South Florida Tech HubSouth Florida Tech Hub
05
Jun, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Broward College’s Health Sciences Simulation Center is leveling up their OB training for nursing using mixed reality

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The Broward College Health Sciences Simulation Center is leveling up their obstetrical training for nursing students by turning to the one woman they knew could handle the job: VICTORIA.

VICTORIA® S2200, to be exact.

A medical mannequin designed by the Miami-based medical training company and industry leader of simulation technology for healthcare education, Gaumard Scientific, is behind the technology used in VICTORIA® S2200.

The mannequin is a top-of-the-line, totally comprehensive birthing simulator. VICTORIA comes equipped with a bevy of tools and software services designed to help improve patient safety in women’s health through education and training. As part of the Broward College SIM Center mannequin lineup, she has already helped to facilitate teamwork and deepen critical thinking skills in learners of all levels.

The Broward College Health Sciences Simulation Center (HSSC) is a state-of-the-art educational facility that models a hospital setting. Designed to provide students with a safe learning environment where they transfer their understanding of theory into hands-on practice, the HSSC offers the opportunity for students to practice in realistic simulations the development of decision-making skills, the reduction of errors, and the improvement of communication and teamwork.

Managed by Dr. Lilia Chavarria, district director of Broward College, the Simulation Center has already provided aspiring healthcare students with more than 80,000 simulations on various medical training devices and mannequins. But when the center received its VICTORIA S2200 medical training mannequin in September of 2022, Dr. Chavarria knew they had acquired the gold standard of obstetric training.

“From early pregnancy complications, high-risk deliveries, and postpartum emergencies to non-gravid scenarios for general nursing care, VICTORIA simulates a full range of obstetrical situations,” said Dr. Chavarria. “More than a childbirth simulator, VICTORIA is a complete simulation solution developed from decades of obstetrical experience. She is a comprehensive package of tools and support designed to help improve patient safety in women’s health through education and training.”

After all, VICTORIA is much more than a training mannequin. Engineers at Gaumard Scientific have equipped her with the latest medical training technology, including interactive eyes and automatic visual object tracking; a fully programmable airway; and true-to-life shoulder dystocia, breech, and C-section deliveries. VICTORIA even births a lifelike, full-term baby featuring programmable vitals for Apgar scoring. Students can also tether VICTORIA to monitoring equipment such as an EKG, capnography, defibrillator, and pulse oximeter for even more realistic training.

What’s more, VICTORIA’s mixed reality feature uses holographic visualization to allow students to see inside VICTORIA and observe the physiological process of birth.

In 2021 with the release of VICTORIA®, Gaumard Scientific announced that CoObstetric MR™ technology was honored in Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards in the Learning category. To view a video that demonstrates Obstetric MR in use, click here.

Obstetric MR is a next-generation mixed reality training solution designed to help learners bridge the gap between theory and practice faster than ever before. Comprised of a Microsoft HoloLens 2 preloaded with proprietary software for the VICTORIA S2200 maternal and neonatal patient care simulator, Obstetric MR provides an unparalleled training tool for medical schools, nursing schools, and hospitals worldwide. This new mixed reality system uses advanced holographic imaging technology that allows the wearer to see inside VICTORIA and observe the dynamic physiology and anatomy underlying child birth deliveries.

Obstetric MR brings digital learning content into the physical simulation exercise, allowing participants to link knowledge and skill through an entirely new hands-on learning experience. The future of labor and delivery simulation has arrived at the simulation center.

“Gaumard has harnessed mixed reality technology to bring healthcare education to a new level – bridging the physical and digital world,” stated James Archetto, Gaumard’s Vice President, U.S. Direct Sales.

“Obstetric MR technology synchronizes precisely anatomically detailed holograms with the physical world to enable learners to interact with mother and baby in an extensive range of birthing scenarios that learners may never encounter until clinical practice, providing an unparalleled learning experience.”

Gaumard Scientific is recognized by health care educators and students worldwide for its commitment to innovation with the development of the most advanced patient simulation technology. Gaumard designs and manufactures simulators at its global headquarters in Miami and markets them directly in the U.S. as well as through distributors in 70 countries. Gaumard’s customer base includes militaries, emergency medical services, major teaching hospitals and nursing schools.

VICTORIA couldn’t have arrived at a better time. It has become increasingly clear that health care training is more critical now than ever. Per a report by WLRN, the South Florida community is facing an acute nursing shortage, with the Florida Hospital Association predicting a shortfall of 59,100 nurses by 2035. Fortunately, Broward College has stepped up to provide the healthcare workers of tomorrow and train them with the best tools available, including VICTORIA.

As recently announced, Broward College is also offering healthcare nursing training through their new Sunshine Health Training Center in the City of Lauderhill. Broward College’s BrowardUP and Sunshine Health are collaborating on this new initiative that will brighten the career landscape of the City and pave the way for a unique educational facility that will equip residents with the skills necessary to thrive in the health care job marketplace, one of the most in-demand career fields. This is just one other example of the impact that Broward College is making in healthcare education and training.

As the largest provider of higher education programs in Broward County, Broward College is committed to fostering and achieving success for all students. The College has been recognized by the Aspen Institute three times consecutively as one of the nation’s top ten Community Colleges of Excellence for its outstanding commitment to student success and equitable student outcomes.

Dr. Chavarria said these students were ready and eager to meet the challenge of adapting to new technology.

“The transition has been seamless,” she said. “We have excellent simulation specialists at the forefront of the latest technology and genuinely want to work with our students. The learners and the staff absolutely love the experience. “The nursing students love the technology, which fits well with the younger generation of students,” said Dr. Chavarria. “This is by far the World’s Most Lifelike Childbirth Simulator.”

VICTORIA, so it seems, has found a home at Broward College. For now, she will continue to help Broward College nursing students hone their obstetric skills before taking their training into the real world, to the benefit of birthing patients across South Florida. VICTORIA, quite simply, is a lifesaver.

To learn more about Broward College’s Health Sciences Simulation Center, visit https://www.broward.edu/simcenter/

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30
May, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Fuel Venture Capital Announces The Launch of $300 Million Flagship Fund II

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Fuel Venture Capital announced the launch of their $300 million Flagship Fund II bringing the Miami-based firm’s four funds to $700 Million. 

Fuel Venture Capital Flagship II, LP is built upon the success of Flagship Fund I following a refined investment thesis and well-defined proprietary model of Phased Investing.

Fuel Venture Capital is committed to propelling groundbreaking ideas into world-changing companies and democratizing access to the creative economy to shape the future of society. A core team leads the firm’s “founder focused, investor driven” approach with more than 80 years of combined experience in investment banking, wealth management, executive leadership, and entrepreneurship. The fund boasts a portfolio of 33 companies based around the globe across numerous sectors, bringing positive impact to virtually all corners of our modern economy.

Institutional investors will be able to participate in Fuel Venture Capital Flagship Fund II, which is aiming to raise $300 million and will target disruptive technology companies that transform how
businesses and consumers transact, consume, work and enjoy their life journey. The fund is primed to invest in seven warehouse companies, all previously backed by Fuel Venture Capital funds, which include Betr, RecargaPay, Soundtrack Your Brand, Curve, CookUnity, AEXLAB and Novopayment. Fuel will continue to find additional disruptive global, tech-driven companies to construct a portfolio across multiple geographic locations, sectors and financing stages.

“This fund will make it easier and more efficient than ever before to access the private markets,” said Maggie Vo, Managing General Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Fuel Venture Capital. “It’s our goal at Fuel VC to democratize the process of investing in private market transactions and this will make it possible.”

Fuel Venture Capital has been one of the most aggressive venture capital firms in Florida since launching in 2017. Fuel identifies innovative founders changing the world, propelling groundbreaking ideas into world-changing companies, and democratizing access to the creative economy to shape the future of society. The firm is a leading early-stage investor in technology and digital companies.  With a portfolio of over 33 companies in technology companies across a broad spectrum of areas including FinTech, Marketplace, Enterprise SaaS, Entertainment Tech, Food & Consumer Goods Tech, Sports Tech, Space Tech and more, Fuel is where institutional investors go to diversify their venture capital portfolio.

