Twelve startups were selected to participate in the inaugural class of Techstars Miami, an accelerator for early-stage tech companies.
The selected companies include ventures headquartered in Florida and Latin America. They are among 60 ventures chosen to complete Techstars' three-month accelerator program in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Miami and Washington, D.C. Supported by Techstars' $80 million Advancing Cities Fund, the program will connect entrepreneurs with a community of mentors, investors and alumni, culminating in a demo day taking place in early December.
“Although it's known for the boom in web3 and fintech, we also found companies across industries as diverse as health care, logistics, robotics, and edtech," said Andres Barreto, managing director of Techstars Miami.
Miami led the five cities in application volume, Techstars reports, a signal that new startups continue to thrive in the region. Last year, South Florida ranked No. 10 on Startup Genome's list of the Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems, a report that looks at funding, early-stage ventures and companies valued at $1 billion or more in up-and-coming tech markets.
The Advancing Cities Fund will support 400 companies over the next three years, with a focus on funding tech ventures led by Black, Hispanic and indigenous founders.
Boulder, Colorado-based Techstars connects early-stage startups with funding, mentorship and networking opportunities in the U.S. and abroad. According to its website, Techstars has accepted more than 2,900 companies with a combined market capitalization of $71 billion since its founding in 2016.
The startups selected for the Miami program are:
Aerialoop: A commercial drone delivery startup originally launched in Ecuador that is now headquartered in Miami
Allison: A low-code platform for fintech products that can be integrated with community banks and credit unions. The company is based in Tampa.
Ambana: A Miami startup that makes it possible for users to purchase fractional ownership of rental properties in Latin America
Docokids: A Colombia-based startup that connects parents, caregivers with pediatricians through WhatsApp
FynOps: A fully managed platform for finance, accounting and back office operations. The business is headquartered in Pembroke Pines.
Medscrape: The company shortens the go-to-market process for pharmaceuticals by connecting manufacturers with industry stakeholders. It's unclear where the business is headquartered.
Mimedik: A Miami company that uses automation to reduce the patient onboarding time for health care providers in Mexico.
Official: A startup that enables consumers to earn shares of certain brands. The company's website is not live.
Second Degree: A Miami company that helps businesses recruit remote engineers through a peer-to-peer referral network.
Talisman: A startup that automates IT services for cloud companies.
Topset: A New York education tech company that offers online tutoring and e-learning programs for 150 million students in Africa.
Vaale: A buy-now-pay-later payments app that allows consumers to buy groceries and other necessities when they need them, without having to turn to predatory loans. The Miami venture operates in Latin America.
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