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DESCRIPTION:Discovered and maintained by CalDiscovery (https://caldiscover
 y.com). Event details belong to their publishers. Contains information fro
 m CalDiscovery\, which is made available under the ODbL 1.0.
SOURCE:https://caldiscovery.com/orlando-fl/tech.ics
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
X-WR-CALDESC:Discovered and maintained by CalDiscovery (https://caldiscove
 ry.com). Event details belong to their publishers. Contains information fr
 om CalDiscovery\, which is made available under the ODbL 1.0.
X-WR-CALNAME:CalDiscovery - orlando-fl (tech)
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Today's Hours
DTSTART:20260905T140000Z
DTEND:20260905T210000Z
DTSTAMP:20260904T003430Z
UID:10011268-1788602400-1788627600@www.osc.org
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Reserve your timed-entry tickets online in advance.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260904T003430Z
LOCATION:Orlando Science Center
URL:https://www.osc.org/event/todays-hours-82/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Orlando Science Center
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.osc.org/visit/science-live/makerspace
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Self-guided Experiments: Maker Lab
DTSTART:20260905T150000Z
DTEND:20260905T210000Z
DTSTAMP:20260904T003430Z
UID:10012592-1788606000-1788627600@www.osc.org
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Explore your creativity with hands-on science experiments in t
 his month’s Maker themed Dr. Dare’s Lab.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260904T003430Z
LOCATION:Dr. Dare’s Lab – Level 4
URL:https://www.osc.org/event/self-guided-experiments-maker-lab/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Orlando Science Center
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.osc.org/visit/science-live/makerspace
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Today's Hours
DTSTART:20260906T140000Z
DTEND:20260906T210000Z
DTSTAMP:20260904T183520Z
UID:10011269-1788688800-1788714000@www.osc.org
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Reserve your timed-entry tickets online in advance.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260904T183520Z
LOCATION:Orlando Science Center
URL:https://www.osc.org/event/todays-hours-83/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Orlando Science Center
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.osc.org/visit/science-live/makerspace
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20260908T233000Z
DTEND:20260909T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Open House Night
DTSTART:20260909T000000Z
DTEND:20260909T010000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:eqioob0elokoai2ilgsei20dsa_R20240410T000000@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Open house night is when we invite people who would like to le
 arn more about FamiLAB to come check things out! If you have a project tha
 t you need help\, bring it. \n\nSee the FamiLAB Public Classes & Events pa
 ge for more details: http://familab.org/blog/public-classes-events/
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North St #152\, Longwood\, FL 32750\, USA
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Building and Thinking Like an Entrepreneurial Engineer
DTSTART:20260909T180000Z
DTEND:20260909T190000Z
DTSTAMP:20260901T001001Z
UID:https://events.ucf.edu/event/4195824/building-and-thinking-like-an-ent
 repreneurial-engineer/
CATEGORIES:education,tech
DESCRIPTION:Through a guided explanation and hands-on experimentation\, we
 'll break down how to use the Idea --> Create --> Demo --> Feedback loop t
 o turn a rough concept into a tested prototype.\n\nWhether you're launchin
 g a venture\, solving a campus problem or just curious about how engineers
  think\, this session will give you the framework and the confidence to st
 art building.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T001001Z
LOCATION:Student Union: The Blackstone LaunchPad
URL:https://events.ucf.edu/event/4195824/building-and-thinking-like-an-ent
 repreneurial-engineer/
X-SOURCE-NAME:UCF Speaker/Lecture/Seminar Events
X-SOURCE-URL:https://events.ucf.edu/category/23/speakerlectureseminar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Online: Streaming Live Video with OBS
DTSTART:20260910T213000Z
DTEND:20260910T223000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T023002Z
UID:event_316297007@meetup.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Orlando Video & Post Production Meetup\nLearn how to stream hi
 gh-quality live video using OBS Studio\, the free\, open-source software t
 rusted by creators worldwide. This beginner-friendly class covers setting 
 up scenes\, managing audio/video sources\, and going live on platforms lik
 e YouTube\, Zoom\, and Twitch.\n\nOnline event. Registration required to r
 eceive Zoom link. Register here: https://attend.ocls.org/event/17154825
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T023002Z
URL:https://www.meetup.com/orlando-video-post-production/events/316297007/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Orlando Video & Post Production Meetup
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20260915T233000Z
DTEND:20260916T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Introduction to Woodworking and Lasers
DTSTART:20260919T200000Z
DTEND:20260919T220000Z
DTSTAMP:20260905T062957Z
UID:ipgg9qe9mnrlhu4f6aaklqve0k@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Event Description:Register at https://givebutter.com/laserwood
 \n\nWoodworking and Lasers workshop rescheduled for 9/19!\n\nThis Central 
 Florida Tool Library & FamiLAB workshop will introduce participants to han
 d and power tools used for woodworking in a supportive\, hands-on environm
 ent. We will begin the workshop with basic tool safety\, then use that kno
 wledge to make a take-home project using a miter saw\, Laser engraver\, dr
 ill\, and orbital hand sander. This month's take-home project will be a la
 ser engraved door side key rack.\n\nThis workshop will take place at FamiL
 AB makerspace in Longwood\, and is offered on a sliding scale of $0-20. In
 struction will be led by members of the CFL Tool Library and FamiLAB.\n\nh
 ttps://givebutter.com/laserwoodIntended Audience:Public EventCost to atten
 d (if any)?:Sliding scale\, Free to $20Which area of FamiLAB will the even
 t be held?:Wood ShopWhat type of event is this?:Class\nWorkshop
LAST-MODIFIED:20260905T062957Z
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Seminar: "Programming Light and Quantum Electrodynamic Interaction
 s in Two-Dimensional Quantum Materials"-Michael Leuenberger/Nano & Physics
 \, UCF
DTSTART:20260922T160000Z
DTEND:20260922T170000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:https://events.ucf.edu/event/4129640/seminar-programming-light-and-qua
 ntum-electrodynamic-interactions-in-two-dimensional-quantum-materials-mich
 ael-leuenbergernano-physics-ucf/
CATEGORIES:education,tech
DESCRIPTION:Abstract:\n\nModern quantum technologies depend on our ability
  to understand\, predict\, and ultimately engineer interactions between el
 ectrons\, excitons\, spins\, and photons. In this colloquium\, I will desc
 ribe a method of turning quantum materials into programmable quantum syste
 ms. I will first briefly discuss how many-body GW-Bethe-Salpeter and Kadan
 off-Baym approaches provide a predictive framework for the linear and nonl
 inear optical response of two-dimensional semiconductors\, including excit
 onic effects\, harmonic generation\, and design rules for enhanced nonline
 ar response in layered materials. I will then focus on recent work showing
  that a gate-tunable conductor-dielectric-conductor heterostructure can pr
 ovide universal tuning of quantum electrodynamic interactions: the same pl
 atform allows interactions to be switched from familiar power-law behavior
  to exponential screening and even logarithmic antiscreening\, with direct
  implications for reconfigurable Coulomb\, dipolar\, van der Waals/Casimir
 -Polder\, and spin-spin interactions.\n\nBio:  \nMichael N. Leuenberger is
  Professor of Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Ce
 ntral Florida\, with appointments in the NanoScience Technology Center and
