The Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area attracted $361 million in venture capital funding for the second quarter of 2024, down significantly from the $623 million the region attracted in the first quarter, according to the latest data from Pitchbook.
The number of second-quarter deals for South Florida startups also fell to 71, down from 106 in the first quarter. That compares to 89 deals worth $378 million in the second quarter of 2023, Refresh Miami reported.
However, the report notes that two late-breaking deals from June were not included in the total: Insightec, a Miami- and Israel-based medtech company developing focused ultrasound, raised $150 million, the largest round of the year in Miami; asset tokenization startup Securitize raised $47 million.
Adding these two deals to South Florida’s Q2 venture capital total brings Q2 results close to Q1 2024 results. With H1 2024 venture capital totals approaching $1 billion, the region appears on track to match last year’s total of $2.4 billion, according to Pitchbook data.
Last year’s total in South Florida was a sharp decline from the region’s record $5.8 billion in venture capital in 2022, when the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area ranked No. 7 in the nation and defied a national slowdown in venture capital investment.
The good news from Pitchbook’s latest report is Miami’s booming fintech sector, which continues to showcase its fundraising capabilities. Of the five venture capital deals in the region, four were to Miami-based companies, three of which were fintech players.
FundKite, an online funding platform for small businesses that relocated from New York to Miami, raised $25.9 million; Payabli, a Miami-based fintech startup that helps SaaS companies get paid, raised $20 million in a Series A round; Miami-based Majority, which offers an immigrant-focused banking platform, raised $20 million in the second quarter.
According to a Crunchbase report released late last year, more than 570 fintech startups are headquartered in Florida. Most of them are located in the Miami area, which is fast becoming an international financial hub.
Cleantech and climate tech are also growing sectors in South Florida. Exowatt, a Miami-based cleantech startup, raised $20 million in the second quarter from investors including Atomic and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Other regional startups that secured significant funding in the second quarter included Healing Realty Trust, a Boca Raton-based retail productivity company that raised $20 million in Series A; Max Retail, a West Palm Beach company with a marketplace for excess inventory, raised $15 million; Felix Pago, a fintech remittance platform, raised $15.5 million; and Dataplor, a global location intelligence startup, raised $10.6 million.