The Florida Semiconductor Engine at NeoCity is centered around advanced packaging of semiconductors for high-consequence industries such as defense, space and life sciences. Photo: Adobe Stock.
NEOCITY — The Florida High Tech Corridor is expanding its partnership with the Florida Semiconductor Engine (FSE) to strengthen Florida’s growing semiconductor industry through support for cluster development, technology commercialization, ecosystem building and international industry engagement in one of the state’s most strategically important sectors.
The enhanced role for The Corridor builds upon a partnership that supported the establishment of FSE under a 2024 award from the National Science Foundation, elevating Florida’s growing semiconductor sector to a national center of economic focus. In March 2026, FSE announced it had been awarded a second phase of funding, up to $45 million.
Under the updated agreement, Corridor Chief Strategy Officer Andrea Wesser-Brawner has added a director’s role at FSE to her ongoing duties. Cenfluence Semiconductor Cluster Manager Paul Gill now leads business development services and strategies for an array of semiconductor companies, from startups to multinational corporations, who have coalesced around the growing sector. Through the Cenfluence framework, the semiconductor cluster is connected to and coordinated with a range of key innovation sectors which rely on advanced packaging and specialty chip research.
“Building a globally competitive semiconductor ecosystem to serve high-consequence industries like defense, space and life sciences requires trusted partnerships, coordinated investment and a shared commitment to innovation,” said Florida Semiconductor Engine CEO Ron Piccolo. “The Florida High Tech Corridor brings decades of experience in connecting industry, universities and entrepreneurs to transform breakthrough ideas into market-ready technologies.”
Corridor CEO Paul Sohl said the expanded agreement underscores Central Florida’s commitment to building one of the nation’s most comprehensive and coordinated innovation ecosystems.
“The Florida High Tech Corridor was founded 30 years ago with the region’s semiconductor industry at a crossroads and our team is excited to play a leading role in building a new era of this industry that is vital to Florida’s future economic opportunities and success,” Sohl said.
FSE is one of the National Science Foundation’s 21 regional innovation engines and brings together universities, industry partners, government organizations and entrepreneurs to build a nationally and internationally significant semiconductor ecosystem centered in Florida.
While a critical mass of Florida’s semiconductor sector is now based at NeoCity in Osceola County, the semiconductor sector has had a significant statewide presence for decades, largely anchored in aerospace, optics and photonics, advanced manufacturing and national security applications rather than consumer electronics.
Florida ranks 5th in the nation for semiconductor manufacturing employment, supporting more than 18,000 jobs. According to the Florida Semiconductor Institute (FSI), the microchip sector heavily fuels Florida’s high-tech manufacturing economy, which accounted for $73 billion of the state’s GDP in 2022. FSI has projected that employment in Florida’s semiconductor and electronics sector will grow by 25 percent by 2030, reaching nearly 23,000 jobs.
Corridor Expertise Meets Semiconductor Strategy
Wesser-Brawner has built a career over the past two decades as a trusted leader in international technology and workforce development initiatives. She has built and led seven technology accelerator programs, some with federal partners such as the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Economic Development Administration, as well as global partners like the European Union. Prior to her technology commercialization work and joining The Corridor in early 2025, she was a graduate researcher and worked for multiple start-up companies in semiconductor/microelectronics. She is a two-time alum of the University of Central Florida, earning both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering – miniature systems.
Gill joined The Corridor in August 2026 from the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he worked on trade and national security issues with the Bureau of Industry and Security and the International Trade Administration. His experience spans export controls, tariff policy and foreign investment review, including supporting the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Gill earned a master’s degree in national security studies from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from UCF. Since the National Science Foundation awarded the initial funding for FSE, The Corridor has been an active partner in advancing the initiative’s commercialization and ecosystem-building objectives.
Through its Cenfluence industry clustering initiative, The Corridor has connected industry leaders, research institutions, startups and economic development organizations while supporting efforts to identify funding opportunities, facilitate global collaborations and strengthen Florida’s position within the national semiconductor supply chain. The expanded engagement includes a broad scope of activities designed to support FSE’s long-term success. Key initiatives include:
- Managing and growing the semiconductor cluster network and membership base.
- Providing business development, commercialization and innovation services to cluster participants.
- Supporting the creation of semiconductor-related intellectual property, startup companies and investment opportunities.
- Developing and maintaining semiconductor industry asset maps for Florida and the broader U.S. ecosystem.
- Establishing domestic and international soft-landing programs to attract semiconductor companies and investment to Florida, including opportunities connected to NeoCity.
- Developing commercialization resources, digital marketplace support and industry-focused programming aligned with NSF technology commercialization initiatives.
- Expanding national and international partnerships to increase the visibility and competitiveness of Florida’s semiconductor industry.
Importance to the U.S., Florida
NeoCity, the 500-acre technology district in Osceola County, serves as the headquarters for FSE and has become one of the nation’s emerging hubs for semiconductor research, advanced packaging, prototyping and workforce development. In 2022, a regional coalition received $50.8 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge to strengthen semiconductor manufacturing and workforce development centered on NeoCity.
NeoCity recently attracted a $470 million investment from South Korean semiconductor company ELSPES, which plans to create more than 600 high-wage jobs. Another South Korean firm, SRS Mobility is establishing its U.S. headquarters and advanced manufacturing operations in NeoCity, a $53 million project that will create 190 high-tech jobs. And Magics Technologies, a Belgium-based semiconductor firm that specializes in creating radiation-hardened microchips for the space industry, also recently finalized a multi-year lease at NeoCity.