  Department of Physics. He is also a Visiting Scientist at MIT. He receive
 d his Ph.D. in theoretical condensed matter physics from the University of
  Basel\, Switzerland\, under Daniel Loss\, and subsequently held postdocto
 ral positions at the University of Iowa with Michael Flatte and at UC San 
 Diego with Lu Sham. His research spans quantum information science\, nonli
 near optics\, many-body theory of quantum materials\, and multiscale model
 ing of quantum devices. He has led or co-led research supported by AFOSR\,
  ARO\, DARPA\, NSF\, and ONR\, and his recent work includes predictive man
 y-body theories of nonlinear optical response in 2D materials\, excitonic 
 quantum matter in breathing-kagome materials\, and programmable quantum el
 ectrodynamic interactions in van der Waals heterostructures.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:CREOL: 102
URL:https://events.ucf.edu/event/4129640/seminar-programming-light-and-qua
 ntum-electrodynamic-interactions-in-two-dimensional-quantum-materials-mich
 ael-leuenbergernano-physics-ucf/
X-SOURCE-NAME:UCF Speaker/Lecture/Seminar Events
X-SOURCE-URL:https://events.ucf.edu/category/23/speakerlectureseminar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Thriving in the Skills Economy Era: Lessons from Building Ventures
  and Careers
DTSTART:20260922T190000Z
DTEND:20260922T200000Z
DTSTAMP:20260903T181119Z
UID:https://events.ucf.edu/event/4195842/thriving-in-the-skills-economy-er
 a-lessons-from-building-ventures-and-careers/
CATEGORIES:education,tech
DESCRIPTION:Success today isn't about traditional career paths but masteri
 ng the skills that drive impact and innovation.\n\nOur speaker will share 
 their journey of building ventures and scaling teams in the Skills Economy
  Era\, offering practical insights into learning\, adaptability and creati
 ng your own opportunities. \nRegistration Link: https://ucf.startuptree.or
 g/events/943
LAST-MODIFIED:20260903T181119Z
LOCATION:Student Union: The Blackstone LaunchPad
URL:https://events.ucf.edu/event/4195842/thriving-in-the-skills-economy-er
 a-lessons-from-building-ventures-and-careers/
X-SOURCE-NAME:UCF Speaker/Lecture/Seminar Events
X-SOURCE-URL:https://events.ucf.edu/category/23/speakerlectureseminar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - Orlando Chapter Voter Education
  Mixer
DTSTART:20260922T213000Z
DTEND:20260922T233000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000343-1790098200-1790105400@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
LOCATION:Pilars Martini & Loft\, 146 West Plant Street\, #Suite 120 & 210\
 , Winter Garden\, FL\, 34787\, United States
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-orland
 o-chapter-voter-education-mixer/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Virtual "Show and Tell" of Projects by the Community
DTSTART:20260922T230000Z
DTEND:20260923T000000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022950Z
UID:event_314661190@meetup.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Google Developer Group Central Florida\nReady to showcase your
  creativity and ingenuity? Want to see what fun\, cool\, and innovative pr
 ojects community members are working on? Then get ready for our Monthly Cr
 eative Exchange!\n\nThis is your chance to:\n\nShowcase Your Craft: Experi
 menting with AI or trying to kickstart a new app? This is your stage! Demo
  your latest creations\, share your process\, and spark inspiration in oth
 ers. Projects do not have to be perfect or completely refined to help insp
 ire others.\n\nThe Creative Exchange: Need a second pair of eyes on an app
  you’re building? Or maybe you’re looking for a collaborator? Tap into
  our collective to get the feedback or partnership you need to level up.\n
 \nFound a new "toy" or app that’s completely leveled up your creative fl
 ow? We want to see it in action! Come give us a quick demo of the tools or
  techniques that are making your work fun again. Your "aha!" moment might 
 be exactly the inspiration someone else needs to break through a creative 
 block.\n\nDemo and “Show and tell” sessions should be shared as brief 
 and impactful “lighting” talks. All talks will be time boxed to 7 minu
 tes. Got something to share? Sign up using the following Google Form. http
 s://forms.gle/gXSoEPL7Z7QXrWpQ6\n\nAgenda\n\n---\n\nHosted By\n\nJavier Ca
 rrion\, GDG Organizer\n\nHi everyone! My name is Javier\, but you can call
  me "Javi." I live in Ocala\, known as "the Horse Capital of the World" an
 d I'm actively involved in the Central Florida Development communities. As
  a Software Engineer (Web) at Design Interactive\, I work with cutting-edg
 e human-system integration (HSI) technologies\, which means I get to play 
 with devices like HoloLens and more. Fun Fact: I have a mixology certifica
 tion from the city of Waterbury! 🍸 I'm excited to be a part of this ama
 zing group and looking forward to connecting with all of you! 🚀\n\nMich
 ael Rosario\, GDG Team Lead Member\n\nAs an experienced software developer
  with over 19 years of experience\, I enjoy helping organizations with agi
 le software development\, promoting cultures of innovation\, and creative 
 business solutions. I enjoy helping organizations and software teams disco
 ver the craft of continuous improvement. I am always looking for opportuni
 ties to serve leaders and teams who want to create more value with integri
 ty\, character\, and predictability.\n\nProfessional interests: AR/VR\, We
 b dev\, MAKERS movement\, Agile leadership\, Machine learning\, Cultures o
 f Innovation\, Gaming & Game based learning\, Visual analytics\n\nChristi 
 Kapp\, Founder & CEO\n\nChristi Kapp is a well-respected Management Consul
 tant and Coach that has spoken at numerous professional conferences on top
 ics ranging from business analysis\, to managing organizational change.\n\
 nChristi’s career has included management consulting\, executive leaders
 hip\, coaching and teaching in the hospitality\, training and technology i
 ndustries. She has also managed performance\, as well as the professional 
 development of staff engaged in development and delivery of complex inform
 ation system solutions\, solution sales\, training\, and customer service.
 \n\nHer entrepreneurial background includes founding\, growing and selling
  TechKnowQuest\, Inc – one of the Orlando Area's Fastest Growing Tech Co
 mpanies in 1998 (1992 – 2000). While at TechKnowQuest\, she created cust
 om courses for a number of clients and performed management consulting ser
 vices. She has also performed coaching and consulting services through Kno
 wledgeSpot\, Inc\, (2000 – 2007) and JustIntegration\, Inc. (founded in 
 2006). She was also co-founder of Art In Motion LLC Custom Motorcycles (fo
 unded in 2007)\, and is Owner/Innkeeper at Kapp and Kappy Bed & Breakfast 
 (2016)\n\nShe is an accomplished author also. She has written several ente
 rprise information technology books (Prentice-Hall)\, a UCF Master's thesi
 s on “Regional Readiness for Homeland Security Information Sharing”\, 
 and in 2016\, wrote a book chapter titled “Soft Factors Enabling Innovat
 ion” in the Apple Academic Press series called Ecosystems and Technology
 : Idea Generation and Content Model Processing.\n\nShe has a B.S. Degree f
 rom the University of Rochester and a M.S. from the College of Health & Pu
 blic Affairs at the University of Central Florida.\n\nKendra Kennedy\, Sof
 tware Engineer II\n\nHello everyone! My name is Kendra Kennedy\, and I am 
 a Software Engineer who specializes in eXtended Reality (XR) Development a
 nd dabbles in Web Development\, Mobile Development\, and a bit of Machine 
 Learning. I have a deep love for learning and trying out new skills\, so w
 hen I'm not behind the keyboard I can be often be found taking acting\, da
 ncing\, or media art classes from the nearby art center or martial arts\, 
 yoga\, or one-off exercise classes at my local gym. I'm happy to be a part
  of such an awesome team and look forward to learning and creating with al
 l of you!\n\nKayle Brown\,\n\nComplete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.c
 ommunity.dev/events/details/google-gdg-central-florida-presents-virtual-sh
 ow-and-tell-of-projects-by-the-community-2026-09-22/.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022950Z
