April 19, 2024
Harry Hurst's company turns revenue streams into instant cash.
Photo: Pipe
A nonprofit teamed up with John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo to install an underwater 360-degree camera that will livestream feeds of the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States. The livestream is open to the public as the Friends of Pennekamp YouTube channel until Jan. 1.
Okan Group broke ground on Okan Tower, a $400-million condo/hotel/office building in downtown Miami.
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Miami-Dade Roundup
Miami-based fintech company Pipe reaches $2 billion valuation
Krysten Brenlla | 9/19/2022
INNOVATION
In the Pipeline
While companies usually sell equity or take out loans to fund growth, Miami-based Pipe makes recurring revenue streams tradable for small businesses or startups by treating the revenue streams as an asset companies can sell to investors for instant cash. In May, the fintech reached a value of $2 billion. Recently, the company bought Purely Capital, a media and entertainment financing company, and announced its latest offering for the bitcoin industry — a way to “mine now, pay later” through Compass Mining, the largest platform for bitcoin mining and hosting.
EY has recognized Harry Hurst, Pipe’s founder, as one of its Entrepreneur of the Year Florida award winners.
TECHNOLOGY
- Genesis Global, a London company that creates platforms for financial institutions to develop applications, is promising to hire at least 140 in Miami with salaries of nearly $145,000 over the next three years. The company is getting $150,000 in incentives from the Miami Downtown Development Authority.
- DermaSensor, a Miami health-technology company, has built a non-invasive tool for detecting skin cancer. The company has closed $10 million in funding and is seeking final FDA approval.
REAL ESTATE
- Miami-based development and construction company Cymbal DLT recently closed on a $102.5-million loan from Related Fund Management to build a 341-unit, multifamily housing project in Miami Gardens. Cymbal DLT is a partnership between Asi Cymbal of Cymbal Development and Hector Torres of DLT Global.
MEDIA
- The Miami Herald is creating its own NFTs (non-fungible tokens) through the Miami Herald Collection, showcasing artworks by local artists. The collection is a collaboration among the Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald, local galleries and non-profit arts organization Oolite Arts. Miami Herald profits will help support local journalism through the Miami Herald Impact Journalism Fund at the Miami Foundation.
HEALTH CARE
- The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center broke ground on a 244,000-sq.-ft. Transformational Center building at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. The 12-story facility will support new treatments for cancer.
- Baptist Health Foundation received $2 million from Miami philanthropists Trish and Dan Bell to support the Cancer Health Equity Research Center at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute. The donation will help the center increase enrollment of medically underserved populations in clinical cancer trials to address disparities in health outcomes among minority groups.
RESEARCH
- An analysis by CBRE has identified the 25 top U.S. life sciences labor markets, and Miami ranked 22nd for life sciences research talent. CBRE analyzed 74 cities across the U.S., assessing each market against multiple criteria, including the number of life sciences jobs and graduates; overall job and graduate pool; number of life sciences doctorate degree holders; and concentration of jobs in the professional, scientific and technical services professions.
EDUCATION
- Dr. Juan C. Cendan has been appointed senior vice president for health affairs and dean of Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. He previously served as interim dean and a professor of surgery at the college.
- The University of Miami is launching the George P. Hanley Democracy Center, a non-partisan center at the College of Arts and Sciences to study democratic politics in the United States and globally while offering research grants and public programming. The center was launched through a commitment from George Hanley, a financier, entrepreneur and philanthropist involved in local and national commercial real estate.
BANKING
- Zilch, a London-based “buy now, pay later” platform headquartered in Miami’s Brickell financial district, has secured an additional $50 million in venture capital funding.
- Solar Energy Loan Fund, a lender for sustainable home improvements, is opening a satellite office in Miami-Dade County with the support of a $300,000 grant from the county. The fund will provide $3 million in financing for more than 250 sustainable home renovation projects in the county while also supporting the county’s “climate action strategy” goals to expand solar energy and water efficiency by 2030.
SPOTLIGHT
Funding Growth
Venture capitalists have funneled almost half a billion dollars into three Miami tech companies recently:
- PayCargo, a freight shipping payment platform, has raised $130 million from funds managed by Blackstone Growth. The money will be used to grow the business and develop new products. In 2021, PayCargo processed $10 billion in payments and is expecting $20 billion this year.
- Miami-based fintech OppZo, which helps fund government contractors, has raised $260 million led by Arcadia Funds.
- Zigazoo, a social network and NFT education platform for kids, garnered $17 million from Liberty City Ventures to help the platform break into web3 and augmented reality. The company’s investors include the NBA, Serena Williams and Jimmy Kimmel. Zigazoo has raised more than $21 million in venture capital to date.