Its most recent success story is Terran Orbital, the aerospace, and defense company that is the global leader in small satellites. Terran Orbital was recently listed on the NYSE as $LLAP with a $1.8 billion valuation. Fuel’s most recent deployment made headlines with Jake Paul’s microbetting app Betr which raised a $50 million Series A. In addition, Fuel Venture Capital is a lead investor in Taxfyle, which closed its $20 Million Series B last year. Fuel Venture Capital also invested in cloud-based supply chain platform Tradeshift, smart city infrastructure platform Ubicquia, and construction technology company Eyrus, among others.

“We believe that our latest fund will be a game-changer in the private markets space, offering investors a new level of accessibility, liquidity and transparency,” said Jeff Ransdell, Founding Partner and Managing Director of Fuel Venture Capital. “The diversification of our fund is what sets us apart.”

To learn more about Fuel Venture Capital, visit https://fuelventurecapital.com/

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22
May, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Broward-based eVTOL startup Doroni Aerospace launches Series A and FAA releases blueprint for air taxis

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Just last week Doroni Aerospace announced the exclusive launch of their Series A Reg D funding round available to accredited investors. 

Morgan Stanley research predicted that the eVTOL (electric vertical taken off and landing) market will reach over $1 trillion by 2040. Doroni is on a mission to capitalize on this opportunity today and aims to make this technology accessible to everyone.

With backing and support from Space Florida, Doroni has already raised over $3.6 million from over 2000 investors and taken just under 300 pre-order requests for vehicle purchases. Just this past February, the startup completed its first untethered test flight with the Doroni H1 eVTOL. Only a handful of companies worldwide have been able to achieve this milestone.

Some of Doroni’s recent accomplishments are pretty remarkable.

  • successfully completed 53 unique flight tests with the Doroni H1 P1
  • built full 3D cockpit simulator tested by thousands of flight enthusiast and experienced pilots
  • completed the H1 airframe with fully functional cockpit complete with software, avionics, and a computer system that’s ready for flight integration
  • recruited Dan Saccani, a former Tesla and Lucid Motors CFO as our fractional CFO
  • raised an impressive seed round of over $3.5M through equity crowdfunding on StartEngine.com
  • working with major OEMs like Honeywell, Garmin, and Amphenol to incorporate aviation systems and components
  • received an overwhelming response of 270+ preorder requests
  • expanded our R&D capabilities by moving to a state-of-the-art 13,000 square foot R&D facility in Coral Springs
  • received another technology patent on their latest technology in design and aerospace features from the USPTO
  • garnered support from esteemed organizations such as the City of Pompano Beach, The Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, and Space Florida

Doroni’s mission is to bring new sustainability to commuter transportation by making flight accessible to the masses. The Doroni H1 is their go-to-market personal eVTOL (AKA “flying car”) that the company says will offer a safe, practical, and environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional automobiles. They are helping define the future of Urban Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) by engaging with the aviation industry, academia, the military, and the FAA as well as our prospective civilian and commercial customers.

On May 3rd, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released an updated blueprint outlining the next steps for future future air taxi, or eVTOL aircraft, operations in the United States.

Under the blueprint developed by NASA and industry stakeholders, AAM operations will begin at a low rate with air taxis flying much as helicopters do today. They’ll use existing routes and infrastructure such as helipads and early vertiports.  As the number of operations increases, air taxis are expected to fly in corridors between major airports and vertiports in city centers. The complexity of the corridors could increase over time from single one-way paths to routes serving multiple flows of aircraft flying in both directions. Over time, these corridors could link an increasing number of routes between vertiports.

The FAA expects aircraft technology will evolve as well. Aircraft automation and real-time data sharing between aircraft will likely play increasing roles in these corridors. The operational blueprint is a key step — along with certifying the aircraft and pilots — in the FAA’s effort to safely usher in and support this next era of aviation. The blueprint aims to provide a common frame of reference to the FAA, NASA and industry to help guide their research and decision-making.

Doroni is targeting a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) certification with the FAA that would make the company extremely viable when compared to the complicated and time-consuming certification processes of larger air taxi competitors. From its inception with the Doroni Y6 and X8 prototypes that came before it, the Doroni H1 was designed to maximize safety and will undergo exhaustive multi-level quality control. As Doroni likes to say, “Safety Is In Our DNA.”

What was once only seen in futuristic sci-fi movies in now becoming a reality. The world’s first eVTOL vertiport, Air-One, was opened in April 2022 in the United Kingdom. This is just one of the first of over 200 vertiport sites planned across the globe for Air-One. The vertiport was a collaboration between Urban-Air Port, a U.K.-based ground infrastructure developer, and Supernal, Hyundai Motor Group’s urban air mobility division.

According to Urban-Air Port, multiple international locations are already on the company’s order book for additional sites including efforts to bring air taxi services to Miami as soon as 2028.

The difference between Doroni and it’s competitors is its plans to offer their vehicles for personal purchase and use. The eVTOL market is divided into cargo, personal, and air taxi segments with many competitors popping up, but according to Doroni, these competitors are not focusing on personal purchase.

The personal segment is further subdivided into 1- and 2-seater categories. 1-seaters typically have an open frame with exposed propellers, have limited range, and are intended for recreational/leisure use. The Doroni H1 falls under the 2-seater + Payload category. Doroni sees a tremendous benefit and value of entering the personal segment under this category and believes that as a US-based company located in the eVTOL hub of Florida, they can become a major industry player.

Flying an aircraft may seem like a daunting task, but Doroni’s Founder and CEO, Doron Merdinger, explains that anyone with a driver’s license and 20 hours of flight training from the company can do it. He also claims that it’s cleaner, quieter and more sustainable.

Doron explains this in a recent ABC News Miami interview by asking, “Why do we need to destroy nature in general when we introduce a system that doesn’t require roads, does not pollute, doesn’t make noise at that level?”

He continued, “I can tell you 100% that the technology for what we are doing is here now. It’s not in the future – it’s here now.”

“We will experience nature. . . It will be safer, quieter and more efficient.”

The 1650 lb. 2-seater, Doroni H1, can fly a couple hundred feet off the ground with a flying distance of 60 miles, cruising speed at 100 miles per hour, and maximum speed of 140 miles per hour. The aircraft is expected to charge from approximately 20% to 80% in just 15 – 20 minutes which is extremely fast.

The Doroni H1 aircraft cockpit was a popular exhibit at Tech Hub’s 10th annual TECHpalooza 2022. The company brought out the full size cockpit for attendees to experience the future of transportation.

Using a virtual reality headset and simple joystick (not steering wheel), attendees could imagine gliding through the sky in the Doroni H1 eVTOL aircraft. For most, this was the first flying car prototype they had ever seen or even heard of.

Flying cars could be a reality within the next 2 years. The cost is currently around $250k, but once the cost of materials levels out, the technology such as batteries becomes more accessible, the company expects the prices to lower, or at least not increase, over time.

“This is real and this is happening – We have come a long way from where we were just a decade ago,” stated Billy Nolen,  FAA acting administrator.

Investors, visit the Doroni website now to learn more and secure your stake in the future of mobility: https://www.doroni.io/

 

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19
May, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

StartUP FIU Students Develop Innovative Strategies to Tackle Healthcare Disparities for Pharmaceutical Giant GSK

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StartUP FIU, the innovation hub at Florida International University, partnered with GSK, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, established a hands-on, multi-disciplinary experience that inspired students to develop new and creative solutions to dismantle health disparities in minority communities.

In addition to being part of a nation-wide effort to improve health outcomes for minority communities and making a positive impact in the medical field, students selected for the program received corporate internship credits, the experience of learning from leaders and experts in the healthcare industry, and earning $1,000 for their efforts.

Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s commitment to equity and access, the 12-week GSK Innovation Challenge had a goal of honoring the legacy of this great man by igniting in a new generation the desire to fight for justice in the healthcare sphere. Reflecting the values of Dr. King, GSK is focused on the social determinants of health and is working to ensure high-quality, inclusive healthcare services and education is accessible to all. GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together.

This experiential, hands-on challenge leveraged the lived experiences and diverse backgrounds of 34 FIU undergraduate students, 96% of whom hail from minority communities. Students with Hispanic, African American and Asian backgrounds are often able to offer personal perspectives into health disparities. In this case, the program addressed the low rates of vaccines in marginalized communities.

“These students really rose to the challenge with compelling and creative solutions and all the program mentors deserve a big thank you for their guidance” said Maya Martinez-Davis, GSK US President. “Some of these students learned about health disparities for the first time while others brought their shared experiences. Our goal is to close the gap in underserved communities by developing the next generation of innovators. The partnership between GSK and StartUP FIU is just one of many steps towards achieving that.”

