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News, highlights, and events throughout the Americas

eMerge Americas 2022 Powered By Blockchain.com Hosts Thought Leaders, Startup Challenges, New Program Announcements + More 

As eMerge Americas wrapped up its 2022 edition - powered by Blockchain.com - with a full day of programming Tuesday, global titans of tech and innovation used the big stage to underscore the challenges ahead in navigating this unprecedented period of technological change, while local business and community leaders stepped up with announcements of programs and initiatives aimed at keeping the momentum going and making sure Miami can seize the opportunities ahead of us. In that way, the homegrown eMerge Americas, founded by Manny Medina and run by Felice Gorordo and Melissa Medina with the mission of building South Florida into the tech hub of the Americas, was equal parts a celebration of how far the Miami area has come as a tech hub as it was a call to action: We’re not done yet. How can we all help?

 

- Refresh Miami

Google For Startups Announces Partnership With eMerge Americas

Last week at the annual eMerge Americas summit, Google for Startups announced it is partnering with eMerge Americas over the next year to deepen Google’s support for the Latino founder community across the Americas. eMerge Americas is a leading organization growing the South Florida entrepreneurial and tech world through year-round executive summits, innovation challenges, startup pitch competitions, masterclasses and webinars. Our partnership will bring the best of Google’s products, programming and expertise to eMerge startups, and will help connect the Latin American and U.S. markets by combining our networks of support. As part of our announcement, Google announced two of the first recipients of the Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund, an award introduced last year as part of a $7 million commitment to the Latino startup community. Dani Vega and Francisco Cornejo, co-founders of Storybook, an app that helps parents combine bedtime stories with infant massage to improve sleep in babies and children, will receive $100,000 in non-dilutive cash funding.

 

- Google Blog

Construction Startup Wins eMerge Americas Startup Showcase Presented By Algorand

Miami construction startup Togal.AI won a $420,000 investment after taking home first prize at the 2022 eMerge Americas Startup Showcase. The company, which uses artificial intelligence to automate construction estimates, was among five finalists to pitch their businesses at Tuesday's live event at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The competitors were chosen from thousands of applicants to take the stage and sell their concepts to a panel of judges that included "Shark Tank"personality Kevin O'Leary; Florida Funders Chief Investment Officer Ryan Whittlemore; Panoramic Ventures Managing Partner Paul Judge; and The Algorand Foundation CEO Staci Warden. Togal.AI uses machine learning to automatically calculate the square footage of a construction job, label rooms and walls, and update blueprints.

 

- Miami Inno

Blockchain.com Is Planning IPO As Soon As This Year

Cryptocurrency startup Blockchain.com is interviewing banks for an initial public offering that could take place as soon as this year, according to people familiar with the matter. An IPO might not happen until next year and the company’s plans could change, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. A representative for the company declined to comment. Blockchain.com, a rival to cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc., said in March that it was valued at about $14 billion in a funding round. That financing was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with major participation from Baillie Gifford & Co., Blockchain.com said.

 

-Source: Bloomberg

Fintech Giant Stripe Jumps Into Crypto

Stripe will allow businesses to pay their users via cryptocurrencies, starting with Twitter, in the latest sign of how large financial firms are warming to digital assets. The $95 billion online payments company said Friday it will start offering merchants the ability to make payouts in crypto through the stablecoin USDC, which is issued by crypto firm Circle. Stablecoins are tokens that are pegged to fiat currencies to maintain a stable price. In USDC’s case, as the name suggests, the cryptocurrency is backed by the U.S. dollar. Twitter will be the first company to integrate the new payment method. It’s Stripe’s first significant push into crypto since dropping support for bitcoin four years ago. The San Francisco-based startup stopped accepting payments via bitcoin in January 2018, citing the digital coin’s notoriety for volatile price swings and a lack of efficiency in making everyday transactions.

