1
Brightline, Industrious make co-working easier
Brightline Trains Florida has partnered with Industrious, a New York-based flexible workspace provider now backed by CBRE Group, to offer on-demand meeting rooms and coworking spaces at four of its train stations in the state and on the trains too. “If people can work from anywhere, then anywhere can be a workplace. I think that’s something that’s been underdeveloped ,” Jamie Hodari, cofounder and CEO of Industrious told Fast Company.
The coworking spaces are built in underutilized conference and meeting rooms inside Brightline’s stations. The new workspaces will be available at Brightline stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando. There will be reservable station offices, ranging from 210 to 652 square feet, as well as the option to book an entire train car for private meetings or events. “It’s a solution for modern professionals where we’re enhancing productivity through mobility,” adds Megan Del Prior, Brightline’s vice president of corporate partnerships.
The bookable train cars available through the partnership have no special features, but do include Wi-Fi and charging ports like all Brightline train cars. Read more here.
2
Marcelo Claure joins Brightstar Capital as partner
Marcelo Claure has joined New York-based private equity firm Brightstar Capital Partners as partner and co-chair alongside the firm’s founder and CEO Andrew Weinberg.
“This marks a full-circle moment for Andrew and me, from building Brightstar Corp. together to now leading Brightstar Capital Partners into its next chapter,” said the serial entrepreneur and investor, in a statement. “I look forward to spending the majority of my time working closely with the Brightstar team as we seek to create value across Brightstar’s portfolio and aim to help scale the Firm into one of the world’s premier investment platforms.”
Brightstar manages about $5 billion in assets and invests in middle market companies across a range of industries including, business services, industrials, consumer and government services and technology. Claure also was the former CEO of SoftBank and Sprint, where he oversaw the $26 billion merger with T-Mobile US. He also runs his own family office, Claure Group, which launched a flagship venture capital fund, Bicycle Capital, in 2023 with a $500 million fund target to invest in Latin American startups. Read more here.
3
American Bitcoin backed by Trump’s sons to go public
The bitcoin mining company backed by President Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., is set to go public on the Nasdaq through an all-stock merger with Gryphon Digital Mining. The combined company, American Bitcoin, will trade under the ticker symbol “ABTC,” with the transaction expected to close as early as the third quarter of 2025. Existing stockholders of American Bitcoin, including the president’s sons, will own about 98% of the new entity.
Eric Trump, American Bitcoin’s co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, told the South Florida Business Journal that the merger “brings us closer to offering every investor access to a purpose-built platform engineered for scale and long-term value creation in what we believe is one of the most important asset classes of our time.”
It is the latest high-profile move from the Trump family’s growing crypto empire, which already includes the controversial $TRUMP meme coin. The merger is expected to close in the second half of the year. Miami-based Hut 8 launched American Bitcoin in partnership with the Trump sons earlier this year. Read more here.
4
Matchpoint Ventures raising inaugural fund
Matchpoint Ventures, a Coral Gables-based venture capital firm, is aiming to raise $30 million for its inaugural fund, VC Wire reported. According to a form filed with is the SEC, Matchpoint Venture Partners I has not raised funds yet.
The form lists Brian Yeh as the investor related to the raise. Yeh is the former CIO at DG Ventures, the startup incubation and venture capital investment subsidiary of DG (Digital Garage) in San Francisco. He has also invested in dozens of startups and companies across asset classes and worked across different segments of the investment industry, including hedge funds, venture capital and investment banking.
5
Jump Crypto takes stake in Securitize
Jump Crypto, the digital asset arm of Jump Trading, a Chicago quantitative trading firm, took a strategic stake in Miami-based Securitize, one of the leading platforms bringing real-world assets like Treasurys and private credit onto public blockchains, Forbes reported. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This is the first outside investment in Securitize since BlackRock’s $47 million round last year, which cemented the firm as a cornerstone of the fast-growing tokenization market. Other blue-chip asset managers, including Apollo, Hamilton Lane and KKR, have also tapped Securitize to issue blockchain-based funds. The funds tokenize mainstream products including Treasurys, private credit, and private equity on blockchains like Ethereum and Solana. Read more here.
6
An AI-powered acquisition in health insurance
Healthcare Funding Partners, a Boca Raton-based provider of an insurance platform, acquired GetMeHealthcare, a Boca Raton-based insurance agency using AI. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. With the acquisition, HFP will expand its offerings.