FIU’s unique status as the country’s largest Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) with more than 32,000 students who identify as Hispanic or Latino, makes it an ideal place for global companies like GSK to get ‘on the ground’ perspectives from the communities they want to serve. Educating students across campus, many from different parts of the world, StartUP FIU offers a vibrant array of diverse outlooks, life experiences and cultural values that help organizations better understand their customer base and plan for a dynamic future.

Throughout the GSK Innovation Challenge, students from a variety of majors were guided by public health and entrepreneurship mentors to delve deeper into how minority communities make health care decisions, what sources they trust, who they listen to for medical information and how their lifestyles
either facilitate or impede positive healthcare decisions.

“This unique Challenge offered our students the opportunity to creatively explore a serious population health issue and brainstorm innovative ways to drive communities towards making healthy decisions,” said Emily Gresham, Assistant Vice President for Research, Innovation and Economic Development and Co-Founder of StartUP FIU.

At the end of the 12-week GSK Innovation Challenge, seven student groups pitched their solutions for increasing vaccination rates to GSK leadership. The Pitch Day event, held Friday, April 14, showcased the creativity and novel thinking that can occur when students are empowered with the tools of innovation and supported by expert mentors in the industry.

Members of GSK leadership who came to StartUP FIU to judge the student pitches were impressed by the creativity, thoughtfulness and hard work shown by FIU students.

 

PITCH DAY WINNERS

1ST PLACE

Winning Idea:

Collaborate with companies that have large Hispanic workforces to include at-work vaccination events and other healthcare programs to streamline the patient experience

Team Members:

Vinai Sewaliah, Akerke Parmbek, Christian Castellanos & MaAngelica Subido

 

 

2ND PLACE

Winning Idea:

Targeted advertising campaign focused on influencing mothers, who usually make healthcare decisions for the entire family.

Team Members:

Daniella Diaz, Emily Gresham, Lina Henriquez & Yasha Hasan, Chloe Posthuma-Coelho

 

 

3RD PLACE (TIE)

Winning Idea:

Targeted advertising campaign focused on influencing mothers, who usually make healthcare decisions for the entire family.

Team Members:

Devin Shanahan, Owethu Phekani, Itzel Castellon, Yomaira Ayala Daboin

 

 

3RD PLACE (TIE)

Winning Idea:

Work with faith-based organizations to educate congregations about shingles and prevention.

Team Members:

Aditi Mishra, Katherine Mejia

 

 

 

The GSK Innovation Challenge is just one example of how StartUP FIU uses hands-on, experiential learning opportunities to help students implement the core concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship towards solving real-world challenges.

“By adapting what they’ve learned in the classroom to help companies solve some of their toughest problems, students gain confidence in their skillset and learn how to think critically,” said Robert H. Hacker, Director and Co-Founder of StartUP FIU and one of the Challenge’s entrepreneurial mentors.

StartUP FIU is a university-wide innovation hub that fosters and develops entrepreneurship and innovation to help our students, researchers, and community connect, contribute to, and thrive in today’s fast-changing world. We create and run programs based on two foundational beliefs: that the skills and principles of entrepreneurship are essential to navigate and harness the opportunities of our disruptive age, and that universities can play a unique role in unlocking opportunity and unleashing potential to shape a better, more inclusive, and more innovative future.

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19
May, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Growth Accelerator Fund Competition – Seaworthy Collective among 40 national winners to receive $50k

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The SBA announced Seaworthy Collective as a Stage One winner for the national 2023 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition.

Seaworthy Collective is one of forty organizations who will receive a $50,000 cash prize to build strategic partnerships that will support the launch, growth, and scale of STEM/R&D-focused small businesses across the country.

Seaworthy Collective (501c3) is a Miami-based BlueTech (ocean innovation) entrepreneur support organization and community. Their mission is to enable access and inclusion in innovation for ocean and climate impact. Seaworthy Collective envisions oceans of opportunity without barriers, where everyone can contribute to solutions making positive change for our blue planet. The nonprofit empowers Sea Change Makers – supporting early-stage and aspiring entrepreneurs across diverse backgrounds and impact areas globally – who drive innovation for 71% of the planet (our ocean) to regenerate 100% of the planet.

“SBA’s Catalyze winners join SBA’s extensive network of support organizations who build thriving startup ecosystems to ensure the next generation of science and technology-based innovations develop into thriving businesses,” said Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman. “At a time when the Biden-Harris Administration is investing in American R&D, manufacturing and future growth industries, our Catalyst partners will help ensure entrepreneurs from all backgrounds can leverage opportunities. We know these investments will advance American competitiveness and help us build an economy that works for everyone.”

Seaworthy Collective’s award-winning model will amplify the impact and success of Growth Accelerator Partnerships and will work to foster and facilitate a thriving national ecosystem that advances equitable investment in innovative high growth small businesses. This year’s Competition has brought together organizations, entities, groups, and individuals beyond geographic boundaries to support innovators and innovation needed to confront the challenges of today.   

“This investment from the U.S. Small Business Administration reinforces Seaworthy Collective’s vision for accessible and inclusive ecosystem development enabling greater participation in the blue economy both locally in South Florida as well as nationally, ” stated Seaworthy Collective Founder & CEO, Daniel Kleinman.

“Winning the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition doubles down on the federal government’s recognition and support of Seaworthy’s work breaking down barriers for current and aspiring founders from diverse backgrounds in BlueTech and ClimateTech. With the SBA’s support, we’re excited to grow our ecosystem partnerships; intentionally expanding our reach to further mobilize the untapped talent, ideas, and potential of many more “Sea Change Makers” taking the entrepreneurial leap to pursue their passions for ocean and climate impact.” 

Since its launch in 2014, the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition has awarded 387 prizes totaling over $19 million to 284 unique winners across 52 states and U.S. territories. This year’s competition introduced a multi-stage approach with Stage One focused on catalyzing an ecosystem around a particular theme.  Stage One applicants represented 45 U.S. states and territories, with 70 percent as first-time applicants to the Competition.

This year’s 40 Stage One prize winners come from 30 states, including D.C. and Puerto Rico. Sixty-five percent of winners are first time applicants and 50 percent of the winning organizations specifically support rural entrepreneurs. This year’s competition focused on four theme areas with 25 percent of Stage One winners focused on National Security & Global Competitiveness, 27.5 percent on Domestic Manufacturing & Production, 10 percent on Climate & Renewable Energy, and 37.5 percent on Underserved Communities. Geographically, 17.5 percent of winners aim serve at the local/sub-state region, 42.5 percent statewide, 20 percent regionally (multiple states), and 20 percent nationwide.

Winners of Stage One “Catalyze” winners were selected through a multi-tier review panel process with experts in entrepreneurship, business, innovation, and strategic planning both inside and out of the federal government. Applications and pitch videos were reviewed by expert judges submitted by the finalists.   

Seaworthy Collective will now compete for an additional $50,000 to $150,000 later this summer. From inequity and climate change, to supporting national defense and community-driven economic prosperity, the real opportunity is now to build up innovation ecosystems and Seaworthy Collective is eager to make an impact.   

Stage Two cash prizes will support the “Growth Accelerator Partnerships” to further develop strong innovation ecosystems to fast-track building and scaling of STEM/R&D-focused small businesses. Organizations who were not selected in Stage One, as well as diverse local, regional, and national entities from any sector or location are eligible to connect with Stage One winners to develop partnerships in a bid for Stage Two prizes.   

SBA will host a Pitch Sessions to support networking with Stage One winners and Seaworthy Collective will take part on June 1st, 2023 at 2:00 PM EST. For organizations interested in networking to join a potential “Growth Accelerator Partnership”, sign up for one or more of the virtual Partner Pitch Sessions at http://bit.ly/2023GAFCPartnerPitch. The Partner Pitch Sessions are free and open to the public.

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15
May, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Miami-based Atomic Venture announces new $320 million fund and addition of 3rd GP

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Atomic Ventures, a Miami-based VC firm just announced that they have raised their 4th and largest fund to date at $320 million.

The fund will be used to found new startups the firm will create and further fund existing portfolio companies. The last fund raise of $260 million back in 2021, created more than a dozen new companies with several of them right here in South Florida. The recent fund brings Atomic to over $750 million in total assets in management, the largest venture studio fund in the technology industry.

