Thiel, who co-founded \u00a0Palantir Technologies\u00a0and PayPal and has invested in many of the biggest tech companies over the past several decades including SpaceX, is paying about $250 per square foot for 18,158 square feet on the 44th floor, according to Bloomberg\u2019s sources. It is believed to be the most expensive office lease signed in Miami\u2019s history. Thiel Capital is paying roughly five times the city\u2019s average office lease, Bloomberg reported.<\/p>\n
Thiel\u2019s family office is joining\u00a0Ken Griffin\u2019s Citadel Securities, private equity firm Thoma Bavo and Microsoft Corp. in the 55-floor tower in the heart of the city\u2019s financial district. <\/p>\n
Of course, Thiel\u2019s companies have been increasing their Miami footprint. Early this year, Thiel\u2019s investment firm, Thiel Capital, opened an office in Wynwood<\/a>. Palantir, which is led by Alex Karp, with Thiel serving as chairman, moved its headquarters to Miami <\/a>this year.\u00a0Read more here.<\/a><\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n Miami makes its mark at South Summit in Madrid<\/p>\n Miami innovation was front and center this week at the 15th edition of South Summit, one of Europe\u2019s largest startup gatherings and widely considered the premier entrepreneurship event in Spain. Held in Madrid, the conference brought together thousands of founders, investors, corporate leaders, and innovators from around the world, with a strong showing from Miami\u2019s growing tech ecosystem.<\/p>\n Refresh Miami was on the ground covering the event, where conversations repeatedly returned to a theme familiar to South Florida founders: how to build and scale companies in an era being reshaped by artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n Among the speakers was Miami entrepreneur and investor Kim Perell<\/a>, who shared lessons from her own startup journey. Reflecting on the failures and setbacks that shaped her career, Perell told attendees that \u201cbefore you level up, you will mess up,\u201d encouraging founders to embrace mistakes rather than fear them. Drawing parallels between today\u2019s AI boom and the early days of the internet, she urged entrepreneurs not to wait for perfect conditions before acting.<\/p>\n The rapid pace of innovation was also a key topic during a conversation with Picsart<\/a> co-founder and COO Mikayel Vardanyan. The company, which serves roughly 150 million users, has spent years experimenting with AI-powered creative tools. Vardanyan said the company now releases updates almost daily, noting that in today\u2019s market, \u201cif you are late for a day, you are already late.\u201d<\/p>\n While AI dominated much of the agenda, the event also highlighted the enduring importance of human connections. As Perell reminded the audience, no founder succeeds alone.<\/p>\n For Miami\u2019s innovation community, South Summit is a strong reminder that our startup ecosystem is increasingly part of a global conversation, one that stretches far beyond South Florida\u2019s borders and increasingly includes key hubs such as Madrid. \u2013 Riley Kaminer<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Survey finds that mid-market companies struggle with scaling AI<\/p>\n Consider this: 94% of mid-market companies use generative AI\u00a0but few have what it takes to scale. That\u2019s the main takeaway from a new report, \u201cThe\u00a0State of Artificial\u00a0Intelligence\u00a0in the Mid-Market,\u201d that shows a large gap in mid-market AI strategies. Miami-based firm Kaufman Rossin recently released the\u00a0 report<\/a> on how mid-market companies are adopting, scaling, and creating value with AI, along with the challenges of doing so.<\/p>\n The report\u2019s findings show that while adoption of AI is prevalent among mid-market companies, \u201cthe infrastructure, governance, and organizational alignment needed to generate enterprise-wide results\u00a0remain\u00a0elusive for most companies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe overall message of the report is that the majority of mid-market companies, like 94%, are in some kind of way already using AI but they\u2019re stuck in what we call the \u2018messy middle\u2019,\u201d said Vera Nieuwland, the digital and AI transformation services leader at CPA and advisory services firm Kaufman Rossin. \u201cThe tool landscape is very overwhelming, even if you\u2019re an expert in this space, especially if it\u2019s not your day-to-day job,\u201d she said, adding that lack of knowledge of building the organizational framework around it, or governance, also contributes to that messy middle<\/p>\n Finding the right talent , cybersecurity and data privacy concerns, and integrating with legacy systems \u00a0were also some of the barriers to adaption noted in the report.\u00a0 Nieuwland said that the actual adoption of AI is only as successful as people know how to use it: \u201cYou can\u2019t do AI without good data and you can\u2019t do successful transformation in a company using AI without making sure that the data and the systems talk to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, 62% of the executives responding to the inaugural survey reported seeing ROI within 12 months, creating pressure to scale AI quickly. The firm surveyed 100 mid-market companies across industries nationwide and plans to conduct it yearly.<\/p>\n \u2713<\/p>\n Check your inbox for a confirmation email.<\/p>\n \u201cAI is really powerful in being able to fully optimize businesses and drive innovation because it\u2019s truly a transformational technology era that that we\u2019re in,\u201d Nieuwland said. \u201cBut in order to really achieve those benefits, you want to take a strategic approach because it\u2019s very easy to get lost in problem-solving or spending a lot of money on it and not seeing the benefits from it.\u201d \u2013 Caitlin Granfield<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n New Boca investment firm targets defense technology<\/p>\n Verix Equity Partners<\/a>, a Boca Raton-based private equity firm focused on national security, launched this week. Founded by Jeff Hart, a former partner at AE Industrial, and Sean Battle, a national security entrepreneur and operator, Verix enables founder-led businesses to scale in markets where technology, mission requirements, and national resilience are converging.