In Miami, the home of Knight Foundation, we support a startup community where world-class innovators can connect, collaborate and create lasting change for the future of our city.

Knight’s Miami strategy

Since 2012, Knight has invested more than $55 million in nurturing Miami’s tech and startup ecosystem by connecting entrepreneurs, attracting investments and growing the city’s talent base.

Our current work focuses on growing the pipelines that develop tech talent to meet growing demand — from companies, who need more skilled talent to power their growth and from Miamians, who seek to participate in the city’s tech and innovation economy. Recent investments include the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences at Florida International University, the Institute for Data Science and Computing at the University of Miami, and the Knight Fellowship in Healthcare Technology Innovation at Baptist Health South Florida. 

In recent years, we have invested in initiatives that build stronger ties and a sense of community among startup leaders such as Venture Café Miami, Local Leaders Collective, Craftsperson and Black Girl Ventures; connect talent and professional opportunity such as Venture for America and Talent Scout; and create local investor networks such as Miami Angels, Black Angels Miami and Function Collective.

In all of the communities where Knight works, we try to accelerate organic, community-led trends. Our goal in Miami is to accelerate the development of a startup culture, open to the entire community, that helps make the city a place where ideas are built and ventures are scaled. We aim to be catalytic funders, collaborating with private, public and philanthropic partners to support high-impact and tech entrepreneurship.

Knight also invests in Miami’s creative sector, as a way to build community, through its arts program. Learn more about Knight’s Arts program.

Miami Community Advisory Committee members:

Barron Channer, Woodwater Group; Melissa Krinzman, Krillion Ventures; Nabil Malouli, DHL; Charmel Maynard, University of Miami; Gabriel Navarro of MMG Equity Partners; Debra Wechsler, Norman & Irma Braman Family Foundation.

Image (top): A panorama view of Miami. Used under CC0 Creative Commons from Pixabay.