Atomic does things a little differently than most VCs, They only writes checks to startups it spins up itself. The firms is said to have a list of hundreds of ideas in which they find co-founders for and then invest in. Atomic brings ideas, capital, resources, and talent together—partnering with co-founders to build the best ideas into great companies. They found AND fund companies.

“I think this is the best time potentially in history to be building a company,” said Jack Abraham, the founder, CEO, and managing partner of Atomic, during their recent 2023 Builders Summit.  He continued, “Historically, the best and biggest companies are built during downturns.”

Abraham discussed the advantages such as less noise, less competition and more available talent. He also highlights the potential for technology to disrupt and innovate every facet of life and how entrepreneurship can address major issues such as healthcare and energy.

He stresses the importance of great talent stating that “the talent availability in tremendous” with tons of talent coming through their doors. So much, that the company is having a hard time processing all the applicants.

Jack moved to Miami in July 2020 for the opportunity to build new startups and has since brought along our General Partner, Chester Ng and COO, Healey Cypher, as well as several other key leaders from the Atomic team and from their broader portfolio of high-growth startups.

Atomic also recently announced the expansion of their team with the addition of  Kristin Schaefer as their third General Partner.

Kristin was previously the CFO at Postmates. She joined as the tenth employee, building out growth, analytics, finance, and, eventually, as CFO, leading the company’s near-IPO process and ultimate acquisition by Uber for $5 billion – with a B. As an angel investor in Postmates, Jack said there would have been no way the company would have become a $1B revenue run-rate company that raised nearly $1B in funding without the support of Kristin.

Before Postmates, Kristin worked at PayPal for David Marcus’s strategy team and Clarium on Peter Thiel’s global macro investment strategy.

Over the past year, Atomic Ventures has grown to a team of over 75 builders, started 16 companies and secured funding to fuel the growth of some of the most exciting and promising startups yet. One of which is based right here in Miami: OpenStore.

Founded in 2021, OpenStore is a way for Shopify entrepreneurs looking to sell their eCommerce businesses quickly and easily in just a matter of days. OpenStore has been able to acquire dozens of businesses representing millions of dollars in deal flow. With their $32 million round in 2022, OpenStore now has total equity funding over $150 million from investors that include Atomic, Founders Fund, General Catalyst and Khosla Ventures.

With the new wave of exciting AI companies, Atomic Ventures also recently welcomed two new fellow entrepreneurs as VPs, Lauren Dickstein and Michael Stenclik, alongside Jordan Kong, Phil Liu, and Sharon Winter.

Click here to learn more about Atomic and what they look for in their co-founders.

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09
May, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

For the second year in a row, South Florida will once again welcome the Mark Cuban AI Bootcamp for high schoolers

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For the second year in a row, South Florida will once again welcome the Mark Cuban AI Bootcamp for high schoolers to our region in the Fall. BUT, this year will be even better!

South Florida Tech Hub was able to connect the Mark Cuban Foundation with the wonderful folks at Florida Power & Light and with offices in both Palm Beach and Miami, FPL immediately saw potential to bring this program to the entire region.  Having a great relationship with Miami Dade College, FPL reached out to the MDC team who quickly hopped on board to be the first Miami location. The program launched in October 2022 in both Miami and Palm Beach counties.

We are proud to announce that this year, not two, but four Tech Hub member organizations have committed to bringing this program to South Florida ensuring that students all across all three counties (Miami, Broward and Palm Beach) can apply!

The AI Bootcamp will be targeted at underserved high school students (9th -12th grade) especially those from underrepresented groups and will introduce these high school students to basic AI concepts and skills.

“The future global competitiveness of our country depends on having as many AI literate people as possible. I think there is an untapped wealth of knowledge and innovation in underserved communities,” stated Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and founder, Mark Cuban Foundation.

The Bootcamp sessions will be held over four consecutive Saturdays starting on Oct. 14 and ending on Nov. 4. The bootcamp will run each Saturday from 2-6 PM and if accepted, high school students must commit to attending all four sessions. Aimed to increase AI literacy and understanding in students from underserved communities, the high schools students don’t need any prior experience with computer science, programming, or robotics to apply and attend. Students interested should apply by Friday, Sept. 8. (Apply at bottom of article.)

With AI being a relevant topic on many news sources, students will learn what artificial intelligence is and is not, where they already interact with AI in their own lives, and the ethical implications of AI systems—including but not limited to TikTok recommendations, smart home assistants, facial recognition, and self-driving cars, to name a few. Participants will also learn how Large Language Models like ChatGPT are changing life as we know it by answering questions, telling original stories, and even writing computer code.   

Students will benefit from volunteer corporate mentor instructors who are knowledgeable about AI, ML and data science and able to help students quickly understand material normally taught at a collegiate level. As part of the 4-hour curriculum, students will work with open source tools each day to build their own AI applications related to Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing and Generative AI.  

In 2022, Grace Kurian, Executive Director of Information Technology-Nuclear at NextEra Energy Inc, led the launch of the AI Bootcamp in Palm Beach County. She told South Florida Tech Hub that months of planning, hundreds of hours, and over 22 volunteers brought the program to life. From entry-level developers to tech executives such as Grace and Michael Fowler, VP of IT and Business Unit CIO at FPL the students got to interact with tech professionals of all levels.

In it’s fifth year, the Mark Cuban AI Bootcamp is still a fairly new initiative that was founded in 2019 by the Mark Cuban Foundation. With just about 30 locations across the entire United States chosen for this program, we are so proud to have three of them right here in our backyard. The Mark Cuban Foundation has impacted 900+ students to date and has a goal to increase that number year over year.

“FPL is pleased to be the host company for Mark Cuban’s AI Boot Camp (Palm Beach) for the second consecutive year. As a company, we believe success begins with people, and this program helps introduce STEM and computer science to students that grew up with limited technology exposure,” said Jason Price, Agile Leader – EP Technologies & Innovation @ NextEra Energy Inc. (FPL parent company). “We are excited to help inspire bright young talent right in our backyard about how technology can elevate the world around them.”

Normally taught at the collegiate level, students had the opportunity to interact in hands-on workshops about chatbots, AI, Machine learning and Natural Language processing – topics many had never encountered before.

FPL is excited to welcome this year’s students into the new PGA Office Center.

 

“Office Depot is excited to support such a wonderful program this year. Exposing our students and future talent to new technologies will help the talent pool down the road by sparking their interest in AI and showcasing how it’s being used in the real world,” said Andy Parry, VP of Application Development & Support at Office Depot.

Being able to add Broward county to the programming this year and support students in the underserved community fits right in line with Office Depot’s giving efforts.

Office Depot will be sponsoring the Broward bootcamp and partnering with Nova Southeastern University’s  Levan Center of Innovation as the host venue.

“We believe that this program will help to cultivate the next generation of AI leaders, who will shape the future of technology and create a more equitable world,” said John Wensveen, Ph.D., NSU’s Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Director of the Levan Center of Innovation.

 

“Miami Dade College‘s Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp was a huge success. After only 4 weeks the high school students that attended created impressive projects around AI in Music, AI in Healthcare and AI in Safety and Security,” wrote Antonio Delgado, VP of Innovation and Technology Partnerships at Miami Dade College, in a social media post.

“Kudos to everyone involved to bring this opportunity for free to Miami students. They represent a diversity that it’s not widely seen in tech companies today. They are the next generation that will be creating meaningful AI products and applications.”

Antonio told South Florida Tech Hub that this year Miami-Dade College will be sponsoring the Miami bootcamp and hosting two camps in Miami, one at each of their AI Centers (North Campus and Downtown Wolfson) allowing them to impact even more student within the county.

The Mark Cuban Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private non-profit led by Dallas Mavericks proprietor Mark Cuban. The AI Bootcamps Program at MCF seeks to inspire young people with emerging technology so that they can create more equitable futures for themselves and their communities. The Mark Cuban Foundation provides the Bootcamp’s curriculum materials, trains corporate volunteer mentors, and recruits and scores applications for local student selected to attend camp. In addition, the corporate sponsors, work to provide food, transportation, and access to laptops for students at no cost throughout the duration of Bootcamp.

Over the course of the four four-hour-long sessions, students will:

  • identify AI in the real world
  • build their own application
  • discuss AI ethics and bias in data
  • meet and learn from AI experts

The AI Bootcamp is open to students who:

  • live and attend high school (9th–12th grade) in Miami, Broward or Palm Beach county
  • have an interest in technology and machine learning
  • can attend in-person at one of the locations outlined below

Application deadline: Friday, September 8, 2023. For answers to some of your questions, please visit markcubanai.org/faq

👉🏽 Click here to apply today!

