The St. Pete Innovation District (SPID) is excited to be the location of the new, soon to-be-built home for the Tampa Bay Innovation Center (TBIC). The collaboration of these two entities is a great example of how organizations with unique focuses work together to make an impact on our city, the region, and the State of Florida as we set the stage for our innovation-driven economy.
How do the organizations compliment each other?
SPID: Works to encourage the growth and development of a geographic area south of downtown. Like other innovation districts around the world, SPID is designed to attract innovation drivers that includes entrepreneurs, startups, and business incubators, and connect their efforts to larger, anchor organizations.
TBIC: Works to nurture technology startup founders with hands-on expertise, mentorship, industry partnerships, a professional network and access to investors in a dedicated, collaborative workspace. TBIC hosts events, educational programs, meetups, and provides incubator and accelerator programs for the entrepreneurial community.
SPID: Focuses on growing jobs and research funding in the Grow Smarter targeted industries of marine science, life science, data analytics as well as leverages the expertise of community partners in higher education, business incubation, art, and media.
TBIC: Focuses on innovation and the commercialization of technology that attracts and assists startups to thrive and build successful, scalable companies that can compete in the global technology market.
What is the difference?
SPID, an innovation driver, provides support to position and coordinate resources within the district and across unique community collaborations. While TBIC, an innovation cultivator, provides the programs and expertise to grow technology businesses within the district, Pinellas County, and the Tampa Bay region.
Even with the differences both have one similar goal, which is to provide a strong foundation for creating and expanding companies and jobs in St. Petersburg.
Are you interested in being part of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center’s new building? Visit https://tbinnovates.com/about to learn more about sponsorship opportunities.
Thank you to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital (JHACH) for sponsoring and hosting our inaugural Morning Sparks: Innovation X-change breakfast. The event was kicked off by Alicia Schulhof, President of JHACH, and followed by an overview of the topic - Artificial Intelligence - by Dr. John Licato of USF's Advanced Machine and Human Reasoning Lab.
Kudos to the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, a technology incubator, accelerator and coworking office operating the ARK Innovation Center in the Innovation District. They recently announced the startups that will participate in their spring accelerator program. These startups offer a variety of intriguing solutions, many based in the Tampa Bay region. Keep an eye out for a showcase featuring these companies in July.
The Dali Museum is once again leveraging innovative technology to engage the audience in a deeper understanding of Dali. A recent NPR profile highlighted: Ask Dalí, a new installation based on a copy of Dalí's iconic Lobster Telephone sculpture, allows visitors to pick up the crustacean-shaped receiver, ask a question, and hear Dalí's response. The artist's voice, speaking in heavily-accented English, is made possible through generative artificial intelligence. The artist's AI voice was trained on voice samples taken from archival interviews Dalí did in English over his career.