South Florida is home to a growing group of companies and organizations heating up the region’s technology sector.
Miami Inno’s Fire Awards recognizes some of these startups, established companies, accelerators and community groups for the winning practices that helped bolster the tri-county area’s innovation ecosystem over the past year.
Nearly a decade of efforts to build South Florida’s budding technology industry began to pay off in earnest in 2020, when entrepreneurs and investors alike relocated to the region to build businesses and invest in companies.
It didn’t take long for the rest of the nation to take notice, as the Miami metropolitan area quickly transformed into a premier tech hub of the southeastern U.S.
Our 25 Fire Awards honorees are innovative companies in fields such as virtual reality, construction, surgical robotics and medical technology. Several of the ventures are in the clean energy business, including solar and wind developers, and battery storage providers,
Miami Inno’s editorial team reviewed nominations for the award and considered a variety of factors – including funding, revenue growth, acquisitions, expansions, community impact, product launches and future potential – to select honorees.
Join us in congratulating the 2024 Inno Fire Awards winners.
1909
It’s becoming more difficult for small businesses and retailers to set up shop in downtown areas as real estate prices go through the roof. Palm Beach County’s 1909 is offering a solution. Named for the year Palm Beach County was founded, 1909 connects hundreds of small businesses with subsidized workspaces, mentorship programs, community events and other resources to help them scale. The nonprofit recently leased a 9,000-square-foot office at the historic Comeau Building in West Palm Beach to offer more space for new businesses that want a presence downtown.
Carewell
The e-commerce company recently moved its corporate headquarters back to Miami after a stint in North Carolina, and completed a $25 million series B round led by MBF Healthcare Partners. Carewell’s website sells health care products and other items that caregivers need to care for seniors and other family members at home.
Sustainable Skylines
Headquartered in Miami, Sustainable Skylines uses drones to tow banners for aerial advertising campaigns often seen on local beaches. The drones, powered by hybrid-electric engines, can be used to replace small aircraft that traditionally tow those banners. In 2023, Sustainable Skylines became the first banner towing company to receive Federal Aviation Administration approval for commercial operations. In April, it partnered with aviation resources firm USI to create a certification program that trains aviators in remote piloting technologies.
ChefPost
Personal chefs are usually found in the wealthiest homes, but Fort Lauderdale-based ChefPost is bringing that service to the masses. The online marketplace lets users book personal chefs and cooks on demand – and it’s already gaining traction in Florida. The startup expanded to Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach over the past year. As a result, it reports the business grew 60% in 2023.
NextEra Energy Resources
A subsidiary of Juno Beach-based NextEra Energy, NER is one of the country’s largest producers of solar and wind energy. The firm recently placed 740 megawatts of new solar and storage projects into service in Arizona and New Mexico, both the largest battery storages facilities in those states. In June, it entered into a partnership with Louisiana energy company Entergy to develop renewable energy projects across the South.
Seaworthy Collective
Miami-based Seaworthy Collective is an entrepreneur support organization devoted to scaling restorative ocean and maritime startups. It’s part of building a sustainable “blue” economy that can combat marine pollution, sea level rise and other issues while also creating profitable companies. In February, it was one of 16 ocean technology accelerators to snag funding from the Biden administration to better serve businesses developing new climate resilience technology.
Miami-Dade Innovation Authority
Miami-Dade County is taking a novel approach in the world of local government: providing startups a chance to pilot their technology in one of the largest cities in the U.S. Last year, the county launched the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority, a nonprofit that invests in early-stage businesses solving problems in areas that affect the lives of locals. Since then, the MDIA has kicked off three innovation challenges, with the first centered on finding sustainable solutions for the sargassum seaweed that piles up on local beaches. Four companies will begin piloting their solutions this summer.
Togal AI
Founded by Coastal Construction executive Patrick Murphy, the construction tech startup uses AI and machine learning to automate construction estimates for contractors – a time-consuming process that is often completed manually. Miami-based Togal AI reports its revenue grew 940% in 2023, the yearit also raised $5 million in a seed funding round.
Sofi Products
The Miami startup is focused on providing environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic straws and cups. Named after Miami Beach’s South of Fifth neighborhood, Sofi Products makes sturdy paper straws and lid-free coffee cups that are all biodegradable. The company now sells to more than 4,000 business across the U.S. and Canada, including fast-casual chain Pret A Manger and convenience store company Circle K.
Miami Waterkeeper
This year, the nonprofit launched the Green Infrastructure Accelerator Project, an initiative to identify underutilized public spaces that could benefit from green infrastructure to reduce flooding, excessive heat and habitat loss. Supported by an Environmental Protection Agency grant, the goal is to make neighborhoods more environmentally resilient. In January, Miami Waterkeeper set up an online tool to solicit community feedback about design ideas and potential locations.
Flowlie Technologies
Miami-based Flowlie is a venture-raising platform for investors and founders. Investors can use it to screen deals that come their way and determine who in their network might be interested. Founders, meanwhile, can use it to share pitch decks and reach out to potential investors. Flowlie’s founders report it already has thousands of users and has already raised $300,000 from a group of family offices and angel investors.