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08
May, 2023

By Adam Elitzur

18th annual SoFlo DevCon brings together developers, designers, tech professionals and educators

Read Time 7 Minutes

Just last month during #SoFloTechMonth, South Florida’s month-long celebration of all things tech and innovation across the region, South Florida Tech Hub hosted its 18th annual SoFlo DevCon once again bringing hundreds in attendance for the event.

Held at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, the location was a perfect place to bring together those from Miami, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin County and even a few from the west coast of the state. In attendance were software developers, designers, engineers, tech professionals and event school district teachers and college professors from across South Florida.

The event is the only fully regional tech education event FREE and open to the public with classes and sessions running all day long that are completely geared towards STEM and innovation. The event was free to attend, thanks to the support of community partners and sponsors such as this year’s Presenting Sponsor, Cognizant.

The day kicked off with breakfast (sponsored by FAU’s College of Engineering) and 8:30 AM sessions. The first 300 guests through the door were also given a free conference t-shirt (sponsored by Streann Media), and a pizza party lunch was provided for all attendees sponsored by CITY Furniture.

This year’s event featured a Leadership Track and Leadership Lunch in collaboration with Cognizant, CITY Furniture and SIM South Florida. Jeffrey Richman, Customer Relationship Manager and Kishore Dandu, Client Partner of Energy & Utilities at Cognizant addressed the audience as Presenting Sponsor. Kishore spoke about the importance of events such as SoFlo DevCon in the tech community and how proud they are to give back to a local organization helping build the local tech talent. With hundreds of thousands of employees across the globe, Cognizant employs many technical and sales people in the South Florida region. As tech in South Florida continues to blossom, they are happy to be a contributing part of the ecosystem.

Rebecca Bakels, Software Engineer and Tech Community Advocate at CITY Furniture, highlighted that CITY Furniture is more than just a furniture company. CITY Furniture employs hundreds of people in technology and is using all sorts of innovative tech such as AR, data science, and app development all in-house to ensure the best customer experience. CITY Furniture also gives back thousands of dollars towards local community programs and nonprofits each year.

Rebecca is a benefactor of local tech initiatives and the South Florida Tech Hub community. As she began her journey into tech in 2020, she connected with South Florida Tech Hub, completed Software Engineering course with Boca Code, became an intern at CITY Furniture and then was offered a full time role to continue with the company. Rebecca is now involved with many nonprofit organizations and initiatives in the tech space in the region.

Each year, the conference attracts almost 1000 attendees and over 100 speakers, sponsors and exhibitors. The event featured 6 time slots for workshops and 12 seperate tracks to choose from such as mobile/web development, professional development, entrepreneurship, AI/ML, blockchain & web3, UI/UX, and more. These tracks included a range of topics and workshops, including Machine Learning, AI, VR/AR/MR, IoT, .NET, DevOps, MVC Framework, JavaScript, JQuery, SQL Server, Business Intelligence, Software Testing, Xamarin/Mobile Development, Azure/Cloud, Business/Career Development.

  • In the Web Development track, Todd Albert, Lead Instructor and Founder at Boca Code remarked, “This year, we added several code-along workshops to our lineup, including Next.JS and ChatGPT by Jonathan Sanchez, building a game in Unity with SoFlo DevCon’s youngest speaker, 19-year-old Idan Fischer, and my talk where we live-coded a mobile app in React-Native. Each year, the conference seems to be more energetic and attended by more people. It’s always a great place to expand our knowledge and our networks.”
  • In the AI/ML track, Founder of Indulgent Gifts and Thrivve Group, Roberta Barbosa, and US Managing Director of Exo Mindset, Bruno Savoca Albors, spoke. Barbosa presented the workshop Intro to Intelligent RPA. The workshop covered “the fundamentals of intelligent process automation and how it is helping businesses become more efficient and increase employee engagement. It also shared the RPA leaders in the industry, the tools available on the market, and the most common use cases.” Albors delivered a talk on the evolution of AI and ML, tracing its journey from early beginnings to the present day. He highlighted key milestones, including the emergence of machine learning as a subfield of AI, the rise of neural networks and deep learning, and the transformative impact of the digital age on AI and ML. Albors showcased modern applications across industries such as healthcare and finance and addressed ethical considerations and challenges, including bias and privacy. In conclusion, he provided a future outlook for AI and ML, emphasizing their significance in solving complex problems and shaping the future of technology.
  • In the Web Development track, Todd Albert, Lead Instructor and Founder at Boca Code remarked, “This year, we added several code-along workshops to our lineup, including Next.JS and ChatGPT by Jonathan Sanchez, building a game in Unity with SoFlo DevCon’s youngest speaker, 19-year-old Idan Fischer, and my talk where we live-coded a mobile app in React-Native. Each year, the conference seems to be more energetic and attended by more people. It’s always a great place to expand our knowledge and our networks.”
  • In the blockchain track, ApparelMagic CEO and cryptocurrency veteran Brandon Ginsberg, and Azure Migrate & Modernize Lead at Microsoft and Co-Founder of Nebulai, Renatto Garro were two of the presenters. Ginsberg spoke about recent developments in the Ethereum ecosystem, including The Merge, Shanghai updates, and ERC-4337. His talk highlighted the importance of these updates in enhancing Ethereum’s scalability, security, and efficiency, and their potential implications for decentralized applications and the broader cryptocurrency landscape. Garro led the workshop Unlock the Power of Decentralized Identities. “Decentralized Identities promise to change the way we use the Internet giving us more control, security, and the ability to monetize our data,” Garro stated. “We discussed about solutions from Microsoft like Entra and PolygonID, among others. It is truly inspiring what developers can start building with this technology.”
  • In the AR/VR track, Principal engineer at Microsoft for Mixed Reality, Denise Mendez, Head of Emerging Tech & Innovation Division at PeakActivity, Rob Petrosino, and Harshal Sanghvi, Doctoral Candidate at Florida Atlantic University and Research and Development Specialist at Advanced Research LLC, presented workshops. Mendez talked about the scale of the XR industry, its value in the South Florida economy, and well as how to get started building cross-platform XR experiences in Unity. Petrosino spoke about AI & its impact on 3D, AR & XR. “Generative AI has changed how most organizations and teams will approach visualizing information, floor plans and their standard operating procedures without additional technical teams.” Sanghvi discussed the impacts of AI & AR on Medical Interventions and Imaging as diagnosing and treatment methods.
  • In the Leadership track, Founder of B-Grade Media and Technology Advisor at Leafplanner, Q. Wade Billings led the session on “How to engineer a thriving engineering culture”. “In 2019, I had the opportunity to build an engineering culture from scratch, which is more complicated than it might sound,” Billings remarked. “To help my team and me in the effort, we designed a framework called the “Cultural Development Lifecycle (CDLC)” modeled after the well-known Software Development Lifecycle. This framework enabled us to conceive of, plan, develop, test, and measure our thriving engineering culture. My sincere hope and goal are that presenting the CDLC at SoFlo DevCon will inspire others to think about culture in a new and exciting light.”
  • In the Entrepreneurship track, was a session, “Practical Steps to Turn Your Idea Into a Revenue Generating Business”, Managing Partner at Argent Strategies and CSO of Doxci, Aaron Chavez, covered everything from ideation to product development to early-stage scaling activities. His talk emphasized the significance of proper solution validation, as well as a heavy focus on non-capital-intensive activities that are accessible to all founders. During his talk, he stressed the significance of South Florida’s idea-rich founder economy and the need for said founders to progress by taking practical and cost-effective steps to move their ventures forward.

One of the unique aspects of SoFlo DevCon is that it is open to anyone interested in the tech and innovation community in South Florida. Attendees did not need to be developers to participate in the conference. Designers, project managers, creatives, entrepreneurs, founders, and anyone connected to the tech industry were all welcome to attend.

Software engineer and game developer presented the workshop ‘Unleashing Your Creativity: Unity game development.’ “Participants learned how to create a game where the player collects coins while avoiding obstacles,” Fischer explained.

“We went through the process of making a game, from making game objects to making scripts to control our objects. Overall, speaking at SoFlo Devcon was an amazing experience, especially for my first time speaking anywhere and first time at SoFlo Devcon. Thank you to everyone who came!”