URL:https://www.meetup.com/gdg-central-florida/events/314661190/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Google Developer Group Central Florida
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20260922T233000Z
DTEND:20260923T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:5 Things Your Website Is Trying To Tell You
DTSTART:20260924T140000Z
DTEND:20260924T160000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:https://events.ucf.edu/event/4134884/5-things-your-website-is-trying-t
 o-tell-you/
CATEGORIES:education,tech
DESCRIPTION:This webinar is sponsored by Orange County Government.\n\nA tr
 easure chest of free data exists that small businesses can use to guide th
 eir marketing strategies inside Google Analytics. Rather than trying to te
 ach Google Analytics\, this unique program simply focuses on five specific
  questions that drive digital marketing decisions and how to find those sp
 ecific answers. Data is only valuable when it produces actionable insights
  and this workshop goes beyond the charts\, graphs\, and jargon to uncover
  these insights.\n\nSecure your spot today!\n\nPresented by Google Partner
  and National Trainer Matt Weber\, President\, ROAR! Internet Marketing\n\
 nVirtual Location URL: https://events.blackthorn.io/en/6g3Q8Wa7/5-things-y
 our-website-is-trying-to-tell-you-5a1eVODrKQw\nRegistration Link: https://
 events.blackthorn.io/en/6g3Q8Wa7/5-things-your-website-is-trying-to-tell-y
 ou-5a1eVODrKQw
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:Virtual
URL:https://events.ucf.edu/event/4134884/5-things-your-website-is-trying-t
 o-tell-you/
X-SOURCE-NAME:UCF Speaker/Lecture/Seminar Events
X-SOURCE-URL:https://events.ucf.edu/category/23/speakerlectureseminar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Open House
DTSTART:20260926T170000Z
DTEND:20260926T190000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:6vtc6dnpnu096onvo0qe3l8u4q@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Open house is when we invite people who would like to learn mo
 re about FamiLAB to come check things out! If you have a project that you 
 need help\, bring it. See the FamiLAB Public Classes & Events page for mor
 e details: https://www.familab.org/public-classes-events
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Online: DaVinci Resolve - Fusion FX
DTSTART:20260929T200000Z
DTEND:20260929T213000Z
DTSTAMP:20260829T185612Z
UID:event_316297026@meetup.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Orlando Video & Post Production Meetup\nStep into the power of
  DaVinci Resolve and unlock the full creative potential of its Fusion page
 . Master cinematic green screen compositing and precision motion tracking 
 to bring your boldest visual ideas to life.\n\nOnline event. Registration 
 required to receive Zoom link. Register here: https://attend.ocls.org/even
 t/17155174
LAST-MODIFIED:20260829T185612Z
URL:https://www.meetup.com/orlando-video-post-production/events/316297026/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Orlando Video & Post Production Meetup
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20260929T233000Z
DTEND:20260930T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20261006T160000Z
DTEND:20261006T170000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000103-1791288000-1791291600@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-12/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261006T233000Z
DTEND:20261007T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261013T233000Z
DTEND:20261014T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Open House Night
DTSTART:20261014T000000Z
DTEND:20261014T010000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:eqioob0elokoai2ilgsei20dsa_R20240410T000000@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Open house night is when we invite people who would like to le
 arn more about FamiLAB to come check things out! If you have a project tha
 t you need help\, bring it. \n\nSee the FamiLAB Public Classes & Events pa
 ge for more details: http://familab.org/blog/public-classes-events/
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North St #152\, Longwood\, FL 32750\, USA
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261020T233000Z
DTEND:20261021T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Open House
DTSTART:20261024T170000Z
DTEND:20261024T190000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:6vtc6dnpnu096onvo0qe3l8u4q@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Open house is when we invite people who would like to learn mo
 re about FamiLAB to come check things out! If you have a project that you 
 need help\, bring it. See the FamiLAB Public Classes & Events page for mor
 e details: https://www.familab.org/public-classes-events
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Virtual "Show and Tell" of Projects by the Community
DTSTART:20261027T230000Z
DTEND:20261028T000000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022950Z
UID:event_314661192@meetup.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Google Developer Group Central Florida\nReady to showcase your
  creativity and ingenuity? Want to see what fun\, cool\, and innovative pr
 ojects community members are working on? Then get ready for our Monthly Cr
 eative Exchange!\n\nThis is your chance to:\n\nShowcase Your Craft: Experi
 menting with AI or trying to kickstart a new app? This is your stage! Demo
  your latest creations\, share your process\, and spark inspiration in oth
 ers. Projects do not have to be perfect or completely refined to help insp
 ire others.\n\nThe Creative Exchange: Need a second pair of eyes on an app
  you’re building? Or maybe you’re looking for a collaborator? Tap into
  our collective to get the feedback or partnership you need to level up.\n
 \nFound a new "toy" or app that’s completely leveled up your creative fl
 ow? We want to see it in action! Come give us a quick demo of the tools or
  techniques that are making your work fun again. Your "aha!" moment might 
 be exactly the inspiration someone else needs to break through a creative 
 block.\n\nDemo and “Show and tell” sessions should be shared as brief 
 and impactful “lighting” talks. All talks will be time boxed to 7 minu
 tes. Got something to share? Sign up using the following Google Form. http
 s://forms.gle/gXSoEPL7Z7QXrWpQ6\n\nAgenda\n\n---\n\nHosted By\n\nJavier Ca
 rrion\, GDG Organizer\n\nHi everyone! My name is Javier\, but you can call
  me "Javi." I live in Ocala\, known as "the Horse Capital of the World" an
 d I'm actively involved in the Central Florida Development communities. As
  a Software Engineer (Web) at Design Interactive\, I work with cutting-edg
 e human-system integration (HSI) technologies\, which means I get to play 
 with devices like HoloLens and more. Fun Fact: I have a mixology certifica
 tion from the city of Waterbury! 🍸 I'm excited to be a part of this ama
 zing group and looking forward to connecting with all of you! 🚀\n\nMich
 ael Rosario\, GDG Team Lead Member\n\nAs an experienced software developer
  with over 19 years of experience\, I enjoy helping organizations with agi
 le software development\, promoting cultures of innovation\, and creative 
 business solutions. I enjoy helping organizations and software teams disco
 ver the craft of continuous improvement. I am always looking for opportuni
 ties to serve leaders and teams who want to create more value with integri
 ty\, character\, and predictability.\n\nProfessional interests: AR/VR\, We
 b dev\, MAKERS movement\, Agile leadership\, Machine learning\, Cultures o
 f Innovation\, Gaming & Game based learning\, Visual analytics\n\nChristi 
 Kapp\, Founder & CEO\n\nChristi Kapp is a well-respected Management Consul
 tant and Coach that has spoken at numerous professional conferences on top
 ics ranging from business analysis\, to managing organizational change.\n\
 nChristi’s career has included management consulting\, executive leaders
 hip\, coaching and teaching in the hospitality\, training and technology i
 ndustries. She has also managed performance\, as well as the professional 
 development of staff engaged in development and delivery of complex inform
 ation system solutions\, solution sales\, training\, and customer service.
