Miami-based Doroni Aerospace is developing an eVTOL flying car

INNOVATION

What Traffic?

Miami-based electric vehicle takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company Doroni Aerospace is developing an eVTOL flying car. The company says the battery-operated vehicle will have four legs, 10 independent propulsion systems, room for two passengers and will be able to travel up to 140 mph. It will require 20 hours of training to pilot the aircraft, which the company touts as easy to fly and control. Doroni is accepting 36 pre-orders of its Doroni H1 in the first year of production following product launch in late 2024. The company has been raising money through a crowdfunding effort and investors.

HIGHER EDUCATION

• The Florida Department of Education and Cyber Florida awarded Miami Dade College $2 million to prepare students for careers in cybersecurity. The funding will underwrite paid internship opportunities for students with local companies, as well as help bring cybersecurity conferences and events to the community. Cyber Florida also awarded more than $2 million to Florida International University.

TECHNOLOGY

• Column, a Miami-based tech startup that has created a new process for entities to post public notices through a database, has raised $30 million.
• United Way Miami has partnered with 4Geeks Academy, a Miami-based coding bootcamp, to close race and gender gaps in tech by targeting single female heads of household, military veterans and people of color making less than $35,000 a year.
• Muck Rack, a public relations management platform headquartered in Miami, has raised $180 million. The startup’s digital platform is designed to help public relations companies connect with journalists. It features tools such as media monitoring, reporting and analytics.
• The Miami Angels, one of Florida’s largest angel networks, has selected Kat Wilson, a University of Florida and University of Chicago graduate, as managing director. Wilson also has brought on tech entrepreneur and Miami local Jared Schwitzke as principal.

REAL ESTATE

• Houston-based Hines bought Gables Station, a 14-story building in Miami’s Coral Gables neighborhood, for $430 million. The building houses a health club, a co-working space, 495 apartments, a Trader Joe’s and an Italian restaurant.
• SoBe Park has acquired the Macy’s retail building in South Beach for $15.5 million, or $152 per square foot.
• Prestige Cos. has purchased 13 acres at the Hialeah Park Racing & Casino for $13.76 million and has approval to build 343 apartments. A charter school was also approved for the site.

BANKING

• Seacoast Banking has acquired Professional Holding, the parent company of Coral Gables-based Professional Bank. Fidel Egas, the majority owner of Banco Pichincha, the largest commercial bank in Ecuador, bought Miamibased Intercredit Bank.

ENVIRONMENT

• The Knight Foundation has invested $685,000 in New Orleans-based startup ISeeChange, a platform that enables communities to collect data on flooding, heat and pollution. The startup will expand across Miami-Dade County and will focus on collecting data in underserved communities.

ENTERTAINMENT

• Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs has invested $2 million to expand Philadelphia-based startup REC to Miami. REC will include educational programming for creators, recording studios, editing bays and access to a network of artists and brands.
• Urbanspace’s New York City holiday market is expanding to Lincoln Road. The Urbanspace Lincoln Road Holiday Market will be open from Nov. 15 through Feb. 15 and will feature more than 100 vendors.
• Shingo Akikuni, former chef of Michelin-star omakase restaurant Hiden, is opening Shingo in Coral Gables.

HEALTH CARE

• HCA Healthcare donated $1.5 million to FIU’s Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences to help the school expand faculty, offer new scholarships and address the national nursing shortage.
• Insightec, a medical technology company, secured a $200-million line of credit for incisionless neurosurgery practices to treat patients with Essential Tremor and Parkinson’s Disease. The company plans to continue applying its technology in clinical trials for other neurological conditions.

Tags: Miami-Dade, Technology/Innovation