Idan was also voted the audience favorite receiving the Scott Katarincic Speaker Award, in remembrance of Scott who recently passed this year. He was a major part of planning past SoFlo DevCon events and working with all the speakers to ensure a successful event. It was only fitting that our youngest speaker ever at only 19 years old received the award and on his birthday, no less! The award was presented to Idan by Naomi Gayz, Scott’s girlfriend, and Annette Katarancic, Scott’s mother.

SoFlo DevCon 2023 was a huge success, bringing together the South Florida tech community and providing a platform for learning, networking, and collaboration. The day ended with an after-party happy hour and karaoke!

South Florida Tech Hub’s Dev Con 2023 was made possible because of its sponsors: Presenting Sponsor, Cognizant, T-shirts, Streann Media, City Furniture provided lunch and Telerik by Progress sponsored ASL interpretation. Thanks to the supporting sponsors, including Florida Atlantic University, OZ Digital Consulting, NRG Way, Boca Code, SIM, Algorand, Agile Infoways, Total Wine & More, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft TEALS Program, Code Magazine, FPL, Office Depot, Carrier, Modernizing Medicine, Florida Crystals, Social Mobile, Verizon, and Dedicated IT, for their contributions to the event.

See more photos here.

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03
May, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Verizon drives enhanced connectivity at the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix

Read Time 3 Minutes

Verizon is bringing private wireless network solutions to this year’s Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.

The company deployed a Private Managed Wireless Solution at the track that enables venue management solutions including ticket scanning, digital sign management, multiple point of sale terminals for various merchants, and immediate uploads for photographers looking to cover the action as it unfolds. With nearly a quarter of a million people expected to attend the three-day event, a dedicated private network delivers high-speed, high-capacity, and low-latency for these applications as well as reduced interference and greater privacy and security.

Private networks provide enhanced location flexibility at large scale events eliminating the need to run fiber cabling inside and around venues to support network connectivity. This wireless venue platform allows stadium operators and the infrastructure providers they work with to reduce infrastructure costs and increase efficiency. Verizon will also have a portable private wireless network at the race to showcase various real-time communications applications that can be used in racing, whether it’s race team communications or venue operations. Private managed wireless network solutions are part of the broader Verizon Business Connected Venue approach, which is rooted in its 5G investment in more than 95 large public venues in the United States, including some of the most iconic major sports and music venues.

“With private networks, venue operators are improving existing operations, allowing fans to quickly get into the venue, purchase merchandise, and get to their seats,” said Kyle Malady, CEO of Verizon Business.

“ In a sport like racing, no one wants to miss a second of the action, and fans will not only benefit from the private network, our 5G Ultra Wideband network is blanketing the Hard Rock Stadium area so attendees can stream, tweet, and share their experiences quickly and reliably.”

Verizon Upgrades Network for Race Fans

Last year, Verizon customers attending the event used 19 TB of data and Verizon engineers are expecting even greater usage this year. To prepare the area, engineers have deployed additional 4G and 5G service to the Bowl, back of the house, parking area, and throughout the Miami International Autodrome. Engineers have used a variety of spectrum to provide these upgraded services. For 5G services, Verizon is using a combination of C-band, its mid-band spectrum designed for excellent coverage and mmWave, its premium, high-band spectrum which allows for massive capacity.

Engineers have increased bandwidth on fiber feeding the area as well. Verizon has increased the capacity on the fiber connections by adding 864 count fiber strands to the northeast, southwest and northwest corners of the Distributed Antenna System at Hard Rock Stadium as well as in the west lot. Fiber was also expanded throughout the outdoor areas to increase capacity for the Outdoor Distributed Antenna System. Lastly, engineers expanded fiber for cell sites along the track course.

In the parking area, Verizon added a performance enhancement technology that divides crowds into sectors like slices of a pie. Each slice or sector can be adjusted individually to handle wireless traffic. This technology gives Verizon engineers more leeway to adjust performance based on where customers move and how they use data inside the stadium.

Verizon recently announced upgrades to the entire Miami area where 94% of customers now have access to 5G Ultra Wideband service.

The Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix takes place May 5-7, 2023 at the Miami International Autodrome located at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins, University of Miami football team and the Miami Open presented by Itaú. Fans can also visit the Hard Rock Stadium Express Shop, powered by Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband and mobile edge compute, which allows event attendees to avoid long lines and quickly grab snacks, and beverages, and go.

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02
May, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Interstellar engineering; Student uses NASA-supplied simulated lunar soil to 3D print out-of-this-world housing

Read Time 4 Minutes

NASA is working to build a research base on the moon to send the first astronauts to Mars. Along the way, a new industry is coming to life: construction on surfaces beyond Earth. This is where master’s student Brandon Aguiar ’21 is launching his promising career. 

Aguiar is advancing a 3D printing technique that makes durable structures out of lunar dust. He has produced igloos, building blocks and cubes with complex angles and curvatures.

Essentially, Aguiar is researching a material that could be the backbone of interstellar engineering. 

“It’s very expensive to ship supplies to space. One pound of material can cost thousands of dollars,” says Aguiar, a life-long fan of space exploration.

“Just imagine what it would cost taxpayers to ship entire houses to the moon. Instead, we can use the material that is already there to build infrastructure.” 

Lunar dust is a powder consisting of tiny, irregularly shaped rocks. It covers the moon and can present a potential hazard for astronauts. In previous missions, the dust has eroded spacesuits and sensitive equipment. 

Aguiar’s research would flip this hazard into an asset. Using a lunar dust simulant provided by NASA, he is working with a material that has approximately five times the hardness of mild steel. Now, the College of Engineering and Computing student is focusing on how to make his 3D-printed objects withstand all the perils of the moon, including radiation, asteroids and temperature swings.

Aguiar works under the guidance of engineering experts at FIU’s Plasma Forming Laboratory. One of those experts is Ambreen Nisar, a research assistant professor who researches ceramic materials used for space exploration and hypersonic vehicles.

“On Earth, temperatures are very different depending on where you go. The weather in Miami is super hot, but somewhere in the northwest, it’s still freezing. The same happens when you are on the moon,” Nisar said. “Any material that is used needs to withstand extreme thermal shock.”

Aguiar joins other researchers around the country who are focused on making structures out of lunar dust. In particular, Aguiar is focused on finding a way to manufacture the structures to withstand the harshest elements of space. The key is getting the parameters of the 3D printing and treatment process right. He mixes the dust with a resin, which is like a glue, to bind the small rocks together. Then, he 3D prints the material and puts it through a furnace to acquire the desired shape and to burn away the resin.

It’s like cooking, Aguiar says; the ingredients and parameters must be exactly right. He learned it from Professor Arvind Agarwal, director of the Plasma Forming Laboratory. 

“When I’m teaching my new students, I always use the example of cooking to explain materials engineering,” Agarwal says. “You can make a chicken into either grilled chicken or fried chicken. The taste is completely different, but the starting material is the same. The same goes for lunar dust used in Brandon’s research. By modifying how he ‘cooks’ the dust, he can completely change how his structures perform.”

Aguiar will continue his research on a Presidential Fellowship as a Ph.D. student at FIU this fall. His 3D-printing method and parameters are pending patents and were recently published in a journal. 

Aguiar’s research is a continuation of a senior project done by FIU Ph.D. student Kazue Orikasa, who is now researching how plastics could be used to protect technology in space. 

You can read more about Brandon here.

 

 

This article was originally written by David Drucker ’18 who is an account manager for FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing, where he writes about research and technology. Drucker has been a contributor to FIU News since 2018. In 2021, he led the launch of Panther Personalities, a podcast highlighting members of the FIU community. In his spare time, David enjoys fishing, golfing and putting his Paws Up for the Panthers at university events. The article was posted with Drucker’s permission. 

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09
Apr, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Crown Castle’s new Miami office is now open for business.

Read Time 3 Minutes

Last week, Crown Castle opened a beautiful new office located at One Park Square in Doral, FL.

One Park Square is a 231,500 square foot class A office building designed to accommodate today’s corporate client with features such as an onsite fitness center, conference center, car charging station and complimentary valet parking. It’s nestled next to CityPlace Doral, a master-planned, mixed-use development ​in Doral’s dynamic employment center putting you at the epicenter of the city with total connectivity and seamless walkability.