 \n\nHer entrepreneurial background includes founding\, growing and selling
  TechKnowQuest\, Inc – one of the Orlando Area's Fastest Growing Tech Co
 mpanies in 1998 (1992 – 2000). While at TechKnowQuest\, she created cust
 om courses for a number of clients and performed management consulting ser
 vices. She has also performed coaching and consulting services through Kno
 wledgeSpot\, Inc\, (2000 – 2007) and JustIntegration\, Inc. (founded in 
 2006). She was also co-founder of Art In Motion LLC Custom Motorcycles (fo
 unded in 2007)\, and is Owner/Innkeeper at Kapp and Kappy Bed & Breakfast 
 (2016)\n\nShe is an accomplished author also. She has written several ente
 rprise information technology books (Prentice-Hall)\, a UCF Master's thesi
 s on “Regional Readiness for Homeland Security Information Sharing”\, 
 and in 2016\, wrote a book chapter titled “Soft Factors Enabling Innovat
 ion” in the Apple Academic Press series called Ecosystems and Technology
 : Idea Generation and Content Model Processing.\n\nShe has a B.S. Degree f
 rom the University of Rochester and a M.S. from the College of Health & Pu
 blic Affairs at the University of Central Florida.\n\nKendra Kennedy\, Sof
 tware Engineer II\n\nHello everyone! My name is Kendra Kennedy\, and I am 
 a Software Engineer who specializes in eXtended Reality (XR) Development a
 nd dabbles in Web Development\, Mobile Development\, and a bit of Machine 
 Learning. I have a deep love for learning and trying out new skills\, so w
 hen I'm not behind the keyboard I can be often be found taking acting\, da
 ncing\, or media art classes from the nearby art center or martial arts\, 
 yoga\, or one-off exercise classes at my local gym. I'm happy to be a part
  of such an awesome team and look forward to learning and creating with al
 l of you!\n\nKayle Brown\,\n\nComplete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.c
 ommunity.dev/events/details/google-gdg-central-florida-presents-virtual-sh
 ow-and-tell-of-projects-by-the-community-2026-10-27/.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022950Z
URL:https://www.meetup.com/gdg-central-florida/events/314661192/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Google Developer Group Central Florida
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261027T233000Z
DTEND:20261028T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20261103T170000Z
DTEND:20261103T180000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000104-1793707200-1793710800@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-13/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261103T233000Z
DTEND:20261104T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:DevFest Hackathon 2026: Build\, Innovate & Connect
DTSTART:20261106T230000Z
DTEND:20261108T210000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022950Z
UID:event_316006141@meetup.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Google Developer Group Central Florida\n🌴 About DevFest Hac
 kathon 2026\nWelcome to DevFest Hackathon 2026! Hosted by Google Developer
  Groups Central Florida\, DevFest is our premier annual developer festival
  bringing together tech enthusiasts\, creators\, and builders of all skill
  levels.\n\nThis year’s hackathon focuses on human-centered AI\, ethical
  innovation\, and collaborative building. Rather than focusing solely on h
 yper-speed competition\, we emphasize collaboration\, creativity\, and com
 munity impact. With AI transforming the tech landscape\, we treat advanced
  AI models as partners to augment human ingenuity\, connection\, and probl
 em-solving.\n\nWhether you are a software developer\, UI/UX designer\, pro
 duct strategist\, or community advocate\, there is a track and a place for
  your voice!\n\n🚀 Why Attend?\n\n🤖 Build with Google AI Technologies
 : Gain hands-on experience leveraging Google's Gemini AI suite\, Google Cl
 oud Platform (GCP)\, Firebase\, web dev\, mobile app dev\, Unity\, agent f
 rameworks and open-source tooling.\n\n💡 Mentorship & Technical Support:
  Work alongside Google Developer Experts (GDEs)\, Google Cloud Innovators\
 , and industry veterans ready to help you debug\, design\, and pivot.\n\n
 🔗 Forge Lasting Connections: Form teams\, collaborate with top local te
 ch talent\, and network with hiring sponsors and community leaders.\n\n
 🏆 Elevate Your Portfolio & Win Prizes: Showcase your prototype or strat
 egy deck on Demo Day to a panel of expert judges and compete for track awa
 rds.\n\nAgenda\n\n---\n\nHosted By\n\nJavier Carrion\, GDG Organizer\n\nHi
  everyone! My name is Javier\, but you can call me "Javi." I live in Ocala
 \, known as "the Horse Capital of the World" and I'm actively involved in 
 the Central Florida Development communities. As a Software Engineer (Web) 
 at Design Interactive\, I work with cutting-edge human-system integration 
 (HSI) technologies\, which means I get to play with devices like HoloLens 
 and more. Fun Fact: I have a mixology certification from the city of Water
 bury! 🍸 I'm excited to be a part of this amazing group and looking forw
 ard to connecting with all of you! 🚀\n\nMichael Rosario\, GDG Team Lead
  Member\n\nAs an experienced software developer with over 19 years of expe
 rience\, I enjoy helping organizations with agile software development\, p
 romoting cultures of innovation\, and creative business solutions. I enjoy
  helping organizations and software teams discover the craft of continuous
  improvement. I am always looking for opportunities to serve leaders and t
 eams who want to create more value with integrity\, character\, and predic
 tability.\n\nProfessional interests: AR/VR\, Web dev\, MAKERS movement\, A
 gile leadership\, Machine learning\, Cultures of Innovation\, Gaming & Gam
 e based learning\, Visual analytics\n\nChristi Kapp\, Founder & CEO\n\nChr
 isti Kapp is a well-respected Management Consultant and Coach that has spo
 ken at numerous professional conferences on topics ranging from business a
 nalysis\, to managing organizational change.\n\nChristi’s career has inc
 luded management consulting\, executive leadership\, coaching and teaching
  in the hospitality\, training and technology industries. She has also man
 aged performance\, as well as the professional development of staff engage
 d in development and delivery of complex information system solutions\, so
 lution sales\, training\, and customer service.\n\nHer entrepreneurial bac
 kground includes founding\, growing and selling TechKnowQuest\, Inc – on
 e of the Orlando Area's Fastest Growing Tech Companies in 1998 (1992 – 2
 000). While at TechKnowQuest\, she created custom courses for a number of 
 clients and performed management consulting services. She has also perform
 ed coaching and consulting services through KnowledgeSpot\, Inc\, (2000 
 – 2007) and JustIntegration\, Inc. (founded in 2006). She was also co-fo
 under of Art In Motion LLC Custom Motorcycles (founded in 2007)\, and is O
 wner/Innkeeper at Kapp and Kappy Bed & Breakfast (2016)\n\nShe is an accom
 plished author also. She has written several enterprise information techno
 logy books (Prentice-Hall)\, a UCF Master's thesis on “Regional Readines
 s for Homeland Security Information Sharing”\, and in 2016\, wrote a boo
 k chapter titled “Soft Factors Enabling Innovation” in the Apple Acade
 mic Press series called Ecosystems and Technology: Idea Generation and Con
 tent Model Processing.\n\nShe has a B.S. Degree from the University of Roc
 hester and a M.S. from the College of Health & Public Affairs at the Unive
 rsity of Central Florida.\n\nKendra Kennedy\, GDG Organizer\n\nHello every
 one! My name is Kendra Kennedy\, and I am a Software Engineer who speciali
 zes in eXtended Reality (XR) Development and dabbles in Web Development\, 
 Mobile Development\, and a bit of Machine Learning. I have a deep love for
  learning and trying out new skills\, so when I'm not behind the keyboard 
 I can be often be found taking acting\, dancing\, or media art classes fro
 m the nearby art center or martial arts\, yoga\, or one-off exercise class
 es at my local gym. I'm happy to be a part of such an awesome team and loo
 k forward to learning and creating with all of you!\n\nKayle Brown\,\n\nCo
 mplete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/goog
 le-gdg-central-florida-presents-devfest-hackathon-2026-build-innovate-amp-
 connect/.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022950Z
URL:https://www.meetup.com/gdg-central-florida/events/316006141/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Google Developer Group Central Florida
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261110T233000Z
DTEND:20261111T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Open House Night
DTSTART:20261111T000000Z
DTEND:20261111T010000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:eqioob0elokoai2ilgsei20dsa_R20240410T000000@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Open house night is when we invite people who would like to le
 arn more about FamiLAB to come check things out! If you have a project tha
 t you need help\, bring it. \n\nSee the FamiLAB Public Classes & Events pa
 ge for more details: http://familab.org/blog/public-classes-events/
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North St #152\, Longwood\, FL 32750\, USA
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261117T233000Z
DTEND:20261118T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261124T233000Z
DTEND:20261125T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Virtual "Show and Tell" of Projects by the Community
DTSTART:20261125T000000Z
DTEND:20261125T010000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022950Z
UID:event_314661188@meetup.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Google Developer Group Central Florida\nReady to showcase your
  creativity and ingenuity? Want to see what fun\, cool\, and innovative pr