 

- Source: CNBC

Coinbase’s Ethereum NFT Marketplace Launches in Beta

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced last Wednesday that its NFT marketplace is officially live in a limited-access beta launch, six months after it officially announced its long-teased plans. Coinbase NFT is now available to select users added from the waitlist, which has amassed millions of prospective members since October. According to the exchange, it will add users in the order of signup, with plans to add everyone in the “coming weeks.” 

The peer-to-peer marketplace has launched with support for NFTs minted on Ethereum, the leading platform for NFT artwork and collectibles, and Coinbase says it plans to add support for other unspecified blockchain platforms in the near future. Coinbase NFT will aggregate listings from across marketplaces, with a rep telling Decrypt that “any NFT that’s for sale on the Ethereum blockchain will be searchable” on the platform.

 

-Source: Decrypt

Miami-Based Nue Life Raises $23M Series A For Psychedelics Platform

NUE Life Health, a US-based telemedicine startup in the US, has built out a mental wellness platform that combined psychedelic-assisted therapies and a graph database-driven app. This at-home ketamine therapy – considered a radically new way to treat depression – also combines music therapies and a data-led, ‘quantified self’ approach. It’s now raised a $23 million Series A equity financing led by Obvious Ventures (co-founded by Ev Williams, Co-founder of Twitter), which also includes additional venture debt financing from Western Technology Investment. TechCrunch understands the lion share for the round was in equity. The new round of funding will support its new services in service in New York, as well as the existing locations of Florida, Texas, California, Colorado, and Washington State. In April, the service will expand to Georgia and Massachusetts, and twenty additional states are planned by the end of the year. 

 

-Source: TechCrunch

OBE Power Is Plugging Miami Into The EV Revolution

There are currently fewer than 50,000 public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the US. As consumers continue to ditch their gas guzzlers at a rapid clip, so will the need for places to charge their ride. Miami startup OBE Power can help. They are enabling the transition to carbon-free mobility by providing EV charging as a service. “We’re not doing what everyone else in the industry is doing, which is selling or leasing charging stations,” OBE Power’s co-managing director, Alejandro Burgana, told Refresh Miami. Rather, OBE Power installs EV charging locations at no cost to the property owner. The startup determines the best equipment to use, finds the contractors to set up the charging stations, and deploys their proprietary software platform. Through this software, EV car drivers can locate, activate, and pay for OBE Power’s charging services.

 

- Source: Refresh Miami

Connect: Big Data

April 28th| Publicize

 

Connect: Big Data, is a pitch competition designed to bring together leading members of the media with startups focused on Big Data innovation. At Connect: Big Data, six innovative startups will pitch their ventures to a panel of Media Judges and receive valuable feedback about their companies before the panel selects a winner.

FIU Cybersecurity Leadership & Strategy Professional Certificate

Begins May 17th| FIU

 

This online program will assess the most critical cyber threats facing the public and private sectors in the 21st century and demonstrate the best practices and strategies for preventing and managing cybersecurity in the public and private sectors.

English promo code: clsemerge-eng

eMerge Americas x Ironhack Diversity in Tech Fund

Application Closes May 19th| Ironhack + eMerge Americas

 

eMerge Americas partners with Ironhack to offer $200,000 in scholarships to increase diversity in tech. Study Web Development, Data Analysis, or UX/UI Design and boost your career in the ever growing tech world. With the eMerge Americas x Ironhack Diversity in Tech Fund, we’ll award applicants from underrepresented communities who successfully pass the selection process.

Tuition-Free Bootcamps

May 23rd| BrainStation Miami

 

To support the growth of the Miami tech community, BrainStation is offering tuition-free bootcamps in Web Development and UX Design starting May 23! BrainStation has offered these bootcamps for more than a decade across multiple cities, with more than 90% of graduates finding work at Microsoft, Google, Shopify, REEF, and Royal Caribbean, among others. 20 seats in each bootcamp will be awarded on a competitive basis.

eMerge Americas  2222 Ponce de Leon Blvd  Miami  FL 

 

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