida have enough tech talent? If not now, it likely will in a few years. In September, Miami Dade College opened its AI Center on the North Campus to prepare tomorrow’s AI workforce by upskilling today’s students and community members. “AI is the future, and we know every company should come with those capabilities … but in Miami we know we don’t have the workforce yet. This is a very ambitious plan and the center is at the core. We are not only building a physical space but building the best programs possible,” Antonio Delgado, MDC’s VP of Innovation and Partnerships, told Refresh Miami at the time.

The new AI Center and other initiatives to expand MDC’s emerging tech programs and the college’s AI for All program were made possible with a $15 million grant from the Knight Foundation, Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami and the Miami DDA early this year. Knight’s investment follows its 2021 announcements to support tech talent programs in Florida International University and University of Miami and bring CodePath to FIU.

To be sure, there was much more activity on the tech talent front throughout South Florida. Early in the year, the City of Miami and MDC announced they would be forming a Miami Tech Charter School, where high school students could earn a dual tech degree from MDC. That new high school is taking applications for the fall here. What’s more, four institutions – FIU, MDC, Florida Atlantic University and Palm Beach State College – received millions in federal funding to ramp up programs in cybersecurity. Meanwhile, Nova Southeastern University expanded programs at its military-grade cybersecurity center and opened the region’s first space tech program at its new Levan Center of Innovation, Tech Equity Miami, together with philanthropic partners, launched a $100 million funding drive to ensure Miami’s underserved communities have access to tech education and jobs, and Blackstone Launchpad entrepreneurship programs will be opening soon on the campuses of FIU, FAU and MDC.

In April and again in November, Venture Miami Tech Hiring Fairs on MDC’s campus were a show of talent for students of all area colleges and universities and the greater community.  Looking out on the crowd there, Mayor Suarez said, “It’s emotional for me to see the hunger, the desire, the hope in people’s eyes. I also see these companies that we have helped attract to this city. … We’re gritty, we believe in scale because we have tasted it, there is no one in this community that can’t succeed.”

Scenes from the Venture Miami Tech Hiring Fair in April (above) and November (below)

Startups and enterprise tech companies turned out in force for the hiring fairs, and have been getting involved with higher ed in other ways too. For example, Magic Leap began working with FAU and nonprofits Miami EdTech, ReGenerate Tech and the Crockett Foundation to prime the talent pump, and the company has been partnering with UM for years. More recently, the City of Miami, together with Miami Dade County and area schools, announced the Venture Miami Scholarship Fund, which will provide grants to make sure a college education is free for any Pell grant recipient studying a STEM field at UM, FIU, MDC or Florida Memorial University. Ken Griffin’s foundation, Yuga Labs, Bakkt, Amazon, Novo and Zilch stepped up immediately with contributions. 

All of this is just a start. Expect much more on the tech talent front in 2023.

Nancy Dahlberg

Startups in South Florida fuel a future of work frenzy

Remote, hybrid, in-person. Local talent, international talent. 1099s, W2s. What will the future of work look like? It’s uncertain. But one thing is for certain: South Florida startups will play a major role.

Teal, a digital platform that helps professionals manage their job searches, raised a $6.3 million seed round in June. Meanwhile, BMI Financial Group has pledged up to $60 million to help myBasePay develop its back-office solution to help staffing firms, recruiters, and corporations manage contingent workforces.

Teal

Connecting top talent with tech roles is also a major focus in our ecosystem. Career Karma enables workers to transition into the tech industry, and Strategio advocates for diverse early-career tech talent, giving them training and their first tech jobs while helping them advance with a major enterprise company. Miami startup Human Cloud is providing micro-internships – think freelance projects – to FIU students, helping them build toward their future career. Raising seed rounds were Bootup, for its tech job marketplace targeted at enterprises that want to grow their pipelines, and Huddle, which is enabling top designers and builders to work on startup projects in exchange for cash and equity.

Riley Kaminer

Ruben Harris, Founder/CEO of Career Karma

FinTech continues to be a bright spot in #MiamiTech

Mayor Suarez’s goal to turn Miami into the “Capital of Capital” may not have come to fruition in the crypto space – yet, at least. But from a broader FinTech perspective, Miami continues to be a top destination.

Right before Thanksgiving, neobank Novo announced a $35 million raise at a pre-money valuation of $720 million. This valuation is up from $610 million in January, when Novo landed a $90 million Series B led by growth equity firm Stripes. So far, Novo has raised upwards of $170 million in equity funding.

Michael Rangel and Tyler McIntyre, Co-Founders, Novo 
Anabel Perez,
CEO/Founder, NovoPayment

In April, banking-as-a-service platform NovoPayment secured a $19 million Series A. Technisys, a Miami-based LatAm fintech leader, announced in February that it will be acquired in a $1.1 billion deal. And Biller Genie closed a $5M Series A round, following a big year of growth.

