Another West Coast firm has joined the wave of companies expanding operations into Miami's Brickell Financial District.
Silicon Valley Bank will bring a team of commercial bankers to the Magic City to focus on early-stage startups in Florida’s innovation sector. The Santa Clara, California-based bank serves companies and investors across categories including technology, life science, venture capital, private equity and premium wine industries.
SVB will move into the Four Seasons Hotel Office Tower space at 1441 Brickell Ave., joining Boston Private, a private banking and wealth management firm acquired by SVB Financial Group earlier this year.
While SVB has worked with companies in Florida for more than 20 years, this move solidifies its first physical presence in South Florida. The bank has 11 locations across California, as well as international outposts in Canada, China, Germany, India, Israel and the U.K.
"Miami has a vibrant and growing innovation economy with increasing attention from founders, entrepreneurs, established companies and investors outside of Florida that are adding to its momentum," Mike Descheneaux, president of Silicon Valley Bank, said in a statement.
Silicon Valley Bank's Miami office will also serve as a location for its Global Gateway team, which supports companies and investors in Latin America, Descheneaux continued.
Julia Figueiredo, director of startup banking and Latin America, will lead the SVB Miami team's focus on early-stage startups. Luiz Rabelo, senior VP of technology banking, will continue to work with the company's growth-stage technology clients throughout Florida.
SVB is actively hiring for its Miami team and has open Florida-based positions in operational risk management, liquidity business management analysis, and startup banking portfolio management listed on its website.
SVB banks roughly half of all venture-backed companies in the U.S., as well as 63% of all U.S. companies that completed an initial public offering in the first half of 2021, according Pitchbook-NVCA data. The company works with a number of recognizable South Florida companies and investors, including oncology-focused health technology company Carevive Systems, cybersecurity company Lumu, investment firm Medina Capital, MedTech firm Neocis, elder technology company Papa and smart city electronics startup Ubicquia.
The firm recently signed on as a partner of eMerge Americas, the Miami-based host of the region's premier annual tech conference.
"Miami has the potential to become a leading innovation hub and SVB's presence will help accelerate the success of our local technology and life science companies, from startups to scaled businesses, and their investors," said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said in a statement.
South Florida’s rising status as a top business hub for technology companies has drawn local office expansions by numerous investment and financial services firms over the past year, including private equity firm Apollo Global Management, investment management firm Moore Capital, and global hedge fund Schonfeld Strategic Advisors.
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