{"id":287412,"date":"2026-05-28T11:17:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T11:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/287412\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T11:17:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T11:17:07","slug":"lightning-capital-launches-100m-fund-as-miamis-venture-scene-enters-a-new-phase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/287412\/","title":{"rendered":"Lightning Capital launches $100M fund as Miami\u2019s venture scene enters a new phase"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miami-based Lightning Capital<\/a> is launching a $100 million Venture Fund II and bringing former Andreessen Horowitz operator Michele Griffin into the firm as general partner (GP) and COO, a move that reflects how Miami\u2019s venture ecosystem is becoming increasingly institutionalized.<\/p>\n

The firm, which is headquartered in Brickell, says the new fund will focus on opportunities emerging from what it calls the \u201cAI Ripple Effects,\u201d the industries reshaped as artificial intelligence moves from experimentation into scaled adoption.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been headquartered here for about five years now,\u201d CEO, co-founder, and GP Jason Albanese told Refresh Miami. \u201cI think it\u2019s been very exciting to be building Lightning Capital out of Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n

The firm has spent the last several years growing relationships across the local startup and investor ecosystem, including ties to the University of Miami and the local chapter of business groups such as YPO.<\/p>\n

Albanese said the city\u2019s growth and entrepreneurial culture continue to stand out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find the growth in Miami to be tremendous. I also find the entrepreneurial energy to be tremendous,\u201d he said. \u201cI think this is a place that is, in certain ways, one of the newer homes of positive risk taking in The United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

That optimism came with some realism too. Albanese pointed to affordability and STEM education as areas Miami still needs to improve if it wants to compete long term with larger tech ecosystems.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want more talented people to keep coming here, bringing their businesses here,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want those people to raise families here and have access to schools and have access to housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, he feels optimistic:\u00a0 \u201cThe positives dramatically outweigh those challenges,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The fundraise itself also reflects how Miami\u2019s investor ecosystem has evolved. Albanese said many of Lightning\u2019s LPs are based across South Florida, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach, giving the firm a more relationship-driven approach than traditional institutional fundraising.<\/p>\n

\u2713<\/p>\n

Check your inbox for a confirmation email.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not kind of a cold corporate level of institutional capital,\u201d Albanese asserted. \u201cWe are working with a lot of family offices. We are working with endowments.\u201d<\/p>\n

That local network has allowed the firm to build a tight-knit investor community through events, dinners, and informal gatherings centered around technology and investing.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are excited to be here and excited to be part of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For Griffin, joining Lightning represented an opportunity to help build a different kind of venture platform in Miami. Griffin previously worked in go-to-market leadership at Andreessen Horowitz, helping startups scale commercial operations and growth.<\/p>\n

Speaking with Refresh Miami, she said Lightning stood out because of the way it thinks about both founders and investors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that Lightning was incredibly unique in how they built this kind of multi fund investment firm,\u201d Griffin said. \u201cThey\u2019ve really thought about, I think, the two most important factors, which is the founder and the LP experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also pointed to the firm\u2019s focus on liquidity and diversified fund structures as a major differentiator. Lightning\u2019s broader strategy spans venture capital, digital assets, and secondaries, including exposure to private companies like SpaceX and Anthropic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on in tech is no longer a Silicon Valley only thing,\u201d CFO, co-founder, and GP Jock Percy added.<\/p>\n

\u00a0***<\/p>\n

Pictured above: Left to Right, Lightning Capital team R:\u00a0Jock Percy,\u00a0Michele Griffin,\u00a0Amy Coveny (Head of Investor Relations + Venture Operations),\u00a0Jason Albanese.<\/p>\n

READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:<\/p>\n

\"Riley<\/a> <\/p>\n

I am a Miami-based technology researcher and writer with a passion for sharing stories about the South Florida tech ecosystem. I particularly enjoy learning about GovTech startups, cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, and innovators that leverage technology to transform society for the better. Always open for pitches via Twitter @rileywk or www.RileyKaminer.com.<\/p>\n

\"Riley<\/a>Latest posts by Riley Kaminer (see all<\/a>) \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miami-based Lightning Capital is launching a $100 million Venture Fund II and bringing former Andreessen Horowitz operator Michele…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-287412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}