Who’s the mystery tech company going on a hiring spree with Miami-Dade’s millions?
Kaseya is the mystery tech company receiving as much as $4.6 million in subsidies from Miami-Dade County in exchange for going on a massive hiring spree — an arrangement that was announced last week in what is considered one of the largest efforts to help ensure the tech boom here benefits locals.
Miami-based Kaseya, which makes software that helps businesses manage information technology systems and security, will add 3,400 jobs locally, the company said on Monday.
The tax-funded subsidy requires the company follow through on its plans and meet certain conditions. The incentives were approved by Miami-Dade commissioners last week, but the name of the company was not disclosed then.
All the pledged jobs are new and full time, said Xavier Gonzalez, executive vice president for marketing communications, in an interview with the Herald. Hiring will take place over a period of three years.
All new positions will be based in the company’s Miami offices, said the executive, and working remotely from out of state will not be considered. “We’re an in-office company,” he said.
Kaseya’s plans come amid massive layoffs at large tech companies and a global reckoning facing the technology sector.
“Their growth during such a unique inflection point in the tech industry is a clear reflection of the economic health, favorable business climate and robust talent base Miami-Dade County offers to employers at any stage of their journey,” said Roderick T. Miller, president and chief executive of the Miami-Dade Beacon Council, which worked with Kaseya.
READ MORE: With plans to hire 3,400, Miami tech firm secures $4.6 million county subsidy pledge
Kaseya has three offices in Brickell and has leased additional office space downtown in the Wells Fargo financial center. “We’re finishing the buildout,” said Gonzalez.
The company had already been on a large growth spurt. Founded in 2000 in Silicon Valley, it relocated to Miami around 2015, said Gonzalez. At that time, it had a total of about 50 employees. Today it has 4,500 employees worldwide, and clients around the globe. The company’s portfolio is significant enough that it was the subject of a discussion between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladmir Putin in 2021 after a ransomware attack targeted the firm’s software.
The Herald reported last week that county documents that went with the subsidy application show that the company’s Miami headquarters would grow from 800 employees to over 4,000. And that average annual compensation for the jobs is $107,000.
The $4.6 million in promised incentives would come out to less than $1,500 per position. The money would be provided annually if Kaseya meets the terms.
Kaseya has already started hiring, said Gonzalez. The company has continued to add employees since submitting the application to the county in December.
And not only engineers.
“We’re hiring tech talent,” said Gonzalez. “But we’re also hiring across what you would expect in a corporate headquarters including finance, operations, and marketing.
“We are really adding a significant amount across the board — technical talent and support of that technical talent,” he noted.
While the company is open to people nationwide looking to relocate, to get hired, they have to be based in Miami, Gonzalez said.
Kaseya has cultivated relationships with local institutes of higher education, in particular Florida International University and Miami Dade College, often hiring from there.
The company has been working with FIU in curriculum development around remote IT security and management. It has around 70 students in one course and expects that number to grow.
“We’ve had a lot of success working with the local institutions of higher education,” Gonzalez said.
The county will provide $4.25 million from the Relocation and Expansion Incentives Program, known as REIP, which provides financial incentives to growing and new-to-market ventures in Miami-Dade County.
READ MORE: Ransomware attack against Florida-based company ‘a big focus’ of Biden call with Putin
Kaseya will receive $313,150 from the Targeted Incentives Job Fund, a program that offers cash incentives to existing businesses in select industries that create at least 10 above-average paying jobs.
The company could also obtain as much as $1,250 for every job created if it employs graduates from local colleges or people previously unemployed.
The performance-based incentives will be awarded to the company over a five-year period if it meets its job creation goals.
This story was originally published February 27, 2023 at 4:51 PM.