Two helpful opportunities are available for small businesses focused on growth and innovation: FL FAST Webinars: The next session is on August 5 and will cover Communicating with the DoD — a key step for companies interested in Department of Defense SBIR/STTR funding. Learn more.
Join us on our next tour of the Innovation District! Our tour will begin at the HUB, and we will board a trolley with other Innovation District partners. As we travel throughout the District, you will learn about the fascinating history and exciting future plans for the area. We will make several stops for a unique insider view of the research and collaborations underway. Participants are invited to enjoy a networking happy hour back at the HUB, where our tour will conclude.
A group of support organizations, led by the Innovation District and fueled by a grant from Duke Energy, developed our first Tampa Bay Innovation Ecosystem Map in 2023. We aim to continue guiding entrepreneurs to the best possible resources with an updated version.
The graduation of the CodeBoxx AI Literacy and Applications Bootcamp was held on Saturday, August 9th at the ARK Innovation Center. The celebration included a tour of the ARK building, a sneak peek at the Vu Studio, and a hackathon. This bootcamp is designed to give participants a competitive edge in the job market by teaching practical ways to use AI. AI literacy and tech communication are more important than ever, and we're incredibly proud of this graduating class for taking that step forward.
Josh Rojas of Bay News 9 recently visited the Maritime and Defense Tech Hub, where he was welcomed by CEO Alison Barlow and COO Lauren Bell for a discussion about the building’s future expansion. The Hub is already home to a thriving community of companies and demand continues to grow. To accommodate this momentum, leaders are envisioning Hub 2.0, a second building proposed for the west parking lot.
The Tampa Bay Estuary Program works to build public and private partnerships to restore and protect Tampa Bay. Critical to this effort is the use of environmental indicators to describe status and trends of bay health. Dr. Marcus Beck will describe his work synthesizing multiple data streams with reproducible workflows to develop and report on bay health indicators.
The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, in partnership with Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital, is introducing a capacity-building grant initiative that exemplifies strategic, next-level support. In 2025, they will award up to $10,000 each to 20 nonprofits serving South St. Petersburg.
A joint venture by Tampa Bay Wave and USF, the 2025 cohort of the nationally recognized FinTech|X Accelerator kicked off on August 4th, supporting high-growth fintech startups through an intensive 8-week program. This year’s class includes St. Petersburg-based innovators HappiNest.AI and Congruit Inc. The program leverages USF’s world-class faculty, research, and business networks to help founders scale impactful technologies.
The Emergency Nurses Association’s (ENA) Lantern Award recognizes leadership, practice, education, and advocacy leading to an increase in patient care and staff well-being. Less than 2% of hospitals worldwide are selected and Orlando Health Bayfront is the only recipient in Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties. This award is on display in the emergency department and the hospital will be honored at the ENA annual conference in New Orleans in September.
As part of our ongoing Morning Sparks breakfast series, we brought together District partners for another dynamic session to spark ideas and conversation around the future of Innovation Districts. Here are four key takeaways amongst the coffee and conversations. We possess a powerful and uncommon asset: the hyper-local proximity of world-class universities, advanced medical institutions, and critical defense assets. This dense concentration—just 0.7% of the city—embodies the core characteristics of a successful Innovation District: proximity, collaboration, mixed-use development, tech and knowledge-driven industries, and infrastructure.
Our summer youth tours are in full swing, and the learning hasn’t stopped. So far, we’ve hosted students ranging from elementary school to college age, with over 60 individuals touring the Innovation District. They’ve explored the world of phytoplankton with scientists from FWC and learned the basics of flight from the team at St. Pete Air.
Two helpful opportunities are available for small businesses focused on growth and innovation: FL FAST Webinars: The next session is on August 5 and will cover Communicating with the DoD — a key step for companies interested in Department of Defense SBIR/STTR funding. Learn more.
Our neighbors at the ARK Innovation Center, MADTECH.AI, are doing some seriously impressive work. As a Marketing Decision Intelligence platform, they’ve built a system that takes the headache out of data wrangling and lets teams focus on strategy. Their tools unify, transform, and visualize data in one AI-powered hub—saving time and uncovering insights faster.