<\/p>\n Having previously worked together to build numerous national security platforms, Hart and Battle bring a shared vision that combines private equity execution with operating perspective and deep sector relationships. The firm\u2019s strategy is informed by a decade-long investment playbook, significant historical national security transaction experience, and a deep network of operators, executives, and industry partners across the national security ecosystem, including defense, government, space, and commercial technology markets.<\/p>\n \u201cThe national security landscape is changing quickly, and founder-led companies need more than just capital,\u201d said Hart. \u201cThey need strategic partners that stand alongside them, navigating evolving customer priorities, ushering in new technology, managing talent demands, and executing their path to scale. Verix was built to meet that need.\u201d<\/p>\n The launch comes as national security priorities are being reshaped by rising geopolitical complexity, supply chain vulnerabilities, artificial intelligence adoption, space proliferation, growing power constraints, and the need for more agile defense and government technology providers. Verix believes these trends are creating a long-term compelling opportunity. The firm expects to announce additional team members and initial platform activity in the coming months.<\/p>\n READ MORE: South Florida is becoming a mission-critical hub for defense innovation<\/a><\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Flagler Technologies opens Miami HQ<\/p>\n Flagler Technologies<\/a> has opened a new Miami headquarters as the company continues to grow across South Florida. The announcement also ties into the rising demand for scalable IT, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, data analytics and managed technology solutions for businesses across industries, the company said. Currently about 25 employees are working at the new office at 11410 N Kendall Dr, Suite 205, a spokeswoman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Flagler Technologies also announced the addition of Quincy Rooi as Associate Account Executive, based out of the company\u2019sMiami headquarters. Flagler Technologies delivers customized technology solutions to clients across industries including finance, healthcare, manufacturing, education, retail, media and entertainment, through its expertise in cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, data analytics and modern network solutions.<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Jobs, jobs, jobs<\/p>\n Acclaim \u2013\u00a0Head of Sales<\/a> Find more jobs on Refresh Miami\u2019s job board\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n PLUS<\/p>\n Opportunity knocks<\/p>\n Join Founders Rise Miami<\/a> and Creative Currents for the first in a series of free workshops to support the female and minority founders of Miami. Off the back of 3 sold-out sessions, Jessica Campbell, founder of Creative Currents, will hold a hands-on workshop where you go from scattered idea to working prototype in a single sitting. The free event is June 16 at Mana Tech in downtown Miami, and more sessions are planned. Register here for the June 16th event<\/a>.<\/p>\n Apply to pitch at\u00a0WHX Miami 2026<\/a>\u00a0in Xcelerate, a global startup competi usintion for healthcare innovators. Finalists will pitch live June 17-19 at WHX at the Miami Beach Convention Center.\u00a0Learn more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Applications are now open for the\u00a0Cade Prize for Inventivity, a national competition awarding over $100K in cash and in-kind support to early-stage inventors and entrepreneurs. The prize backs founders across industries like tech, healthcare, environment, and sports who are building innovative, real-world solutions and need support to move from idea to market. Apply\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0by July 10.<\/p>\n ICYMI \u2013 Catch up!<\/p>\n Have news to report? Email Nancy Dahlberg at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>\u00a0and follow her on X @ndahlberg and\u00a0on LinkedIn<\/a>.\u00a0Subscribe to Refresh Miami\u2019s free weekly newsletter\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0featuring startup news, tech job opportunities and events.\u00a0<\/p>\n Foun<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_6955-1-1024x834.jpg\")
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Acclaim\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Technical Project Manager (Voice AI)<\/a>
Autodesk \u2013\u00a0Search Intelligence Manager<\/a>
Canals \u2013\u00a0Sr Software Engineer<\/a>
Chewy \u2013\u00a0Media Planning Manager<\/a>
eMed \u2013\u00a0Implementation Manager<\/a>
Hut 8 \u2013\u00a0Sr Network Engineer<\/a>
Lennar \u2013\u00a0Business Analyst II<\/a>
MaintainX \u2013\u00a0Customer Success Manager<\/a>
Nubank \u2013\u00a0Staff Analytics Engineer<\/a>
Papa \u2013\u00a0Director of Business Operations<\/a>
Ramp \u2013\u00a0Product Compliance Program Manager<\/a>
Vultr \u2013\u00a0Sr Site Reliability Engineer, Infrastructure<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Nancy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/60b7851ea3a84-bpfull.jpg\")
<\/a> I am a writer and editor with extensive media experience and a passion for journalism and serving the community. Most of my career has been spent with the Miami Herald in business news, and my expertise is writing about tech and entrepreneurs. I love hosting this blog for Refresh Miami and we aim to be the go-to site for South Florida startup and tech news, features and views. Have news? Contact me at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>. Thanks for reading! <\/a>Latest posts by Nancy Dahlberg (see all<\/a>) \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1 Peter Thiel\u2019s family office expands in Miami Peter Thiel has leased office space at Miami\u2019s 830 Brickell…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-296636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296636","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=296636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}