The Mayor of Miami-Dade County in Florida announced that the county is beginning three new climate technology initiatives that will help cut down on wasted water, invest in ocean and climate tech, and regenerative ocean businesses, the county announced May 10.
County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced the partnerships at the Aspen Ideas: Climate conference on May 9. The three partnering organizations are Olea Edge, Blue Action Lab, and the Seaworthy Collective.
“Our goal is to make Miami-Dade the best place to build, test, and scale innovative solutions to major climate challenges. Innovators and entrepreneurs are stepping up to tackle climate and resilience challenges and we welcome their initiatives,” Levine Cava said. “Through these public-private partnerships, we are leveraging tech solutions and innovation to build a stronger, more resilient Miami-Dade – while investing in the jobs of the future.”
The partnership with Olea Edge will be a four-month, AI-Powered Smart Water pilot program. The program will observe 25 commercial water meters across the area to try to identify when water is being wasted or miscounted.
The partnership with tech accelerator Blue Action Lab will invest $10 million in ocean and climate tech to 30 early stage and 12 “high growth” companies, picked in conjunction with the county. The Seaworthy Collective will be Miami-Dade County’s first startup in residence and is a “venture studio cohort” that will have 10 teams working to build a business from the ground up focused on regenerative ocean businesses.
“Miami-Dade is uniquely positioned to turn the challenges of climate change and ocean degradation into opportunities by leveraging the energy of the MiamiTech movement to back BlueTech and ClimateTech entrepreneurs,” Daniel Kleinman, founder of Seaworthy Collective, said in the release.
