{"id":400385,"date":"2026-09-15T11:50:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T11:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/400385\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T11:50:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T11:50:10","slug":"8-things-to-know-in-miamitech-news-from-bric-related-ross-wework-gbi-brightline-the-source-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/400385\/","title":{"rendered":"8+ things to know in #MiamiTech: News from BRiC, Related Ross, WeWork, GBI, Brightline, The Source & more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week produced a triple win for expansion news, with a16z<\/a>, Nu<\/a> and Levita Magnetics<\/a> all announcing South Florida expansions, in addition to fundraises, including Split Pay\u2019s<\/a> $125 million raise, and more on Refresh Miami, We have \u00a0more news to report from recent days: \u00a0<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Related Ross buys Boca\u2019s BRiC innocation center<\/p>\n

To expand its presence in Boca Raton, real estate company Related Ross<\/a> bought the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, a 124-acre office park that used to house IBM operations decades ago, the Sun-Sentinel reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cBRiC<\/a> changed the course of technology once before for the region, and it will play an important role in what comes next,\u201d said Stephen Ross, Related Ross\u2019 CEO and chairman. \u201cWe have spent nearly 30 years investing in West Palm Beach, and this acquisition gives us the opportunity to bring that long-term commitment and experience to Boca Raton. We want to build on what is already working here and help create the conditions for more companies, talent and ideas to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sprawling office park sits at 5000 T-Rex Ave., between Yamato Road and Spanish River Boulevard. Related Ross \u201cwill continue operating BRiC as an office and technology campus while advancing a long-term vision for the property,\u201d according to the company\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n

In recent years, BRiC has attracted healthcare, tech and finance industries to operate there while also promoting the arts and community events. These include D-Wave Quantum, which recently selected BRiC for its new corporate headquarters, transitioning from Palo Alto, California. Other companies at BRiC include Brainlabs, a media agency, and BRiC pioneer Mod Med.<\/p>\n

Related Ross has yet to reveal specific plans for what they want to bring to BRiC, but indicated it would likely be a workplace environment with a curated mix of amenities, retail and restaurants.<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

WeWork study shows Miami as early AI adopters<\/p>\n

A new\u00a0WeWork analysis<\/a>\u00a0of U.S. Census data\u00a0shows that\u00a0Miami posted\u00a0one of the strongest jumps\u00a0in AI adoption among the nation\u2019s largest 25 metros between January and July 2026. That\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a05.8\u00a0percentage points growth over six months, reaching\u00a026.4%, the analysis says.<\/p>\n

What makes Miami\u2019s story stand out is how accurately local businesses saw it coming. In January, Miami firms projected that 26.6% would be using AI by July. The actual figure came in at 26.4% \u2014 a miss of just 0.2 percentage points, the most\u00a0accurate\u00a0self-forecast of any major metro in the study. While most metros either significantly over- or underestimated their own adoption, Miami called it\u00a0almost right.<\/p>\n

Looking forward, 31.4% of Miami firms say they plan to use AI in the next six months, one of the most optimistic forward-looking projections among the 25 largest metros.<\/p>\n

While overall adoption among the largest metros has increased from 17.7% in January 2026 to 21.7% in July, there is a gap between expectations and reality.\u00a0In January, businesses predicted adoption would\u00a0grow 4.7 percentage points over the next six months\u00a0\u2014 but that forward expectation has since shrunk to2.8.<\/p>\n

The national trend points toward growth in AI usage, with\u00a0roughly\u00a01\u00a0out of 5 U.S. businesses using AI in some part of its work. However, when looking closer, the data shows that adoption is higher in larger firms and specific industries. Companies with 250+ employees use AI at nearly double the\u00a0rate compared to\u00a0small companies with 1-4 employees.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among office-driven sectors, the Information sector shows the highest adoption (43.7%), followed by Professional Services (37.6%) and Finance & Insurance (36%).\u00a0\u00a0On the other side of the spectrum\u00a0sits the\u00a0Retail (17.4%),\u00a0and\u00a0Arts and Entertainment (18.3%)\u00a0industries.<\/p>\n

In fact,\u00a061.6% of businesses that do not plan to use AI in the next six months say\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0because AI\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0applicable to their business\u00a0at all.<\/p>\n