 ojects community members are working on? Then get ready for our Monthly Cr
 eative Exchange!\n\nThis is your chance to:\n\nShowcase Your Craft: Experi
 menting with AI or trying to kickstart a new app? This is your stage! Demo
  your latest creations\, share your process\, and spark inspiration in oth
 ers. Projects do not have to be perfect or completely refined to help insp
 ire others.\n\nThe Creative Exchange: Need a second pair of eyes on an app
  you’re building? Or maybe you’re looking for a collaborator? Tap into
  our collective to get the feedback or partnership you need to level up.\n
 \nFound a new "toy" or app that’s completely leveled up your creative fl
 ow? We want to see it in action! Come give us a quick demo of the tools or
  techniques that are making your work fun again. Your "aha!" moment might 
 be exactly the inspiration someone else needs to break through a creative 
 block.\n\nDemo and “Show and tell” sessions should be shared as brief 
 and impactful “lighting” talks. All talks will be time boxed to 7 minu
 tes. Got something to share? Sign up using the following Google Form. http
 s://forms.gle/gXSoEPL7Z7QXrWpQ6\n\nAgenda\n\n---\n\nHosted By\n\nJavier Ca
 rrion\, GDG Organizer\n\nHi everyone! My name is Javier\, but you can call
  me "Javi." I live in Ocala\, known as "the Horse Capital of the World" an
 d I'm actively involved in the Central Florida Development communities. As
  a Software Engineer (Web) at Design Interactive\, I work with cutting-edg
 e human-system integration (HSI) technologies\, which means I get to play 
 with devices like HoloLens and more. Fun Fact: I have a mixology certifica
 tion from the city of Waterbury! 🍸 I'm excited to be a part of this ama
 zing group and looking forward to connecting with all of you! 🚀\n\nMich
 ael Rosario\, GDG Team Lead Member\n\nAs an experienced software developer
  with over 19 years of experience\, I enjoy helping organizations with agi
 le software development\, promoting cultures of innovation\, and creative 
 business solutions. I enjoy helping organizations and software teams disco
 ver the craft of continuous improvement. I am always looking for opportuni
 ties to serve leaders and teams who want to create more value with integri
 ty\, character\, and predictability.\n\nProfessional interests: AR/VR\, We
 b dev\, MAKERS movement\, Agile leadership\, Machine learning\, Cultures o
 f Innovation\, Gaming & Game based learning\, Visual analytics\n\nChristi 
 Kapp\, Founder & CEO\n\nChristi Kapp is a well-respected Management Consul
 tant and Coach that has spoken at numerous professional conferences on top
 ics ranging from business analysis\, to managing organizational change.\n\
 nChristi’s career has included management consulting\, executive leaders
 hip\, coaching and teaching in the hospitality\, training and technology i
 ndustries. She has also managed performance\, as well as the professional 
 development of staff engaged in development and delivery of complex inform
 ation system solutions\, solution sales\, training\, and customer service.
 \n\nHer entrepreneurial background includes founding\, growing and selling
  TechKnowQuest\, Inc – one of the Orlando Area's Fastest Growing Tech Co
 mpanies in 1998 (1992 – 2000). While at TechKnowQuest\, she created cust
 om courses for a number of clients and performed management consulting ser
 vices. She has also performed coaching and consulting services through Kno
 wledgeSpot\, Inc\, (2000 – 2007) and JustIntegration\, Inc. (founded in 
 2006). She was also co-founder of Art In Motion LLC Custom Motorcycles (fo
 unded in 2007)\, and is Owner/Innkeeper at Kapp and Kappy Bed & Breakfast 
 (2016)\n\nShe is an accomplished author also. She has written several ente
 rprise information technology books (Prentice-Hall)\, a UCF Master's thesi
 s on “Regional Readiness for Homeland Security Information Sharing”\, 
 and in 2016\, wrote a book chapter titled “Soft Factors Enabling Innovat
 ion” in the Apple Academic Press series called Ecosystems and Technology
 : Idea Generation and Content Model Processing.\n\nShe has a B.S. Degree f
 rom the University of Rochester and a M.S. from the College of Health & Pu
 blic Affairs at the University of Central Florida.\n\nKendra Kennedy\, Sof
 tware Engineer II\n\nHello everyone! My name is Kendra Kennedy\, and I am 
 a Software Engineer who specializes in eXtended Reality (XR) Development a
 nd dabbles in Web Development\, Mobile Development\, and a bit of Machine 
 Learning. I have a deep love for learning and trying out new skills\, so w
 hen I'm not behind the keyboard I can be often be found taking acting\, da
 ncing\, or media art classes from the nearby art center or martial arts\, 
 yoga\, or one-off exercise classes at my local gym. I'm happy to be a part
  of such an awesome team and look forward to learning and creating with al
 l of you!\n\nKayle Brown\,\n\nComplete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.c
 ommunity.dev/events/details/google-gdg-central-florida-presents-virtual-sh
 ow-and-tell-of-projects-by-the-community-2026-11-24/.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022950Z
URL:https://www.meetup.com/gdg-central-florida/events/314661188/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Google Developer Group Central Florida
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Open House
DTSTART:20261128T170000Z
DTEND:20261128T190000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:6vtc6dnpnu096onvo0qe3l8u4q@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Open house is when we invite people who would like to learn mo
 re about FamiLAB to come check things out! If you have a project that you 
 need help\, bring it. See the FamiLAB Public Classes & Events page for mor
 e details: https://www.familab.org/public-classes-events
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20261201T170000Z
DTEND:20261201T180000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000006-1796126400-1796130000@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-4/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261201T233000Z
DTEND:20261202T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:3d printer maintenance
DTSTART:20261205T150000Z
DTEND:20261205T210000Z
DTSTAMP:20260809T001203Z
UID:61i6cdpgc4rmcbb568s3gb9kcgpm2b9o70q30bb66tj3cd3574o38pb26g@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Event Description:Going to be working on the A1 non-ams and th
 e K2 along with my own printer. \n\nWould love some extra hands if someone
  wants to keep me company Intended Audience:FamiLAB Members Only EventWhic
 h area of FamiLAB will the event be held?:Fab LabWhat type of event is thi
 s?:Maintenance
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T001203Z
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261208T233000Z
DTEND:20261209T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Open House Night
DTSTART:20261209T000000Z
DTEND:20261209T010000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:eqioob0elokoai2ilgsei20dsa_R20240410T000000@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Open house night is when we invite people who would like to le
 arn more about FamiLAB to come check things out! If you have a project tha
 t you need help\, bring it. \n\nSee the FamiLAB Public Classes & Events pa
 ge for more details: http://familab.org/blog/public-classes-events/
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North St #152\, Longwood\, FL 32750\, USA
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261215T233000Z
DTEND:20261216T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261222T233000Z
DTEND:20261223T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Open House
DTSTART:20261226T170000Z
DTEND:20261226T190000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:6vtc6dnpnu096onvo0qe3l8u4q@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Open house is when we invite people who would like to learn mo
 re about FamiLAB to come check things out! If you have a project that you 
 need help\, bring it. See the FamiLAB Public Classes & Events page for mor
 e details: https://www.familab.org/public-classes-events
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20261229T233000Z
DTEND:20261230T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20270105T170000Z
DTEND:20270105T180000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000309-1799150400-1799154000@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-14/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20270105T233000Z
DTEND:20270106T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20270112T233000Z
DTEND:20270113T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Open House Night
DTSTART:20270113T000000Z
DTEND:20270113T010000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:eqioob0elokoai2ilgsei20dsa_R20240410T000000@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Open house night is when we invite people who would like to le
 arn more about FamiLAB to come check things out! If you have a project tha
 t you need help\, bring it. \n\nSee the FamiLAB Public Classes & Events pa
 ge for more details: http://familab.org/blog/public-classes-events/
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North St #152\, Longwood\, FL 32750\, USA
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20270119T233000Z
DTEND:20270120T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Open House
DTSTART:20270123T170000Z
DTEND:20270123T190000Z
DTSTAMP:20260728T153455Z
UID:6vtc6dnpnu096onvo0qe3l8u4q@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Open house is when we invite people who would like to learn mo
 re about FamiLAB to come check things out! If you have a project that you 
 need help\, bring it. See the FamiLAB Public Classes & Events page for mor
 e details: https://www.familab.org/public-classes-events