Over 150,000 employees commute to work every day to Doral. The city is home to Fortune 500 companies and government headquarters. Carnival, Univision, Brinks, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida are just a few of the companies who have made Doral their headquarters. The city has also been certified as a platinum level “Smart City” by World Council on City Data. The city offers services such as the Freebee which is a free door-to-door, on-demand transportation service with vehicles that are 100% electric and frequent connections to the Doral trolley.

According to the City’s website, “The City of Doral’s Smart City strategy is focused on the idea that the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can enhance the quality of services, transform city operations and infrastructure, engage citizens and accelerate innovation. The City of Doral adopted the Smart City approach since the Strategic Planning Session of June 2015 to enhance accessibility, sustainability, livability, and transparency.”

The City was featured in an Crown Castle video highlighting their partnership and Smart City successes with reliable high-speed data network. These kinds of events encourage job creation and entrepreneurship, since encouraging new technologies the City is investing in opportunities, in a marketplace of innovation and ideas.

The new Doral Crown Castle office is actually a renovation. The company has been working with and within the City for quite some time. The office just needed a little face lift which the team certainly got.

“It was very fulfilling to see the smiles on the faces of our teammates as they walked into their new space,’ wrote Rick Perkins, Regional Vice President, Implementation & Operations – South, in a recent social media post.

“Upgrade is an understatement!” he replied in a comment. “It’s been a long journey which was worth the wait.”

Over the last decade technology has completely changed our world and how we interact in it. From having a smart phone in our hand at all times to a smart watch on your wrist. Emerging technologies such as 5G and smart city tech promises one thing – more jobs. Crown Castle’s towners, small cells and fiber help keep everything running and connected.

Crown Castle has nearly 100 offices across the country and thirteen of those in Florida. The locations span from West Palm Beach to Tampa and Orlando. The Miami location houses much of the technology staff and the company has been actively hiring. From Project Managers to Fiber Engineers to Agile Coaches, Crown Castle has on-site and hybrid opportunities.

With more than 40,000 towers, approximately 85,000 route miles of fiber and approximately 120,000 small cells on air or under contract, Crown Castle is the nation’s leading provider of communications infrastructure. The company is in a unique position to support continued innovation and help manage all private and cloud-based network architectures and next gen networks like 5G.

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08
Apr, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Miami Metro Region has the lowest unemployment rate in the Florida – below national average

Read Time 4 Minutes

The Miami Metropolitan region (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach) came in with the overall lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.2%!! 

Last month Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida’s economy continues to work for Floridians with February’s unemployment rate remaining at a low 2.6 percent, while the national rate increased to 3.6 percent.

Furthermore, Florida’s unemployment rate has decreased by 0.7 of a percentage point over the year and has remained lower than the nation for 28 consecutive months since November 2020. In February 2023, Florida’s private sector employment grew by 5.0 percent (406,600 jobs) over the year. Between February 2022 and February 2023, Florida’s labor force grew by 247,000 (2.3 percent), which is faster than the national labor force growth rate of 1.5 percent during the same time period.

“Florida’s economy continues to be number one in new business formations while growing our labor force and creating jobs faster than the national rate,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “As the federal government continues to flounder on key issues like inflation, Florida will continue to get the fundamentals right.”

All ten major industries experienced positive over-the-year job growth in February. Florida’s private sector employment increased by 0.4 percent over the month (+34,800 jobs) in February 2023, faster than the national rate by 0.2 percentage point over the month and 2.0 percentage points over the year. In February 2023, Florida employers have added jobs for 33 months since May 2020, with the exception of October 2022. Florida’s over-the-year private sector job growth rate has exceeded the nations’ job growth rate for 23 consecutive months since April 2021.

“Thanks to Governor DeSantis’ ongoing commitment to investing in infrastructure enhancements and workforce development initiatives across the state, Florida’s economy continues to fire on all cylinders,” said Meredith Ivey, Acting Secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO).

“Florida gained nearly 35,000 jobs over the month in February 2023 and our state’s unemployment rate remains consistently low. DEO is committed to continuing to champion Governor DeSantis’ mission through its partnerships and programs to ensure Florida sustains its economic success.”

In February 2023, trade, transportation and utilities gained the most jobs among all major industries, adding 12,800 jobs (+0.7 percent) over the month, followed by education and health services, adding 11,400 jobs (+0.8 percent), and leisure and hospitality, adding 10,700 jobs (+0.8 percent).

Data from the month of February continues to indicate there are many job opportunities available for Floridians throughout the state, with more than 409,000 jobs posted online.

The industries gaining jobs over the year included:

  • leisure and hospitality (+104,700 jobs, +8.7 percent)
  • education and health services (+89,400 jobs, +6.5 percent)
  • professional and business services (+67,300 jobs, +4.4 percent)
  • trade, transportation, and utilities (+62,100 jobs, +3.3 percent)
  • financial activities (+25,200 jobs, +3.9 percent)
  • total government (+20,800 jobs, +1.9 percent)
  • construction (+19,700 jobs, +3.3 percent)
  • other services (+18,300 jobs, +5.4 percent)
  • manufacturing (+16,700 jobs, +4.1 percent)
  • information (+2,400 jobs, +1.6 percent)

Floridians in search of work and new job opportunities are encouraged to turn to the CareerSource Florida network for help. Floridians can find guidance on how to register with Employ Florida and search listings of available local job openings. Career seekers also can improve their employability by perfecting resume writing and interviewing skills, establishing career goals, and pursuing customized career training. These services are provided at no cost to job seekers.

In February 2023, Monroe County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate (1.6 percent), followed by Miami-Dade County (1.7 percent), St. Johns County and Gulf County (2.2 percent each), and Wakulla County and Okaloosa County (2.3 percent each). In February 2023, all of 24 metro areas in Florida had over-the-year job gains. The areas with the largest gains were Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (+68,700 jobs, +4.7 percent), Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford (+68,300 jobs, +5.0 percent), and Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall (+53,800 jobs, +4.4 percent).

The entire Southeast Florida region, or Miami Metro region, came in with the overall lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.2%!! The Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall metropolitan division came in first for the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 1.7%. The Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach tied for second place for the lowest unemployment rate in he state at 2.5% and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach came in at th8ird -place for the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.6%.

To view the February 2023 employment data, visit: www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases. Visit Florida Insight for more information on labor market and economic data. Additionally, the Department has provided a video to assist users in explaining the data provided through Florida Insight.

 

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22
Mar, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

CAST AI Receives $20M in New Funding Led by Early-Stage VC Creandum

Read Time 3 Minutes

The intelligent cloud-native automation and cost management startup, CAST AI, has announced the closing of a $20M investment round.

The investment round was led by Creandum, an early-stage venture capital investment firm behind companies like Spotify, neo4j, and Klarna. Creandum invested $15M, joining CAST AI’s original lineup of investors which injected an additional $5M, signaling renewed enthusiasm for advanced AI-driven cloud cost optimization solutions.

Founded in 2003, Creandum is a leading pan-European early-stage venture capital firm whose portfolio of 120+ companies includes some of Europe’s most successful tech companies across a wide range of industries. Today, every sixth company is a unicorn. Creandum’s advisory teams are based in Stockholm, Berlin, London, and San Francisco and offer extensive operational expertise to support the funds’ portfolio companies from seed to exit to become global category leaders. Learn more at www.creandum.com.

With this investment, CAST AI is ready to take advantage of the significant opportunity as the market for cloud-native solutions is experiencing hypergrowth and, at the same time, facing the challenge of sustainable cost management. In a recent ‘State of Kubernetes Report” released by CAST AI, it showed that companies overspend by 60% due to overprovisioning containerized applications.

CAST AI Co-Founders, Laurent Gil (CPO), Leon Kuperman (CTO), and Yuri Frayman (CEO), started the company out of their own personal frustration with rising cloud costs. They had just sold their previous startup, Zenegade, which was acquired by Oracle and they stated that they couldn’t get it out of their head that there must be a better way to manage costs. And so came, CAST AI.

The Co-Founders told South Florida Tech Hub, “We are proud to be a part of Miami ecosystem and will expand our operations and our presence in the region. We will also continue to be active in the community by participating in events, helping other startups and sharing insights and know-how we’ve learned along the way.”

Headquartered in downtown Miami, CAST AI also has a European branch in Vilnius, Lithuania. The company has raised $38M from investors including Creandum, Cota Capital, and Uncorrelated Ventures.