Additionally, a wide range of FinTech firms moved to or expanded in Miami this year. For instance, BNPL startup Zilch raised $50 million to spearhead its Miami/US expansion. UK fintech Paysend established its regional hub in Miami to expand its cross-border payment platform to the Americas. Migrant-focused Swedish neobank MAJORITY landed a $37.5 million Series B to double down on its South Florida presence.

One area of particular growth for the local FinTech scene was startups working to make it easier to send money across borders. This made particular sense in Miami, considering its close ties to Latin America and longstanding financial prowess.

Riley Kaminer

GO DEEPER: Miami is becoming a hub for cross-border payments – here’s how and Why is Miami becoming a hub for FinTech?

Exits flourish – stay tuned for next chapters

From left, founders from Technisys, Caribu and Clutch Prep celebrated exits

We covered a number of South Florida startup exits this year. Some were acquired by private or public companies and others went public through SPAC transactions. As is often the pattern, many of these founders will go on to start other companies or become investors – or both!  It’s the multiplier effect in action. Here are their stories:

Last year’s exits are already bearing fruit. Wyncode’s Juha Mikkola founded Usko Privacy, and founders of Nearpod, EveryMundo and SpeedeTab are investing in #MiamiTech.

Nancy Dahlberg

Move over, Big Apple! ‘Our city never sleeps’

Miami Hack Week. Miami Tech Week. Miami Tech Month. Techbasel. The homegrown eMerge Americas returned IRL in a big way. Then there was the the inaugural NFT Week, the Future Founder Summit, the The Miami Bull unveiling by TradeStation during the second annual Bitcoin Conference with some 30,000 attendees, Permissionless, MiamiWeb3, La Casa, the weekly Miami Tech Happy Hours and more. Miami loves a party, and in 2023, tech events were nonstop (perhaps you caught a few winks in July).

eMerge Americas with Serena Williams and Hong Fang

During Techbasel week alone, there were more than 150 tech conferences, events, activations, networkers or parties, including the Miami yacht variety.

Yet, 2022 also added to the calendar a growing set of niche conferences: Michelle Bakels launched React Miamid, during eMerge Americas, and then she followed that up in November with a Dev Writers Retreat at the Shelborne. PyData Miami convened in September. The summer saw Black Future Weekend come to town, and Black Men Talk Tech’s Unicorn Ambition conference returned in October. TechBeach brought together techies from Miami, LatAm and the Caribbean. Aspen Ideas: Climate came to town, along with two smart city conferences. The future of mobility was on display at CoMotion.

Ja’dan Johnson

“Our city never sleeps and I think the 2022 calendar reflected that so well. From Miami Hack Week in January to Art Basel in December, there was a constant and sustained momentum of events pulsing through our growing tech community,” says Ja’dan Johnson, a community builder who helped organize some of the region’s largest events, including Hack Week.  “And all in all, we’ve kept Miami on the world’s radar.”

What were his favorites? He admits his bias for Miami Hack Week, which was “thoughtfully curated and provided an abundance of opportunities for both the local community plus those who visited us from out of town” (Miami Hack Week returns in January – get ready!). Johnson also named the Miami Tech Happy Hour, which recently celebrated its two-year anniversary. “Natalia [Martinez Kalinina] and Chris [Adamo] curated such an extraordinary space for our community to gather  and the consistency is admirable!”

 – Nancy Dahlberg

A Miami Tech Happy Hour in November

Looking ahead, we’re bullish

Despite a difficult economy ahead, tech layoffs mounting across the country and perhaps more FTX fallout, in 2023 we see the Miami Movement continuing to gain steam, powered by new accelerators and startup programs joining our ecosystem of support organizations, startups becoming job-creating scaleups, and investors continuing to make bets on #MiamiTech. Talent-growing initiatives are ramping up, and inclusion efforts are front and center, driven by our community’s leaders, many of them women (We see you, Maria Derchi).

The welcome mat is still out, and the Miami Migration shows little letup. “We’re not sorta in – we’re all in,” Ken Griffin said after his announcement to move Citadel’s HQ to Miami from Chicago. At a Bloomberg event this fall, he said he would be personally recruiting companies like Apple to move or expand to the Magic City in 2023.

Rest assured, Mayor Suarez will continue to drive relocations, too. Stay tuned!

At Refresh Miami, we were honored to bring you just over 500 paywall-free stories in 2022 chronicling another momentous year for #MiamiTech. Like you, we’re excited for what’s ahead for #MiamiTech and we’re bullish on our region, too. Here’s to 2023!

From our team to you, Happy New Year!

If you don’t receive our free weekly Refresh Miami newsletter every Tuesday, join our mailing list here.

Nancy Dahlberg