LAST-MODIFIED:20260728T153455Z
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20270126T233000Z
DTEND:20270127T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260731T000340Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260731T000340Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20270202T170000Z
DTEND:20270202T180000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000310-1801569600-1801573200@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-15/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20270202T233000Z
DTEND:20270203T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260807T001306Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260807T001306Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20270209T233000Z
DTEND:20270210T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260814T002948Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260814T002948Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Open House Night
DTSTART:20270210T000000Z
DTEND:20270210T010000Z
DTSTAMP:20260814T002948Z
UID:eqioob0elokoai2ilgsei20dsa_R20240410T000000@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Open house night is when we invite people who would like to le
 arn more about FamiLAB to come check things out! If you have a project tha
 t you need help\, bring it. \n\nSee the FamiLAB Public Classes & Events pa
 ge for more details: http://familab.org/blog/public-classes-events/
LAST-MODIFIED:20260814T002948Z
LOCATION:400 North St #152\, Longwood\, FL 32750\, USA
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20270216T233000Z
DTEND:20270217T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260821T003151Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260821T003151Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20270223T233000Z
DTEND:20270224T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T003111Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T003111Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Open House
DTSTART:20270227T170000Z
DTEND:20270227T190000Z
DTSTAMP:20260831T183142Z
UID:6vtc6dnpnu096onvo0qe3l8u4q@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Open house is when we invite people who would like to learn mo
 re about FamiLAB to come check things out! If you have a project that you 
 need help\, bring it. See the FamiLAB Public Classes & Events page for mor
 e details: https://www.familab.org/public-classes-events
LAST-MODIFIED:20260831T183142Z
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20270302T170000Z
DTEND:20270302T180000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000311-1803988800-1803992400@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-16/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:FamiLAB Social Night
DTSTART:20270302T233000Z
DTEND:20270303T013000Z
DTSTAMP:20260904T003239Z
UID:mk61b057mm589a4ba32gdcanqi@google.com
CATEGORIES:tech
DESCRIPTION:Join us for social night! Bring a project you have been workin
 g on\, ideas of projects\, or just hang out and enjoy discussions with oth
 er makers.
LAST-MODIFIED:20260904T003239Z
LOCATION:400 North st #152\, Longwood FL 32750
X-SOURCE-NAME:FamiLAB
X-SOURCE-URL:https://www.familab.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20270406T160000Z
DTEND:20270406T170000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000312-1807012800-1807016400@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-17/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20270504T160000Z
DTEND:20270504T170000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000313-1809432000-1809435600@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-18/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20270601T160000Z
DTEND:20270601T170000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000314-1811851200-1811854800@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-19/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20270706T160000Z
DTEND:20270706T170000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000315-1814875200-1814878800@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-20/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20270803T160000Z
DTEND:20270803T170000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000316-1817294400-1817298000@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-21/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20270907T160000Z
DTEND:20270907T170000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000317-1820318400-1820322000@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-22/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20271005T160000Z
DTEND:20271005T170000Z
DTSTAMP:20260828T022933Z
UID:10000318-1822737600-1822741200@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260828T022933Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-23/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship - New Member Orientation
DTSTART:20271102T160000Z
DTEND:20271102T170000Z
DTSTAMP:20260901T190014Z
UID:10000319-1825156800-1825160400@innovateorlando.io
CATEGORIES:community,tech
DESCRIPTION:*Photo: West Orlando News\n \n \nOrlando is home to moonshot
 s and magic. I came up through creative industries\, then spent twelve yea
 rs at what was the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission\, now the
  Orlando Economic Partnership\, learning what it actually takes to move a 
 region. The slow\, structural work of building relationships that compound
 \, aligning incentives across sectors\, and creating the conditions where 
 the private market does things it would not do alone. I have worked alongs
 ide many regional leaders over the years. What I know about myself is that
  I am not done. I have more to give\, more to build\, and a clearer pictur
 e than ever of what it is actually going to take. \n\n\n\n\nAnd what it i
 s going to take is not another event. Not another building with innovation
  in the name. It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capi
 tal\, research to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of
  it to a regional strategy across cities and counties that compounds o
 ver time instead of resetting every grant cycle. The connective tissue tha
 t does not just celebrate the ecosystem but structurally advances it.  \n
 Innovate Orlando\, as it was\, was not that system. I say that with full 
 ownership. I ran it. And what I learned running it is that this work can
 not live outside the larger regional economic development infrastructure. 
 It has to be woven into it\, or it spends all of its energy trying to 
 be heard by the rooms it needs to be inside.  \nThat is why this decision
  is not hard. It is overdue.  \nI wanted you to hear this directly from m
 e: Innovate Orlando is transitioning its mission and programs back to the 
 Orlando Economic Partnership\, and I am returning with them as Vice Presid
 ent of Innovation\, effective March 9.  \nThis is about finding the right
  partnerships\, alignments\, and connected momentum to do this work at t
 he scale it deserves. Moving this work inside the Orlando Economic Partne
 rship means the mission is now backed by the full infrastructure of region
 al government\, industry\, academia\, and community partners working towar
 d the same goal. The platform is bigger. The reach is longer. The mission
  can have the infrastructure to match its ambition.  \nTech Connect\, t
 he Orlando Tech Summit and Community Awards\, and the Orlando Tech Grant a
 ll make the move. What comes next is not another program or another event.
  It is a repeatable system\, one that connects talent to capital\, researc
 h to commercialization\, founders to procurement\, and all of it to a regi
 onal strategy that compounds over time instead of resetting every grant cy
 cle.  \nThis is not a step away from the work. It is the work\, finally
  in the right kitchen. Orlando does not need more cheerleaders. It needs i
 nfrastructure that works.  \nNow scroll down. Because this week’s news 
 is exactly the argument I have been making the entire time. A Central Flor
 ida AV company is heading to the FIFA World Cup. UCF just launched a $3.5
  billion campaign\, its largest in history. An Orlando cybersecurity co
 mpany hosted a national conference in our own backyard. Space Florida open
 ed a $531M call for projects. And that is just the headline layer. The ful
 l picture is below\, and it will remind you why this region is not waiting
  to be discovered. It never was.  \n  \nSpace Coast and Aerospace  \nRe
 ad these four stories as phases of a single capital formation sequence. Pu
 blic infrastructure investment comes first and de-risks everything that fo
 llows. Private real estate comes second\, signaling long-term operational 
 commitment. International capital comes third\, validating that the regi
 on can compete globally. NASA is the backdrop that makes all three moves l
 egible.  \nBlue Origin’s $11.5M land acquisition in Cocoa is the kind o
 f move a company makes when it has already decided the Space Coast is a lo
 ng-term operating address\, not a launch convenience. That decision compou
 nds against Space Florida’s 2026 Spaceport Improvement Program\, which j
 ust opened a call for projects backed by $531M in state investment\, esse
 ntially a public infrastructure commitment that de-risks the private capi
 tal following behind it. EOS-X Space’s acquisition of Space Perspective 
 and its $650M+ combined valuation shows what happens when international ae
 rospace capital looks for a U.S. home and finds that this region has both 
 the infrastructure and the talent density to justify the bet. NASA’s Art
 emis 2 timeline\, still targeting April\, is the backdrop to all of it. Wh
 en public investment\, private real estate\, and international capital are
  all moving in the same direction at the same time\, that is not momentum.