CAST AI is an all-in-one cloud-native automation platform that cuts cloud bills in half for AWS, GCP, and Azure customers. Powered by AI, it analyzes multiple data points to find an optimal cost-performance ratio. The company founders are serial entrepreneurs who successfully led previous startups to acquisitions by Google, Comcast and Oracle. The CAST AI platform employs AI and automation to analyze compute resources and optimize them in minutes. By connecting their Kubernetes clusters to the platform, organizations can see suggested recommendations and use powerful cloud-native automation techniques for immediate cost reduction.

Recently, the platform has helped the social media unicorn ShareChat, the Adtech company Iterable, and the global mobile analytics leader Branch to start saving millions of dollars annually.

“This funding is just in time to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity in the market as more and more companies transition to containerized applications in the cloud,” said Yuri Frayman, CEO of CAST AI.

“With this investment, we can further grow our position as a leading provider of intelligent cloud optimization solutions globally as well as expand our all-in-one platform capabilities to more cloud-native ecosystems and use cases.”

Since the platform launch, CAST AI has experienced quarter-by-quarter revenue growth of over 220%, based on the company’s ability to provide optimization solutions that simplify cloud-native application management, a much-needed service in today’s tech-driven world.

Carl Fritjofsson, General Partner at Creandum, commented “CAST AI’s explosive growth is unheard of in this macro market.

This demand really shows how unique and powerful the company’s solution is. We believe the needs for DevOps automation will only grow from here, and can’t wait to see CAST AI become the leader in the cloud optimization space.”

CAST AI positions itself as an all-in-one platform for cloud-native applications. Users can benefit from the full-suite of solutions including cost monitoring, autoscaling, spot instances automation and container security.

For  more information on CAST AI, visit https://cast.ai/

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13
Mar, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Inspire CIO announces 20 finalists for South Florida CIO Awards 2023

Read Time 3 Minutes

SouthFloridaCIO has announced the 20 finalists for the 2023 South Florida CIO ORBIE® Awards. 

For over 20 years, the CIO ORBIE Awards have recognized technology executives for leadership and excellence across the country. Since inception in 1998, over 500 CIO of the Year winners have received the prestigious ORBIE Award. SouthFloridaCIO is one of 25 chapters of the InspireCIO Leadership Network, a national membership organization comprised exclusively of CIOs from public and private businesses, government, education, healthcare and nonprofit institutions.

The South Florida CIO ORBIE® Awards will honor the CIOs who are driving innovation and transforming South Florida’s leading organizations. The CIOs are typically recognized in multiple categories, based on the size and scope of their organization and responsibilities.

“Every organization is technology-dependent, but strong leadership is the X-factor that can turn day to day IT into a remarkable strategic differentiator,” said Ann Dozier, SouthFloridaCIO Chair and Large Enterprise category winner in 2022.

“The ORBIE Awards are meaningful because they are judged by peers – CIOs who understand the challenges of technology leadership.”

Finalists and winners are selected by an independent peer review process, led by prior ORBIE recipients, based upon leadership and management effectiveness, business value created by technology innovation, and engagement in industry and community endeavors.

According to the South Florida Business Journal, the finalists were named in 5 categories including:

  • Global: Over $5 billion annual revenue and multi-national operations.
  • Large Enterprise: Over $5 billion annual revenue.
  • Enterprise: Up to $5 billion annual revenue.
  • Large Corporate: Up to $1 billion annual revenue.
  • Corporate: Up to $500 million annual revenue.

 

Meet Our 2023 Finalists:

  • Global Finalists:
    • Eric Firer (Bacardi)
    • Kevin Grayling (Florida Crystals)
    • Tim Langley-Hawthorne (Hertz)
    • Rocky Wiggins (spirit)
  • Large Enterprise:
    • Margaret Brisbane (Miami Dade County)
    • Sam Jaddi (ADT), Christos Kotsakis (AutoNation)
    • Tom Moreno (Lennar Financial Services)
  • Enterprise:
    • Patrick Hale (VITAS Healthcare)
    • Steven May (JenCare – a ChenMed Company)
    • Ram Puppala (ACI Worldwide)
    • Brad Rohrer (University of Miami)
  • Large Corporate:
    • Mary Desmarais (NCH Healthcare System)
    • David Seo (Nicklaus Children’s Health System)
    • Daniel Tehrani (ScribeAmerica)
    • William M. Velez (Harvard Maintenance Inc.)
  •  Corporate:
    • Lakshmi.N B. (Now Optics)
    • Tony Casciotta (Broward College)
    • Ely Garcia (Cisneros)
    • Mark Moch (American Oncology Network)

“Being a finalist for the SouthFlorida CIO ORBIE awards is a recognition of the entire team and the work they have delivered through our digital transformation agenda over the last 5 years. This journey has been delivered with great quality and is driving enormous value for the company,” said Kevin Grayling, CIO of Florida Crystals and one of the 2023 finalists told South Florida Tech Hub,

It is because this award is judged by our peers that sets it apart from others.

Winners will be announced at the CIO ORBIE Awards on June 9, 2023 at the The Diplomat Beach Resort.

 

Check out highlights from the South Florida CIO ORBIE Awards 200 here —>>> https://sofloridacio.org/awards#highlights

 

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22
Feb, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Seedfunders Associate Network for new investors is catching momentum

Read Time 3 Minutes

Earlier this month, Seedfunders, a Florida-based investment firm for early-stage startups, launched the Associate Network. 

The Associate Network is for investors outside of the Seedfunders organization allowing them easy access to view investment opportunities, sign documents and wire the funds. The complete process will be fully automated allowing for a greater amount of investors and overall funding for the startups.

Seedfunders’ goal was to add 40 new accredited investors in the first month, but the opportunity catch momentum pretty fast!

 

THE CONCEPT 💰

Dave Chitester, Founder of the Florida investment firms Florida Funders and Seedfunders, told South Florida Tech Hub that “97% of investors don’t invest in private deals because they either don’t know about them or find them too risky. The Associate Network aims to make it easier to invest locally.”

Chitester said that he had the idea for this concept years ago, but never launched it because no one understood the concept and it was very hard to do because the entire process had to be completed manually from start to finish. He only knew of two other firms using this concept at the time, AngelList and FundersClub.

There is no cost to join the Seedfunders Associate Network and no annual fees or expenses. There is also no obligation to invest in any of the deals. Once you join, the firm will send you investment opportunities and your participation is completely optional. All functionality, including deal docs, signatures, funding, and K-1s has been automated through Sydecar.

“This is a great opportunity for a new investor to get started in investing in startups with minimal risk. They have the opportunity to review deals but have no requirement to invest, so they can pick the ones they have an interest in and “get their feet wet,” said Chitester. “Then they can follow the company and see what early stage investing is all about.”

Chitester’s goal was to get 40 Associate Members in the first month and they exceeded that in the first week!! They already have 50 investors. Demand for is strong.

 

THE PLATFORM 💰 

Sydecar, a frictionless deal execution platform for venture investors, is the platform of choice being used for the Seedfunders Associate Network. According to the Sydecar website, the platform “handles back-office operations for venture investors, automating banking, compliance, contracts, and reporting so that customers can focus on making deals and building relationships.”

Sydecar is not a public investing platform which means all investors must be approved by Chitester.

With offices in Miami, Orlando and St. Petersburg, Seedfunders has a unique focus on pre-revenue early-stage technology startups in Florida. They bring a different approach with mentoring and guidance for developing an MVP and bringing concepts to market. Seedfunders investors are committed to mentoring and giving back to the startup community. Their approved accredited investors are a huge asset to our investees.

 

THE INVESTORS 💰

Seedfunders is inviting new accredited investors who may be interested in participating in the firm’s deals to join.

The network is only open to accredited investors, which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defines an accredited investor as one who has made $200,000 per year for the past 2 years, or $300,000 including spouse, OR has a net worth of more than $1 million, not counting the value of their permanent residence.
A good investor for the Seedfunders Associate Network is someone who wants to learn about startup funding, meets the SEC requirements above, can invest a minimum of $5000 per deal or more, has an interest in technology startups based in Florida.
So far in South Florida, Seedfunders has invested in Intelligent Observation, HeartOut, CERA Software, and Virtual Badge among others.

 

 

Here is the link to get signed up with Seedfunders’ Associate Network: https://www.seedfunders.com/associate-network/ 

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