Read the full report here.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Analysis: Miami in America\u2019s tech top 5<\/p>\n

A new study has named the 30 best cities in the country to work in tech, and Miami took the fourth highest spot.<\/p>\n

The study by software developers marketplace Lemon.io analyzed the most populated 250 cities in America. Factors that went into the ranking included the the number of institutes offering computer programs, the average graduation rate for tech courses, the number of WiFi hotspots, andtTotal number of tech jobs available in the city.<\/p>\n

In the study, Washington, DC, ranks first, with three times as many tech jobs available than the likes of other tech hubs such as San Francisco. California was the state that sees the most cities in the top 30 at 7, including San Jose and Anaheim.<\/p>\n

However, Florida is tied as the second best represented state in the study, with three cities in the top 30. Miami leads at fourth overall, withh 3,895 WiFi hotspots\u00a0 and 1,167 tech employers rated three stars or higher on Glassdoor. Orlando follows at 13th\u00a0 with 1,209 hotspots, and Tampa at 20th\u00a0 with 2,191 tech jobs advertised. All three cities score below the national average on graduation rates for tech courses: 61% in Miami, 44% in Tampa and 42% in Orlando, among the lowest in the top 30.<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Brightline unveils FLEX fares<\/p>\n

Brightline<\/a> has introduced new fare options offering guests more flexibility and choice. The new FLEX fares cater to guests traveling to or from Orlando who value complete flexibility, such as business travelers, international guests, and those whose travel plans may change after booking.<\/p>\n

\u2713<\/p>\n

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

For its Smart and Premium service categories, passengers can now cancel for a full refund to their original form of payment or make same-day changes to another departure without paying a change fee or fare difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that travel plans can change, sometimes unexpectedly,\u201d said Julie Sharenow, VP of Sales, Brightline Trains Florida.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re committed to offering fare options that provide our guests with the flexibility they need to book with confidence. By expanding choice and giving travelers greater control over their journeys, we\u2019re making it easier for our guests to travel on their terms while continuing to deliver the exceptional experience they expect from us.\u201d<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

GBI Biomanufacturing names new CEO<\/p>\n

GBI Biomanufacturing<\/a>, \u00a0a contract development and manufacturing organization\u00a0 specializing in complex biologics, announced the appointment of Jesse McCool as Chief Executive Officer. McCool joined GBI in late 2025 and most recently served as President and Chief Operating Officer.<\/p>\n

Since joining GBI, Dr. McCool has led initiatives focused on commercial readiness, operational excellence, inspection readiness, and strengthening the company\u2019s delivery capabilities. Under his leadership, GBI successfully continued its commercial-readiness program for its client\u2019s Biologics License Application submission, improved project execution to strengthen client satisfaction and support longer-term partnerships and introduced innovative new service offerings into the market. \u00a0McCool has also helped reinvigorate technology and innovation at GBI, which has been a core part of GBI\u2019s identity over its thirty-four-year history.<\/p>\n

As CEO,\u00a0 McCool will lead GBI\u2019s continued transformation into a commercial-scale manufacturing partner while expanding the company\u2019s early-stage capabilities across monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies, recombinant proteins, ADCs & bioconjugates, cell-based products, and other complex biologics.<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

The Source offers Google Career Certificate opportunity<\/p>\n

Through a partnership between Grow with Google and nonprofit Get Tech Knowledge, The Source<\/a>, a Grow with Google Partner, will connect its Tech Tuesdays community with Google Career Certificate scholarships at no cost to eligible participants, with a focus on expanding access for minority and historically underserved communities across South Florida.<\/p>\n

Expected to launch in the coming months, the initiative will provide professionals and young adults with opportunities to build new skills, advance their careers and prepare for in-demand fields. While placing particular emphasis on reaching minority and historically underserved communities, the opportunity is designed to be inclusive and accessible to individuals from all backgrounds.<\/p>\n

Held on the first and third Tuesday of each month at the Center for Black Innovation in Miami\u2019s historic Overtown neighborhood, Tech Tuesdays was created by The Source to make technology, entrepreneurship, professional development and meaningful industry connections more accessible.<\/p>\n

