The first half of 2023 has been marked by a funding slowdown, economic uncertainty and more than one bank failure.
But it has also brought plenty of wins for the technology industry, including in South Florida.
Here we've compiled a list of the biggest capital raises, corporate expansions, business relocations and hirings in the region's innovation sector during the first six months of the year.
The deals
Marco Financial founders Peter D. Spradling and Jacob Shoihet
Marco Financial
- Miami's Marco Financial entered a $200 million financing deal with MidCap Financial and completed a $8.2 million equity funding round led by Arcadia Funds. The startup facilitates cross-border trade by providing working capital to small- and medium-sized exporters.
- Blockchain development platform QuickNode raised $60 million in a series B round led by 10T Holdings, with participation from Tiger Global Management, Protocol Labs and Seven Seven Six, the venture capital firm launched by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
- Weston-based software firm Digibee raised $60 million in a series B round led by The Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
- Hollywood-based MayMaan Research raised $30 million from Wave Equity Partners, a private equity firm headquartered in Boston. MayMaan is developing technology that uses a water and ethanol-based fuel to power combustion engines for cars and trucks.
- Miami-based sports betting app Betr closed a $35 million funding round, boosting its valuation to $300 million.
- Miami's On Energy secured $20 million from investors. The energy storage system provider works with airports, utilities, retail distribution centers and more. The capital injection will help the firm develop a new system in Texas.
- Miami startup Weo, the maker of a portable water bottle with immune-boosting technology, raised $15 million in a series A funding round led by Korelya Capital, a French venture capital firm.
- Miami-based Moderne, a continuous software modernization company, completed a $15 million series A round led by Intel Capital. That brings its total funding to $20 million.
- Miami-based Roami (previously called Sextant Stays) closed a $14 million funding round led by Vigo Capital, a Florida investment firm. The vacation rental startup provides short-term rentals for groups of travelers in spaces that are at least six times larger than a typical hotel room.
- Reeco, a marketplace that connects suppliers and buyers in the hospitality industry, secured $10 million in seed funding in a financing round led by Net Capital Ventures and Joule Ventures. The company is based in Tel Aviv, Israel and has a U.S. headquarters in Miami.
- Kiwibot is scaling its fleet of last-mile delivery robots after entering a $10 million financing partnership with Kineo Finance, an asset financing group headquartered in Switzerland. The Miami startup aims to manufacture thousands more over the next year.
New businesses
Fortuna founder and CEO Justus Parmar
Fortuna Investments
- Fortuna Investments, a venture capital firm headquartered in Canada, established an office in Miami Beach for an East Coast hub. The firm plans to invest in space industry companies located in Florida.
- Factorial, a Spain-based human resources software startup with a $1 billion valuation, announced it will open a North American headquarters in Miami. The company has plans to hire 150 employees at the location.
- In May Bevel, a strategic communications firm focused on the tech industry, opened its newest office in Miami. This month the New York-based firm was acquired by Avenue Z, a new digital media agency in Miami led by digital marketing veteran Jeffrey Herzog.
- Billionaire entrepreneur Marcelo Claure partnered with former SoftBank managing partner Shu Nyatta to launch Miami-based Bicycle Capital, an investment firm raising a $500 million fund.
The expansions
Robert Morcos, of Social Mobile.
Jock Fistick / South Florida Business Journal
- In February Hollywood-based Social Mobile announced it is making plans to scale up its operations and acquire businesses after securing a $35 million credit facility from Citi. The mobile device maker will hire more employees, open a larger headquarters and move manufacturing to new facilities in the U.S., Taiwan and Mexico as part of its expansion.
- Kaseya will add 3,400 jobs and renovate a new 101,871-square-foot office after it was approved for $4.56 million in economic incentives from Miami-Dade County. The Miami IT management company also secured the naming rights to the Kaseya Center, previously known as the FTX Arena.
- Blink Mobility, a subsidiary of Miami Beach-based Blink Charging, acquired Envoy Technologies for $21 million in cash and stock. The deal will support Blink's mission to create a car sharing sector powered by electric vehicles.
- Chewy announced it will enter the Canadian market in the third quarter of the year. It will be the first international expansion for the Plantation-based online pet supply retailer.
The hires
Miami Dade Innovation Authority President Leigh-Ann Buchanan
Lexey Swall
- Leigh-Ann Buchanan was appointed president of the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority, an organization created this year to support equitable and sustainable economic growth in the region's technology economy. Buchanan was previously the president of Aire Ventures.
- Luke Voiles was named CEO of Miami fintech Pipe. Voiles, the former general manager of Square Banking at Block Inc., succeeds co-founders Harry Hurst and Josh Mangel, who resigned from their co-CEO roles last year.
- Francesca de Quesada Covey was appointed chief economic development and innovation officer for Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Quesada Covey is also a seed investment advisor for Miami venture capital firm TheVentureCity.
- Former Boatsetter CEO Jacklyn Baumgarten was appointed managing partner of IDC Ventures, a venture capital firm headquartered in Denmark. The tech entrepreneur will spearhead the firm's expansion into the U.S. market from South Florida.
- Blink Charging COO Brendan S. Jones was promoted to CEO. He replaces founder Michael D. Farkas, who served as CEO and executive chairman of the electric vehicle charging company since 2009.
- Fort Lauderdale-based ShipMonk appointed Josh McCarter as CEO, replacing founder Jan Bednar. McCarter is the former CEO of Booker Software.
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