  That is a thesis becoming infrastructure.  \n\nBlue Origin snags 20-acr
 e Cocoa site for $11.5M as latest Brevard expansion \n\n\nEOS-X Space Exp
 ands U.S. Footprint after Space Perspective Deal \n\n\nNASA repairs Artem
 is 2 moon rocket in hopes of an April lunar launch \n\n\nSpace Florida’
 s 2026 Call for Spaceport Projects\, $531M in state investment\, April 22 
 deadline \n\n  \nDefense\, Drones and Cybersecurity  \nRead these five 
 stories as a demand signal map. The government signals what it needs. The 
 private sector builds the product. The universities build the workforce. T
 hen the cycle repeats at a higher level. Every story in this section is a 
 different point on that loop.  \nOrange County’s $7M drone-as-first-r
 esponder program is a local government buying what the private market has 
 already proven works\, a direct downstream effect of companies and researc
 hers in this region building real-world drone operations for years. Centra
 l Florida’s role in the missile defense planning conversation runs direc
 tly through the modeling and simulation corridor\, home to more than 15\,0
 00 simulation professionals working across systems that range from missile
  guidance and radar tracking to autonomous vehicle training and pilot read
 iness. That is the digital infrastructure missile defense architecture req
 uires before a physical system is ever built. The golden dome starts with 
 a digital twin\, and this region is where those twins get made.   Threa
 tLocker’s Zero Trust World conference just made that demand signal visib
 le to thousands of security professionals gathered in Orlando this week\, 
 and Embry-Riddle answered with both a new aviation cybersecurity certifica
 tion program and a drone-based research deployment on Lake Okeechobee. Tho
 se same hyperspectral imaging and autonomous sampling systems being used t
 o study algae blooms can be adapted for border surveillance\, maritime pat
 rol\, and environmental threat detection. Embry-Riddle is not just doing e
 nvironmental research. It is building the operational proof of concept for
  a capability the defense community is actively looking for. These stories
  are not parallel. They are sequential. The research produces the workforc
 e. The workforce builds the products. The products win the contracts. The 
 contracts fund the next round of research.  \n\n$7M approved to fund firs
 t responder drones in Orange County \n\n\nCentral Florida’s role in Tru
 mp’s missile defense system \n\n\nThreatLocker Zero Trust World 2026\, 
 Orlando\, March 4-6 \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Launches Aviation Cybersecurity Tr
 aining and Certification \n\n\nEmbry-Riddle Researchers Develop Drone Tec
 h to Study Harmful Blue-Green Algae on Lake Okeechobee \n\n  \nHealth Te
 ch and Life Sciences  \nRead these three stories as a pipeline\, not a cl
 uster. The forum sets the agenda. The research fills it. The talent expor
 ts validate it globally and come back. That is how a health tech ecosyst
 em matures.  \nLake Nona’s Impact Forum argument\, that longevity is in
 separable from technology\, is easy to endorse on a panel stage. What make
 s it credible is the research pipeline sitting behind it. A UCF researcher
  developing a new therapy for diabetic neuropathy is working on a conditio
 n that affects more than 50% of people with diabetes and has no FDA-approv
 ed cure\, the kind of gap that attracts serious capital once clinical proo
 f of concept exists. A UCF doctoral graduate heading to Harvard Medical Sc
 hool to advance AI-driven clinical tools is exactly the talent export stor
 y that benchmarks a region’s research quality on a national stage\, even
  as it feels like a loss locally. Orlando’s health tech ecosystem is not
  built on one medical city with good architecture. It is built on a univer
 sity research pipeline that feeds institutions like Harvard\, and on appli
 ed science that is moving toward the clinic. Lake Nona is the platform. UC
 F is the engine underneath it.  \n\nLake Nona Impact Forum: There can’t
  be longevity without tech \n\n\nUCF Researcher Developing New Therapy to
  Treat Diabetic Neuropathy \n\n\nUCF Doctoral Grad Heads to Harvard Medic
 al School to Advance AI-Driven Clinical Tools \n\n  \nResearch\, Talent 
 and University Innovation  \nIf you wanted to design a regional innovatio
 n ecosystem from scratch\, you would do something that looks very much lik
 e what Central Florida’s universities are doing right now. UCF’s $3.5
  billion Go For Launch campaign is the largest fundraising effort in th
 e university’s history and it is essentially a capital formation eve
 nt for the ecosystem. The proceeds flow into research infrastructure\, sch
 olarships\, and facilities that the private sector will benefit from dir
 ectly. The $4M electron microscope is a small illustration of the larger l
 ogic: UCF is not just training students\, it is building shared research
  infrastructure that companies in the region can access without owning. Ro
 llins College’s addition of the Rick Goings Institute to its $200M Innov
 ation Triangle takes a different approach\, connecting liberal arts educat
 ion to entrepreneurship and economic development\, a bet that the skills g
 ap in the innovation economy is not purely technical.   \nAnd at Full Sa
 il University in Winter Park\, my alma mater\, student filmmakers just lan
 ded finalist spots in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition\, a preci
 se illustration of what happens when production-focused education puts stu
 dents on national stages before they graduate. These institutions are not 
 competing. They are covering different parts of the same talent and rese
 arch formation problem\, and the aggregate investment this week runs well 
 past $3.7 billion. That is not coincidence. That is a coordinated instit
 utional bet on this region’s trajectory.  \n\nUCF Launches $3.5 Billion
  Go For Launch Campaign \n\n\nUCF’s New $4M Electron Microscope Expands
  Research Access Across Campus\, Industry \n\n\nUCF Computer Science Prof
 essor Recognized for Contributions to Human-Computer Interaction \n\n\nNe
 w institute to join Rollins College’s $200M Innovation Triangle \n\n\nF
 ull Sail Filmmakers Named Finalists in Prestigious Nationwide Film Competi
 tion\, Coca-Cola Refreshing Films \n\n  \nStartups\, Capital and Busin
 ess Growth  \nRead these four stories as a capital stack\, not as isolate
 d company announcements. FirmPilot’s $22M Series A-1 in AI legal marke
 ting is venture capital flowing into vertical SaaS\, a signal that investo
 rs see Orlando-area companies as credible bets at growth-stage check sizes
 \, not just seed experiments. Kore.ai’s strategic growth investment fr
 om AllianceBernstein is institutional private credit entering the enterpri
 se AI story through an Orlando-headquartered company\, a different flavor 
 of capital\, from a different part of the market\, validating a differen
 t stage of growth. RSG Security’s California expansion and Laser Photoni
 cs’ consolidation to Lake Mary are operational scaling stories\, not fun
 draising announcements. They represent companies that have already raise
 d and are now executing. Together\, the four companies span early growth\,
  scale-up\, and operational maturity. That is what a functioning startup e
 cosystem looks like when it is working: multiple companies at multiple sta
 ges\, attracting multiple types of capital\, and still calling Central Fl
 orida home.  \nOne gap this newsletter never fully closed is the capital
  formation story itself. Who is writing the checks in Orlando? What does 
 the fund landscape actually look like? Where does a founder go when they 
 need a Series A and do not want to fly to San Francisco to get it? That is
  the story I am most eager to tell from inside OEP\, where the relationshi
 ps between capital\, institutions\, and founders can be mapped and connect
 ed at regional scale.  \n\nFirmPilot Secures $22 Million Series A-1 \n\n
 \nKore.ai Secures Strategic Growth Investment from AllianceBernstein \n\n
 \nMatthew Sierra\, Founder of RSG Security\, Scales Orlando’s Fastest-Gr
 owing Private Security Firm as Company Expands Into California \n\n\nLase
 r Photonics Announces Strategic Consolidation of Manufacturing Footprint t
 o Lake Mary\, Florida \n\n  \nTech Infrastructure and Economic Developme
 nt  \nRead these three stories as a market validation sequence. First ten
 ant\, first mobility operator\, first AV deployment at global scale. Eac
 h one lowers the risk for everything that follows.  \nTerracon signing as
  the first tenant at the Lake Mary Technology Center is significant not fo
 r the lease itself but for what a first tenant signals to every tenant tha
 t follows. The anchor has arrived\, the risk has been absorbed\, the addr
 ess is legitimate. Freebee’s EV rideshare launch in Lake Nona works the 
 same way: it is a Miami company choosing a Central Florida innovation di
 strict as its expansion market\, which tells you something about how that 
 district is perceived by operators making real capital allocation decision
 s outside of Florida. Beep is the furthest along of the three. An Altamo
 nte Springs company that built the first permanent AV deployment by any U.