Congratulations to the USF College of Marine Science for their collaboration with Telemundo on a powerful new documentary. This Spanish-language series explores how weather buoys help forecast storms and hurricanes forming in the Gulf. Meteorologist Rubén Capote and news anchor Samantha Díaz explain why this technology is vital for Florida and beyond.
Our next Tech X-Change will feature Dr. Ahmed introducing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS, a FDA-cleared treatment that uses electromagnetic pulses to stimulate neurons in specific parts of the brain found to be under-active due to depression. TMS is a breakthrough technology that has helped thousands of individuals treat, and even overcome their depression when traditional treatments like medication and talk therapy have not provided enough relief.
We’re developing a Tampa Bay Ocean Strategy and your input is a vital part of this process. Your feedback helps guide the course ahead, making sure this strategy reflects the needs and strengths of our coastal community.
After a long shift, the last thing you want is a stressful commute. That’s why we’re giving kudos to Orlando Health and their new UPass program, which provides free public transit to thousands of healthcare workers and students. UPass is a growing initiative that lets businesses, schools, and organizations cover the cost of transit for their members. It’s the kind of smart, people-first planning that makes a real difference. This is the level of accessibility we’re striving for in our Innovation District Master Plan. A connected community isn’t just a dream—it’s already taking shape.
Lauren Bell has been a St. Pete Innovation District employee for three and a half years, but more than that, she's been a driving force for improvement, collaboration, and community outreach. With all of these amazing traits and diligent efforts, it's no surprise that Lauren has earned the title of Chief Operating Officer for the Innovation District. This title reflects just how important Lauren is to both the growth and day-to-day operations of the district.
In 2014, St. Petersburg’s Grow Smarter Initiative conducted a target business analysis to identify industries that were growing and could become pivotal for our future. One of the industries identified was “marine science.” This was no surprise. We have had a long-standing, robust collaboration of academic, government, and nonprofit organizations working on water-related issues.
We are a little more than a month away from an exciting Morning Sparks where we will explore our role as one of the largest innovation districts globally! Expect to learn new information on how we plan to drive greater regional economic growth and competition, act as catalysts for economic opportunities in neighboring communities, and strategically position our district for growth in competitive and sustainable ways. This will be the first SPID event held at ARK Innovation Center, so mark your calendar for Friday, August 1st.
What's next for launching rockets into space? Launching rockets from the sea. With limited land availability and significant costs, companies like Seagate Space see a game-changing solution in developing offshore launchpads. There is also a sense of urgency as other countries have included offshore infrastructure as part of their space strategy. Seagate Space and The Spaceport Company are positioned to lead the way for Florida in this new frontier.
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is more than just helicopters or planes; it’s the future of transportation. St. Petersburg is looking ahead into electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft that can perform tasks beyond the capabilities of traditional aviation. Think faster disaster relief response, private air taxis, and much more.
The Tampa Bay Innovation Center has graduated their tenth accelerator program. This program consisted of eight tech-based companies that all presented at TBIC’s Innovation Showcase held in early June. Initiated in late 2019, the program, which consists of weekly workshops focusing on product and go-to-market strategy, has worked with 70+ B2B tech startups. We are excited to see how these companies shape the future.
PVM, a tenant at the Maritime Defense and Technology Hub, was recognized at the Third Annual Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at USF Business Awards. PVM’s founder and CEO Pat Mack was named the 2025 South Florida Veteran Small Business Owner of the Year. Pat uses his leadership skills and resources at PVM to support efforts like SkillBridge and Hiring Our Heroes that transition service members into the workforce.
Our very own Lauren Bell has graduated from Leadership St Pete’s (LSP) #BestClassEver. Lauren has served the Innovation District for three and a half years and extended her leadership skills to the Chamber of Commerce’s six-month, volunteer-run program. This year, LSP chose to work with the Infinite Potential Learning Academy, upgrading their basketball court and multi-purpose field to better serve students and the community as a whole. We couldn’t be more proud. Congratulations, Lauren!