SPOTLIGHT

NFT Partnership

Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez announced a partnership with Time magazine, Mastercard and Salesforce to launch an NFT initiative for the city to drive revenue to local businesses and non-profits. The city will unveil a collection of nearly 5,000 NFTs designed by 56 Miami artists. Holders of the NFTs will have access to Mastercard’s Priceless Miami program, which provides cardholders with an opportunity to buy admission to entertainment events — such as tickets to a Justin Timberlake concert — cultural events and services.

TECHNOLOGY

• Yupix, co-founded by brothers Patricio and Gonzalo Navarro and Alvaro Alesso, has developed a platform that lets prospective condo buyers view design details of their units before construction even starts. The startup has partnered with Property Markets Group to help market their E11EVEN Hotel & Residences. In five months, Yupix’s virtual tours helped lead to $700 million in sales for E11EVEN, which is now sold out.
• OneOf, a Miami-based web3 platform, has raised more than $72 million from several investors, including Amex Ventures. Beyond the investment, American Express is partnering with the company to create a series of NFTs that are accessible only to American Express card members. OneOf has also landed deals with artists, such as Doja Cat, and Warner Music Group.
• Halborn, a Miami-based blockchain security startup, has secured a $90-million investment led by Summit Partners.

RETAIL

• Boatsetter, an online marketplace for boat rentals, recently raised $38 million in funding.

ENVIRONMENT

• ClimateTrade, a marketplace founded in Spain that helps businesses achieve carbon neutrality by offsetting their carbon footprint, is establishing its first U.S. headquarters in Miami. The company is powered by blockchain technology and has hired Michael Green, former executive director at Climate XChange, to serve as its U.S. business and policy adviser.

WORKFORCE

• Traba, a year-old Miami startup, has raised $20 million led by Khosla Ventures. The company has built a marketplace for fulfillment and warehouse workers, connecting vetted workers with open shifts at warehouses, fulfillment centers and event venues.

REAL ESTATE

• Ken Griffin’s Citadel has moved its headquarters from Chicago to Miami and has leased office space at 830 Brickell tower. The billionaire hedge fund manager also worked with an entity led by Citadel’s COO Gerald Beeson to purchase a three-story, 12- unit apartment building at 1250 Brickell Bay Drive and the adjacent lot for $20 million.
• Related Group recently broke ground on two affordable housing projects in Miami-Dade County. The biggest project is SoMi Parc, a redevelopment and expansion of the South Miami Gardens public housing site. The redevelopment will include 172 units, some commercial space and a pre-school for Somerset Academy.
• Miro Brickell, a 24-story apartment tower in Miami, was recently sold to affiliates of Harbor Group International for $184.5 million, or $495,968 a unit, which reflects the significant spikes in Miami rent over the past year.

HEALTH CARE

• Baptist Health South Florida has purchased land next to West Kendall Baptist Hospital for $18 million for an expansion project. This deal is part of the 70-acre West Kendall Town Center project, which was recently approved by Miami-Dade County.
• Baptist Health South Florida’s Miami Cancer Institute is the first institute in the world to treat a pancreatic cancer patient using an advanced platform for adaptive magnetic resonance guided radiotherapy. The procedure can improve a physician’s ability to eliminate tumors while decreasing the risk of side effects.
• Baptist Health South Florida has partnered with Ion Beam Applications to build the company’s Proteus One proton therapy system at the Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Ion Beam says patient treatment is expected to start in 2024.

MANUFACTURING

• Deco Truss, a family-owned manufacturer and supplier of roof and floor trusses based in Homestead, has been acquired by U.S. LBM, one of the country’s largest building material suppliers.

HOSPITALITY

• Luxury hotel group SH Hotel & Resorts is moving its headquarters to Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. The decision was made to move SH Hotel’s headquarters from Los Angeles to Miami to be closer to 1 Hotel South Beach and the headquarters of SH Hotels’ parent company, Starwood Capital Group, a private investment firm.

EDUCATION

• The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration awarded Miami Dade College and a group of local partners $10 million to implement Miami Tech Works, as part of the Good Jobs Challenge. The project will support Miami’s recent tech boom and will work toward economic mobility for workers over the next three years.