· Updated · Venture Capital Tracker · investment-strategies · 4 min read
Jacksonville Startups and VC Firms in 2026: Health-IT, Fintech, and North Florida Capital
Jacksonville’s venture map in 2026 — Availity, Finxact’s Fiserv exit, Forcura/Mosai, NLP Logix, Hazlnut, PS27 Ventures, Mayport, and Chang Robotics Fund — distinct from Miami’s LatAm gateway.
Jacksonville is North Florida’s ports, insurance, health-IT, and fintech infrastructure corridor — not Miami’s LatAm gateway. Mayo Clinic, Baptist Health, FIS, and JAXPORT create buyer density for software founders even when Series A capital still comes from elsewhere.
This guide covers the companies and investors we actually profile — not a padded “top 50” list.
City hub: /vc/jacksonville · All cities: /cities · Fund directory: /directory · Miami contrast: /vc/miami
What Jacksonville is (and is not)
| Jacksonville is… | Jacksonville is not… |
|---|---|
| Availity payer-provider network scale + Finxact core-banking exit | Miami LatAm fintech / crypto gateway |
| Forcura → Mosai post-acute workflow + NLP Logix enterprise AI | A dense JAX multi-stage VC HQ market |
| Local seed via PS27, Mayport, Chang Robotics Fund | A dump of South Florida companies for Florida SEO |
| Hazlnut hospitality SaaS with JAX HQ | Clearsense (relocated HQ to Nashville, Feb 2025) |
Startups we cover in Jacksonville
| Company | What they do | Stage / status | Notable capital | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Availity | Healthcare information network for eligibility, claims, clinical exchange | Growth / private | Scaled health-IT infrastructure | /startup/availity |
| Finxact | Cloud-native core banking / embedded finance (Fiserv subsidiary) | Acquired (Fiserv, Apr 2022, ~$650M) | Georgian, Live Oak pre-exit | /startup/finxact |
| Forcura | Post-acute care workflow software (rebranded Mosai post-merger) | Growth / PE-backed | Berkshire Partners lead (Mar 2025, ~$1B reported) | /startup/forcura |
| NLP Logix | Enterprise AI/ML deployment for healthcare, finance, logistics | Growth / private | 11k sq ft HQ expansion (Jan 2024) | /startup/nlp-logix |
| Hazlnut | Restaurant digital menu and QR ordering platform | Seed / private | Hospitality SaaS | /startup/hazlnut |
Why these names matter
Availity is still the density anchor — real revenue-scale clearinghouse/network that every Florida payer-provider software founder eventually hits.
Finxact is the fintech comps slide: API-first core banking built in Jacksonville, sold to Fiserv for ~$650M (April 2022). If you are selling into banks or embedded finance, that exit is the proof North Florida ships bank-grade software.
Forcura shows post-acute healthtech scale: a 2012 JAX founding grew to a March 2025 merger with Medalogix under Berkshire Partners (press reported ~$1B). The combined platform rebranded as Mosai (Oct 2025) with dual HQ in Jacksonville and Nashville.
NLP Logix is operator-grade AI — custom ML deployed into regulated buyers, not a pitch-deck LLM wrapper. The January 2024 Southside HQ expansion signals hiring intent.
Hazlnut is the hospitality wedge: QR menus and ordering for operators — concrete Florida restaurant software.
Local investors (Jacksonville HQ or program)
| Firm | Role | Stages | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| PS27 Ventures | Early-stage software / fintech / healthtech (Southeast + beyond) | Pre-seed – Series A | /fund/ps27-ventures |
| Mayport Venture Partners | Relationship-oriented seed / early-stage advisor-investor | Pre-seed – Seed | /fund/mayport-venture-partners |
| Chang Robotics Fund | Manufacturing-tech / robotics (founded 2024) | Pre-seed – Seed | /fund/chang-robotics-fund |
How to read this table: PS27 is the most active institutional seed name. Mayport is long-horizon, relationship capital (former Barnett Banks leadership). Chang Robotics Fund is newer — manufacturing and robotics aligned with port/industrial buyers.
JAX Hub (Paysafe + UNF fintech accelerator, launched Nov 2025) is a formation program — not a classic VC fund in our directory. Founders still use it for pilots and intros.
National capital Jacksonville founders still need
| Firm | Why Jacksonville founders care | Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Bessemer Venture Partners | Cloud/SaaS, healthtech roadmaps | /fund/bessemer-venture-partners |
| Insight Partners | Growth-stage software scale | /fund/insight-partners |
| General Catalyst | Multi-stage enterprise / fintech | /fund/general-catalyst |
Local seed vs national Series A — what differs
| PS27 / Mayport / Chang seed | National Series A+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | First checks, North Florida buyer pilots | Scaling health-IT, fintech, or hospitality software nationally |
| What they underwrite | Team + JAX operator access | Category, retention, and ownership math |
| Mistake to avoid | Padding decks with Miami LatAm comps | Waiting for a JAX growth-GP HQ that does not exist |
Worked example (illustrative)
Setup: A Jacksonville health-IT workflow startup closes $750k with PS27 Ventures and lands two regional payer logos through Availity-adjacent workflows.
Move: Eighteen months later ARR hits ~$1.4M with a named health-system pilot; they raise a $12–15M Series A from a national digital-health firm.
Punch: The diligence artifact was operator KPIs and payer connectivity, not “Florida startup.” Keep Miami out of the comps unless your product is cross-border fintech.
When Jacksonville is the wrong capital market
- You are building LatAm remittance or crypto — use /vc/miami.
- You cite Clearsense as a current JAX HQ comp — it relocated to Nashville (Feb 2025).
- You invent port/logistics
/startup/URLs we still list as coverage gaps. - You refuse national meetings for Series A while expecting growth-GP terms locally.
How to use this page
- Read company pages: Availity, Finxact, Forcura, NLP Logix, Hazlnut.
- Shortlist local funds: PS27, Mayport, Chang Robotics.
- For Series A+, add national rows above from /directory.
- Track live matches on /vc/jacksonville. Compare Florida depth via Miami VC firms 2026.
Related reading
Sources
- Company and fund profiles linked above (Venture Capital Tracker JSON)
- Fiserv / Finxact acquisition (Apr 2022, ~$650M)
- Forcura / Medalogix merger PR (Mar 2025); Mosai rebrand (Oct 2025)
- NLP Logix HQ expansion (Jan 2024, Jacksonville Business Journal)
- JAX Hub launch (Nov 2025, L Marks / Paysafe / UNF)
- PS27 Ventures firm materials; Mayport Venture Partners (mayport.cc)
- jacksonville
- florida
- city
- +4 more
Last updated:
Editorial note: AI tools assisted with research, structure, or drafting. Venture Capital Tracker retains human editorial responsibility for factual accuracy, relevance, and source quality before publication.
