Miami-area startups raised billions in capital during the first three quarters of 2021, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the investment dollars that went to Florida ventures during that period.
South Florida companies attracted $2.4 billion over 179 deals that closed between January and Sept. 30, according to the National Venture Capital Association and Pitchbook's Q3 Venture Monitor. That's a record high for the Miami area, which ranked No. 12 for deal activity in analysis of national technology hubs.
Local startups raised almost $486 million in venture capital across 11 deals in the quarter ended Sept. 30. That included one "mega-round," defined as investments of $100 million or more. Pitchbook notes an explosion of mega-rounds drove deal value across the U.S., making up 57% of the $82.8 billion in capital deployed nationally that quarter.
"The growing participation of well-resourced nontraditional investors such as mutual funds, [private equity], hedge funds, and crossover investors in the venture space has contributed to the rise in deal size and valuations," the report said.
The top-funded South Florida companies in Q3 include:
Nuula, a Coral Gables-based financial technology company, secured $120 million in a deal that closed in early September.
Marco Financial, a financial platform for small exporters headquartered in Miami, closed an $82 million seed financing round in July.
Expansion Therapeutics, a biotech venture, raised $80 million in September. The company, a spinout from the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, is technically headquatered in Boston, but Pitchbook included it among its South Florida deals. Expansion Therapeutics has employees based in Boston and Jupiter.
SHD Insurance, an insurance technology firm based in Tamarac, raised $38 million in a deal that closed in July.
Misfits Gaming, a esports company, raised $35 million in a round led by The E.W. Scripps Co., the country's fourth-largest local television broadcaster. The deal closed in September.
Openstore, a Miami-based startup led by Founders Fund General Partner Keith Rabois, raised $30 million in July. The company acquires small e-commerce businesses.
Avenue, a financial tech software startup based in Miami, raised $29 million in August.
Qolo, a B2B payments provider headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, raised $19 million in August.
Locality Bank, a Fort Lauderdale-based community bank, raised $19 million to open Broward's first community bank in 10 years.
Lula, a car insurance tech startup, raised $18 million in a Series A round that closed in July. The investment was led by Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures.
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