Lab22c
The strategic advisory firm is an advocate for Miami’s emerging technology sector. Its recent work includes supporting Miami-based clean energy company Exowatt’s transition from stealth mode to market launch. Lab22c is also one of the facilitators of the Tech Talent Coalition, a community group focused on building Miami’s technology workforce, and is the organizer of a monthly “Cafecito and Pastelitos” meetup that brings together players in the innovation sector.
StatusPro
Virtual reality gaming startup StatusPro recently raised $20 million from investors to bring immersive experiences to sports fans. Led by Google Ventures, the series A funding is one of the largest in the VR gaming space. The Miami company is behind the first National Football League and NFL Players Association-licensed VR simulation gaming franchise. The immersive simulation uses virtual reality to provide users with a first-person view of what it’s like to be on the field as a professional football player.
Origis Energy
Origis Energy builds clean solar and energy storage projects around the world. That includes multiple facilities now operating or under development across the U.S. In January, it announced that it had secured $317 million in project tax equity funding from JPMorgan Chase to fund solar energy storage projects in New Mexico and Mississippi. Then, in April, it closed on a $136 million construction loan with Japan’s Mitsubishi UFG Finance Group for the development of its Rice Creek Solar project in Putnam County, Florida.
The Research Park at Florida Atlantic University
The Boca Raton institution is laser-focused on supporting and scaling local technology startups through its incubator and accelerator programs. The Research Park reports its businesses now employ nearly 1,000 people after adding 89 employees in 2023. About half of the businesses at the park provide internships to FAU students, and 65% hire university graduates.
Zulu Pods
The Broward County startup made headlines this year after it was awarded a Phase 2 contract from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Center. That came less than a year after the company won a Small Business Innovation Research contract from the U.S. Navy. Fort Lauderdale-based Zulu Pods is the maker of a self-contained, hermetically sealed packaged oil delivery system for jet engines and helicopters.
SellersFi
The financial technology startup kicked off 2024 with a $300 million credit facility from Citi and Fasanara Capital to fuel its growth. The Weston business uses AI models to provide working capital to e-commerce businesses. According to eMerge Americas’ 2023 Insight Report, SellersFi was one of the region’s top-funded AI-powered startups of the year.
Marco Financial
Founded in 2019, Marco Financial facilitates cross-border trade by providing working capital to small and medium exporters. The company has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to fund its growth. That includes a $200 million deal with MidCap Financial and an $82 million seed financing round in 2021. It continued the trend in March, when the fintech raised $12 million in a series A round led by IDC Ventures, a venture capital fund tied to the Inter-American Development Bank Group.
Kind Designs
The Miami Beach startup is the maker of 3D-printed seawalls designed to mimic coral reefs and mangroves. That idea is for the structures to protect shorelines from flooding while creating an ecosystem for marine life. The company snagged funding from billionaire Mark Cuban, and recently began a seawall installation in Miami Beach.
HealthSnap
The virtual care management platform secured $25 million in February in a financing round led by Sands Capital. Miami-based HealthSnap builds software designed to monitor chronic conditions such as hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. That remote monitoring technology is intended to reduce patient visits to doctors’ offices and improve long-term health outcomes.
Securitize
While some blockchain and crypto industry businesses have floundered, Securitize continues to gain steam. In May, the startup raised $47 million in a funding round backed by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. That followed its $48 million series B raise in 2021 led by Morgan Stanley, which marked the financial services company’s first investment in a blockchain venture. Miami-based Securitize’s platform converts traditional financial assets such as stocks and currencies into digital tokens and stores them on the blockchain.
DermaSensor
The Miami company is the maker of a non-invasive device that can help primary care doctor’s detect skin cancer on patients. Founded by medical technology investors Christopher Dewey and Dr. Maurice Ferré, the business was launched in collaboration with Dr. Irving Bigio, a spectroscopy research and professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University. In January, DermaSensor’s skin cancer detection device received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is now being sold to physicians across the country.
Neocis
The Miami company is the maker of a Food and Drug Administration-approved surgical robot, the Yomi, that can assist dentists during implant surgeries. The company reports the device has assisted in the placement of more than 40,000 implants since 2016. Neocis recently captured the attention of NVentures, Nvidia’s venture capital arm, which backed its recent $20 million funding round. Founded in 2009, Neocis is backed by at least $163 million in investor capital and recently moved into larger headquarters in Wynwood.
Suffolk
The national company is using more technology on job sites to make construction projects more efficient. Its focus on innovation also extends to Suffolk Technologies, its affiliated venture capital firm, which has invested in almost 30 early-stage startups in the property technology sector focused on issues such as reducing carbon emissions tied to construction and addressing the affordable housing shortage.
Alan B. Levan | NSU Broward Center of Innovation
Opened in 2021, the 54,000-square-foot Levan Center in Davie acts as an incubator and accelerator for technology industry entrepreneurs in South Florida. Since then, the center has served more than 200 entrepreneurs, who have created 100 new companies and at least 430 jobs. Businesses at the center have also filed 14 patents and launched more than 50 products.
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