Grow with Google launched the Google Career Certificates in 2018 to support skilling for in-demand fields. The certificates are available in Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, Digital Marketing and E-Commerce, IT Support, Project Management and User Experience (UX) Design. The certificates do not require a degree or experience and can be completed online within 3-6 months of part-time study. More than 500,000 people have graduated from the program globally, including 200,000 in the U.S., and 75% of graduates report a positive career impact, such as a new job, higher pay or a promotion, within six months of completion.<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

Jobs, jobs, jobs<\/p>\n

Chewy \u2013\u00a0Fulfillment Coordinator<\/a>
Chewy \u2013\u00a0IT Site Support Manager II<\/a>
DoorLoop \u2013\u00a0Customer Support Specialist<\/a>
Gail \u2013\u00a0Customer Success Account Manager<\/a>
Kaseya \u2013\u00a0Director of Customer Marketing Commercial<\/a>
Lennar \u2013\u00a0Sr Data Scientist, People Analytics<\/a>
Mythical Labs \u2013\u00a0Marketing Operations & Data Manager<\/a>
Nubank \u2013\u00a0Staff Software Engineer \u2013 Digital Experience Platform<\/a>
Nubank \u2013\u00a0Sr Media Specialist<\/a>
Ramp \u2013\u00a0GTM Business Systems Analyst \u2013 Post Sales<\/a>
Papa \u2013\u00a0Sr Manager Client Success<\/a>
Payabli \u2013\u00a0Principal Payments Engineer<\/a>
Payabli \u2013\u00a0Staff Machine Learning Engineer<\/a><\/p>\n

Find more opportunities on Refresh Miami\u2019s job board\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

8-PLUS<\/p>\n

Opportunity knocks<\/p>\n

SPARC South Florida\u00a0is back. It\u2019s South Florida\u2019s regional competition for the global\u00a0Startup World Cup, where the grand prize is a cool $1 million at the world finals in San Francisco. The competition is open to South Florida founders across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Finalists in the local round will pitch in September. The winner of the local contest till compete in SF in October. But you can\u2019t win if you don\u2019t enter. Learn more and apply by Sept. 13 (deadline extended) at\u00a0SparcSouthFlorida.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

eMerge Americas\u2019\u00a0SMB Growth Lab, powered by JPMorganChase + Momentum Miami, helps Miami-Dade small and medium-sized businesses embrace digital transformation and unlock sustainable growth. Last year the cohort grew from 30 to 61 SMBs, and the results followed: new customers, new revenue, and connections that are still paying off today.\u00a0Apply here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Are you\u00a0Miami curious? Maybe you\u2019re ready for more sunshine or tired of state income taxes. Maybe you\u2019re just looking for your next adventure. The challenge usually isn\u2019t the city, it\u2019s figuring out how to make the move make sense \u2013 the right role, the right company, the right connections. If you\u2019ve been thinking about Miami, check out\u00a0moveto.miami<\/a>, powered by Refresh Miami. We\u2019re here to help.<\/p>\n

ICYMI<\/p>\n

\u00b7* Big expansion news: a16z plants American Dynamism base in West Palm Beach<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Brazil\u2019s digital bank Nu starts up in US through partnership, offering \u2018customer-obsessed\u2019 features<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Levita Magnetics opens Miami hub to expand its magnet-assisted surgery tech across the US, Latin America<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Fund raises: Split Pay raises $125M to give your paycheck better timing<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00b7 DermaSensor raises $5M and opens community round on Wefunder amid commercial growth<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00b7 In the spotlight: Koywe\u2019s answer to slow international payments started with a lifelong friendship<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Joe Russo helped build Palm Beach Tech. Now he\u2019s building from it.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0And much more paywall-free #MiamiTech news\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Have news to report? Email Nancy Dahlberg at\u00a0nancy@refreshmiami.com<\/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.<\/p>\n

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

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 ndahlbergbiz@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!<\/p>\n

\"Nancy<\/a>Latest posts by Nancy Dahlberg (see all<\/a>) \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week produced a triple win for expansion news, with a16z, Nu and Levita Magnetics all announcing South…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-400385","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\/400385","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=400385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}