As reported in the Miami Herald, “a high-performance sleep company that sells tech-enabled, temperature-controlled mattresses,” “Eight Sleep,” was the third Miami start-up to receive funding from SoftBankGroup as part of its Miami Initiative. The funding comes from SoftBank’s $100 million Opportunity Fund dedicated to supporting minority founders. EightSleep is moving from New York to Miami and is partnering with the University of Miami to hire new UM graduates. EightSleep has “committed to hiring as many as five newly minted Hurricane alums per semester. Eight Sleep said it would also provide internship opportunities to students still completing their studies.”

This investment in Miami tech talent offers immediate openings “in the fields of engineering, software, finance, and marketing.” “It comes on the heels of a Knight Foundation investment of $4.3 million to the University to create six new faculty chair positions at its new Institute of Data Science and Computing.”

Marcelo Claure, SoftBank International Group CEO says “the Opportunity Fund itself is also moving to Miami to be run alongside SoftBank’s $5 billion Latin America fund,” and consolidated with the SoftBank International Group.

[Miami] is now where everyone wants to come.

On Miami as the new tech hub, Claure says “You haven’t seen anything else like this in the world, it’s like a gold rush. This is now where everyone wants to come. We want to make sure we’re creating and providing the capital, talent, and resources these companies need to keep going and be successful.”

From the SoftBank Group’s Miami Initiative website:

“Miami is on the cusp of becoming a major technology hub. The start-up ecosystem is quickly amassing talent and resources, as blue-chip technology and investment firms continue to announce their decisions to relocate to The Magic City. At SoftBank, Miami is close to our hearts. Our $5 billion Latin America Fund was born in Miami and is headquartered here. We are excited to play a role in helping the city become an epicenter of technology and business innovation for decades to come. To support this effort, we have decided to commit $100 million from various SoftBank funds.  If you are a venture-backed start-up or growth stage technology company, based in Miami or relocating here, please apply here.”

Read the full articles at the MIAMI HERALD:

• Multimillion-dollar tech startup transplanted to Miami commits to hiring new UM grads  https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article251134994.html
• Think smart sleeping is a good investment? SoftBank does in its new Miami tech initiative  https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article250447151.html