Led by CEO Michael Tobias, GetMeHealthcare is a nationwide insurance agency known for its innovative use of AI, compliance standards and national footprint of licensed agents. The company specializes in health insurance solutions and it is expanding into adjacent lines of coverage.
Healthcare Funding Partners, led by CEO Michael Hilf, is a provider of an insurance investment platform company that partners with insurance firms across the U.S., combining capital, operational support and technology to generate scale and long-term value.
7
Visual Blasters CEO discusses app development policies in DC
Adri Ofman, CEO of Miami-based Visual Blasters, recently met with officials from the Executive Office of the President, the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Office of the Vice President, to discuss critical issues facing U.S.-based app developers. He explained how the current app ecosystem helps small developers like himself and voiced concerns about policy proposals that could fracture this critical ecosystem.
As Congress considers policies that would overregulate or dismantle app stores, Ofman urged lawmakers to remember the value app stores provide developers. New research shows 92% of app businesses say app stores and the services they provide are important for their app’s success. Ofman wants lawmakers to redirect their focus on passing a national data privacy law, which would help end the confusing patchwork of state privacy laws, give consumers peace of mind, and allow developers to innovate. Ofman is not alone, as 84% say the app industry needs a single data privacy law.
“I hope Congress continues these conversations with small developers and truly gains an understanding of the current app ecosystem that works so well,” said Ofman, whose company created FlipaClip, the world’s #1 animation app with over 80 million installs. Ofman is also a board member of the Developers Alliance. He and seven other developers came to Washington, DC, with the Developers Alliance to share their perspectives on the app ecosystem with federal lawmakers.
8-PLUS
Opportunity knocks
- SPARC South Florida (Startup Pitch Accelerator Regional Competition) is accepting applications to compete for a $1 million prize in the Startup World Cup Global Pitch Competition and receive broad exposure for your startup and access to coaching and mentorship. Apply by May 18 here.
- The Ventures, a global startup award born in Silicon Valley that now runs across 19 countries, is holding its first in-person Ventures Award in Miami on June 5. Startups can apply by May 26 here.
- Seaworthy Collective, a Miami-based non-profit BlueTech (ocean innovation) entrepreneur support organization and community, has opened applications for Cohort 6 of its updated flagship Startup Program, The Continuum Ocean Enterprise Studio and Incubator. This year, the Studio and Incubator will exclusively support US-based startups developing ocean data technologies and services, in alignment with the priorities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Enterprise Initiative. The Continuum partners include Braid Theory, Ocean Exchange, Seaworthy Collective, St. Pete Innovation District, Tampa Bay Wave, World Ocean Council, and the University of South Florida. Learn more and apply here by June 26.
- Endeavor Miami is accepting applications for its next ScaleUp Program. Apply for the ScaleUp program here. Endeavor Miami is also taking applications for an upcoming EndeavorLab program. Apply here by August 22 for the EndeavorLab Women Founders cohort.
- The Cade Prize for Inventivity, named after Dr. Robert Cade, lead inventor behind Gatorade, celebrates inventors and entrepreneurs, who, through an innovative invention, demonstrate a creative approach to addressing problems in their field of expertise. Each year, Cade Prize winners receive over $100,000 in cash prizes and legal services with no strings attached. Find out more and apply here by July 10.
- Are you a pre-Series A startup founder looking to make your mark on a global stage for a $100,000 equity-free priae? Applications for TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 are now open. Go to the Startup Battlefield 200 page to learn more and apply by June 9.
- The Veterans Florida Entrepreneurship Program’s Facilitated Growth Cohort at Florida International University offers training to help you grow and expand your business. You are not required to have any employees but should have a business generating revenue. You will create a Business Model Canvas with mentorship and will determine if your business is validated/marketable and if it is scalable/expandable. Find out more and apply here.
ICYMI
Have news to report? Email Nancy Dahlberg at [email protected] and follow her on X @ndahlberg. Subscribe to Refresh Miami’s free weekly newsletter here featuring startup news, tech job opportunities and events. Thank you for supporting Refresh Miami.
- 8+ things to know in #MiamiTech: All-aboard Brightline – for co-working, plus news about Marcelo Claure, American Bitcoin, Matchpoint Ventures, Securitize, Healthcare Funding Partners, Visual Blasters & more – May 13, 2025
- It’s the best time to be a developer: 6 things we learned at Shift Miami 2025 – May 8, 2025
- With $1M grant from Blackstone and JPMorganChase, 200+ Miami Dade College students to get paid internships at startups – and more – May 5, 2025
