Our 2023-2024 Annual Report isn’t just a collection of our accomplishments. It’s a testament to the promising future of the 23-county Corridor region.
If the Florida High Tech Corridor Region was its own country, the combined $600 billion annual gross domestic product of its 23 counties would be an economy roughly the size of Sweden’s and larger than Argentina’s or Thailand’s. It would have the busiest public and private space sector in the world, a burgeoning semiconductor industry, world-class photonics and optics capabilities and, across its more than 19,000 square miles, a thriving life sciences sector and fast-growing cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, fintech and environmental technology companies.
It would have an innovation pipeline powered by three large universities who rank among North America’s best in research and innovation; one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers; and a growing and diverse pipeline that fuels every level of the economy, from global corporations to a thriving startup scene with ambitious, future-focused entrepreneurs. It would be a place that sparks the imagination and the spirit of discovery in its youngest citizens with deeply engaged community programs designed to include everyone in the opportunities of the future.
We don’t have to imagine such a place. We get to live it every day.
Powered by the University of Florida, University of Central Florida and University of South Florida, for nearly three decades the Corridor has been as a bridge to the wider innovation ecosystem. More recently, the Corridor has built upon and aligned its services to create a series of public-private collaborations that define and elevate the region’s competitive advantage and shape its future as a key driver of Florida’s success story.
The Corridor’s signature Matching Grants Research Program speaks to the value of such collaborative efforts. Over the past five years, MGRP has supported nearly 250 projects led by 317 faculty members and 126 unique companies totaling more than $53.5 million in research. Aligned with the individual universities’ strategic goals centered on student success, excellence in research and innovation, and partnerships, a significant benefit of the program is the creation of experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students who now fuel our regional talent pipeline and who are the technological leaders and job creators of tomorrow.
This year also marked our continued efforts to drawn down vital resources for high-tech entrepreneurs who play an important role in an inclusive and sustainable ecosystem. Working with our regional partners, we secured the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Growth Accelerator Fund Stage II award to support entrepreneurs in areas of the region often underserved and built upon the successful U.S. Small Business Administration’s Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program, which supports emerging companies in developing Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) proposals. More than half of the efforts served by the SBA program are MGRP collaborations between the universities and industry.
Our Cenfluence team has taken collaboration to new levels, partnering with the City of Orlando and Seminole County Government. Combined with support from founding partner Orange County Government and Duke Energy, in the last year we were able to fulfill the vision of specialized support for each industry cluster. This capacity allows us to serve as an essential resource for more than 200 technology companies at all stages of their development, seeding both the next generation of job producers as well as the cutting-edge ideas destined to shape future technological advancements.
There is no question this is a region that can do big things when we work together. We are proud to be part of the semiconductor coalition led by BRIDG that won an inaugural National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines grant, setting the stage for a transformative $160 million investment over the next decade in semiconductor research and development, a move which serves not only Florida’s economic goals but national security interests in developing a U.S.-based semiconductor supply. The Central Florida Semiconductor Innovation Engine is a robust partnership that also includes CareerSource Central Florida, imec, the Orlando Economic Partnership, Osceola County, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, and Valencia College.
As the Florida High Tech Corridor team reflects on what has been accomplished, we are reenergized by the collective capabilities of the region’s innovation ecosystem.
The only thing more exciting than where we find ourselves today is the potential of what we can accomplish together tomorrow.
In your service,
Paul Sohl
Rear Adm. USN (ret)
CEO, Florida High Tech Corridor
To view other impact reports: 2021-22 Annual Report | 2020–21 Annual Report | 2019–20 Annual Report | 2018–19 Annual Report | 2017–18 Annual Report | 2016–17 Annual Report
