C funding and the number of funded companies in Florida are decreasing faster than in the top 10 US cities for VC. According to Bloomberg, Miami now ranks 13th in the nation in terms of VC funding.

Here are some possible root causes:

✔️ Lack of Local Founder Talent: Many successful founders come from technical roles at FAANG companies or post-Series A funded startups. However, none of the FAANGs and very few Series A-funded startups are headquartered in Florida.

✔️ Crypto Dependency: According to Refresh Miami, nearly 20% of the VC raised in 2022 (peak year) came from crypto companies, a sector facing significant challenges post-FTX.

✔️ Lack of Local Engineering Talent: Cities like San Francisco, Boston, and Austin benefit from elite engineering schools such as Stanford, MIT, and UT Austin. Florida, however, lacks such institutions.

✔️ Scarcity of Seed Stage Investors: Crunchbase lists 470 VC investors in Florida. However, as one Florida founder pointed out, "These are really PE and real estate people, dipping their toe in VC. They are essentially late-stage investors disguised as early-stage."

✔️ Insufficient Institutional Backing: Cities like NYC and Atlanta have substantial funding available to invest in and attract early-stage tech companies, along with strong collaborative ecosystems.

Organizations Working to Reverse the Trend:

• Miami-Dade Beacon Council

• Mana Tech

• eMerge Americas

• Tech Equity Miami

• Refresh Miami

• The Miami Foundation

• Miami Hack Week

• Venture Miami

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