March 11, 2025

First Off

Announcements and the like

Anjelica:

Happy Tuesday, Tampa Bay!

We've got the latest on Arnie Bellini's eight-figure gift to the University of South Florida, Tampa General Hospital's multiyear AI partnership with a Denver tech giant and Tampa-based Deepwatch's latest cyber appointment. 

Let's get to The Beat.

The Big One 

A breakdown of the day's biggest Inno story 

Arnie Bellini gives $40M to establish USF's Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing

USF has secured a historic $40M gift to support its new college dedicated to artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and computing. The donation comes from tech entrepreneur Arnie Bellini of Bellini Capital and his wife, Lauren Bellini.

In recognition, the school — set to open this fall — will be named the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing. It marks the largest single gift in USF’s history. Speaking with me last week, Bellini called the partnership a “match made in heaven.”

Read the full story here

Making Moves

Quick hits on the local startups and companies making moves

• TGH is expanding its collaboration with Denver-based Palantir Technologies. As part of the deal, Palantir is also making a physical commitment to Tampa Bay’s health care ecosystem. The tech giant will lease space in TGH’s new medical and research district, further embedding its engineers into the hospital’s daily operations.

  Read more here

• Deepwatch, a Tampa-based managed security platform has appointed cybersecurity veteran, Robert Willis as executive vice president of global cyber operations. Willis will lead the company’s cybersecurity strategies and operations on a global scale.

  Check out more here

• St. Petersburg-based DPI Laboratory, a specialty digital print innovation company, has launched. The UV printing company provides UV printers, high-performance inks, specialty coatings and expert consulting services for businesses seeking high-quality, cost-effective printing solutions.

  Learn more here

• Spectrum, an arm of telecommunications company Charter Communications, has promoted Geoff Banning to regional vice president of the company's Southeast region which includes Florida. The veteran field operations leader will be based out of the company's St. Pete office.

  Click for more here

   

Featured Jobs

Below are featured jobs from our Careers Directory. To feature a job in this newsletter, read more.

• AI Strategy & Design Healthcare Sector, Manager - EY
• AI Data Specialist - Deloitte 
• Technology Strategy & Innovation Lead - VetJobs 
• Cloud Operations Manager - Raymond James

In the Know

The local startup and innovation stories you need to read today

• After a decade hiatus, TEDx is returning to Tampa
• Moffitt becomes first standalone cancer center to open Nikon Center of Excellence
• Techstars' affiliate pitch program in Tampa aims to fill a gap for early-stage companies
  

Elsewhere in Inno 

Stories from around the Inno network we think you'll dig

• Medius sees Jacksonville office as key driver of global growth for fintech giant - First Coast Inno

• SpaceX eyes massive expansion, job growth at Cape Canaveral - Orlando Inno

• Women-led startups secured more money in 2024, but there could be trouble ahead - Miami Inno

Events

The events and happenings to know in the ecosystem

March

12

March

13

March

14

March

14-16

Tampa Bay Q1 Healthtech Meetup

Scholar Education's AI in Action Webinar Series

Entrepreneur Collaborative Center 10 Year Anniversary

Techstars Startup Weekend Tampa Bay

The Rubin Roundup 

A little bit more

Anjelica: At the end of last year, I reported on St. Pete's Saildrone securing a $1.6M contract to map Florida’s coastal seafloor. You can read that article here. The multiyear effort will enhance the understanding of the state's coastal vulnerability and hurricane impact and support ongoing coastal resilience efforts and flood risk mapping.

The launch of two Saildrone Voyagers to begin the mapping mission was successful this past weekend. The initiative builds on the Florida Coastal Mapping Program, which was led by federal and state agencies and other community stakeholders to generate a high-resolution seafloor data set of Florida’s coastal waters by 2028.

Inno Info

In-no-fo? Inn-fo? 

Interested in sponsoring this email?

Please contact mloucks@bizjournals.com for more information and sponsorship opportunities.

Have a tip or scoop? Feel free to submit it anonymously.

Contact Inno:
Send news to arubin@bizjournals.com