 S. city is now carrying 150\,000 kilometers of verified real-world opera
 tions into the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta. That is a Central Florida compan
 y writing the operational playbook for autonomous mobility on a global sta
 ge. The infrastructure layer of this ecosystem is not background. It is th
 e proof of concept that makes everything else fundable.  \n\nLake Mary Te
 chnology Center lands engineering firm as first leaseholder \n\n\nMiami r
 ideshare company brings electric vehicles to Lake Nona \n\n\nBeep AV depl
 oyments launching in Altamonte Springs and Atlanta World Cup \n\n  \nIn 
 Case You Missed It  \nSpaceX’s March 3 Starlink launch from Cape Canave
 ral produced a jellyfish atmospheric effect visible across Central Florida
 \, striking enough that it trended locally\, routine enough that it barely
  made the business press. That tension is itself a story: Florida’s spac
 eport is now launching so frequently that rocket plumes have become regi
 onal weather. NASA’s separate announcement of a major change to its long
 -term lunar architecture adds policy context to the Artemis 2 repair timel
 ine. Watch this space as the downstream implications for Kennedy and the S
 pace Coast supply chain come into focus. Team Orlando’s SERDP and ESTCP 
 wildland fire safety tabletop exchange is the quietest story of the week\,
  but it is exactly the kind of cross-sector defense research collaboration
  that keeps the connective tissue of this community intact between the lar
 ger headlines. And an Orlando-area studio launches Everwind\, a sandbox s
 urvival RPG\, on Steam Early Access March 17\, a Central Florida game goin
 g live on one of the world’s largest gaming platforms.  \n\nSpaceX ‘j
 ellyfish’ launch recap: Live updates from Florida Starlink mission \n\n
 \nNASA Announces Major Change to Plans For Putting Humans on The Moon \n\
 n\nSERDP and ESTCP host wildland safety\, fire PPE tabletop exchange \n\n
 \nSandbox Survival RPG Everwind launches on March 17 via Steam Early Acces
 s \n\n  \nThank You  \nThis newsletter was never the point. It was evid
 ence.  \nEvidence that this ecosystem had stories worth telling. Evidence
  that the founders\, researchers\, operators\, and investors building in O
 rlando deserved the same attention as the regions that simply had better P
 R. Evidence that connective tissue\, the unglamorous\, unsponsored\, unsex
 y work of linking people and ideas and capital across a geography\, is the
  difference between a collection of companies and an actual ecosystem.  \
 nThat evidence is now substantial.  \nDavid Adelson built the foundation
 . Ashley McMullan built it with me week after week. Our sponsors and board
  made the long bet. This community showed up and proved it was worth makin
 g.  \nThe next chapter of this work continues at the Orlando Economic Par
 tnership. Stay connected. Keep submitting. Keep showing up to the summits
 \, applying for the grants\, and making the introductions that move this e
 cosystem forward. The connective tissue holds because you hold it.  \nA
 nd if you have a story worth telling\, you already know where to find me.
   \n  \n— Sheena Fowler  \n\n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n							
 		\nCheck out upcoming events here\n\n\n  \n \n 								\n				\n				\n			
 	\n									\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoin the movement by becoming an invest
 or in Innovate Orlando to propel Central Florida’s tech and innovation 
 ecosystem \n\n\n\nJoin Now\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \
 n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									Investor Highlight
 \n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nFlorida High Tech Corridor
  is a vital force in Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem\, bringing 
 together world-class research institutions like the University of Central 
 Florida and a collaborative network of industry\, academia\, and economic 
 partners to grow high-tech industries and opportunities across a 23-county
  region. Anchored by Orlando’s thriving technology community\, \nThe Cor
 ridor fuels innovation through strategic research partnerships\, workforce
  development programs\, and initiatives that help startups and established
  firms alike advance cutting-edge technologies and talent pipelines. Its d
 edication to boundary-breaking collaboration and community-driven innovati
 on accelerates economic growth\, strengthens Orlando’s role as a regiona
 l tech hub\, and fosters long-term prosperity across sectors from aerospac
 e to life sciences.  \n\n\nLearn more at: Florida High Tech Corridor 			
 					\n				\n				\n				\n									Innovate Orlando News\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nAMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA CONSORTIUM: VISIBILITY FOR T
 HE REGION’S INNOVATORS\n\n  \nCentral Florida is emerging as a nation
 al hub for technology\, simulation\, space\, health innovation\, and clea
 ntech but small and mid-sized enterprises often lack the resources to com
 pete with global brands shaping online narratives. The new Amplify Centra
 l Florida Consortium provides shared-investment marketing infrastructure 
 for forward-thinking companies\, delivering enterprise-grade branding\, mu
 ltimedia production\, and strategic communications.  \nMembership tiers 
 (preferred rates through March 2026):  \n\nVisibility Package: $450 (Blin
 kCo. Mag feature reaching 1M+ viewers) \n\n\nVideo Essential Kit: $2\,975
 /mo (monthly production session\, 3-mo commitment) \n\n\nLifestyle Story 
 Kit: $4\,025/mo (30-day content plan + cinematic video) \n\n\nPrestige Fe
 ature Kit: $5\,075/mo (8-12 short-form videos + BlinkCo. distribution) \n
 \nLed by Amóre Marketing & Productions\, the Consortium elevates indivi
 dual companies while strengthening Central Florida’s competitive profile
 . Perfect timing ahead of the Orlando Tech Summit\, contact Soyini Chang (
 soyini@blinkcomedia.com | 646-932-0907) to explore membership. \n  \n\n\n
 \n\n More Info\n\n\n\n  \n\n  								\n				\n				\n				\n									Orla
 ndo’s tech scene\, all in one place.\nFrom meetups to moonshots\, if it
 ’s happening in innovation\, it’s on our calendar. \n \n\n\n\n\nEvents
 \n\n\n\n \n\n \n 								\n				\n				\n				\n									\n \n\nNeed a venu
 e for your next event or workshop? Host at Tech Hub Orlando!\n \n\n \nConv
 eniently located in Downtown Orlando\, we offer rental spaces including  
 conference rooms\, breakout rooms\, auditorium\, reception space\, and mor
 e!  Tech Hub Orlando is more than just a space\, it’s a home for Cent
 ral Florida’s tech and innovation community. Designed to foster collabo
 ration\, growth\, and connection\, our hub is here to support startups\, e
 ntrepreneurs\, and businesses looking to make an impact. \nContact us for
  more info!\n \n \n\n\n\nCheck us out!
LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T190014Z
URL:https://innovateorlando.io/event/women-in-tech-entrepreneurship-new-me
 mber-orientation-24/
X-SOURCE-NAME:Innovate Orlando
X-SOURCE-URL:https://innovateorlando.io
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR