Miami-Dade Innovation Authority, Inc.  (“MDIA”) is a nonprofit on a mission to bridge systemic gaps between private innovators and the public sector to fast-track the procurement of technology that enables local governments to more effectively and efficiently improve quality of life, including economic and social outcomes.

Through its Public Innovation Challenge, MDIA identifies, invests in, and supports companies to pilot, test, and validate their solutions to pressing public challenges in collaboration with economic engines and municipalities. Our work aims to to de-risk future investment, accelerate the discovery and commercialization of market-ready solutions, and help clear the pathway to revenue-based growth for startups,

Founded as an outcome of a collaboration with Miami-Dade County and key technology leaders, MDIA launched in 2023 with an equal match of private, public and philanthropic funding from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Citadel Founder and CEO, Ken Griffin, and Miami-Dade County. A recipient of the International Economic Development Council’s Innovation Award and recognized in NASDAQ venture equity and Harvard Business School case studies, MDIA aims to create a replicable blueprint that can be modeled by other municipalities around the world.

We Fast Track Innovation To Improve Quality of Life And Accelerate Venture Growth.

Our Model

  • Discovery

    We source innovative private market solutions through public challenges focused on specific opportunities to improve quality of life for Miamians.

  • Market Validation

    We support growth stage companies through equity investments and facilitate product and technology testing and validation with local institutions and government.

  • Growth

    We align public and private sector resources to help companies to attract procurement and commercial contract opportunities.

Our Approach

We invest in opportunities that sit at the intersection of three impact priorities.

  • Innovative solutions to local issues exist but often remain siloed in the private market.

  • Communities face a variety of challenges that impact collective quality of life and economic growth.

  • Anchor institutions, including local government, represent untapped distribution channels to the large constituencies they serve. This provides startups with a unique opportunity deliver value at scale to impacted residents and communities.

Our Focus

We identify public challenges and invest in solutions across these priority focus areas.