Tampa Bay ecosystem map v0

"Unverified" = aggregator, snippet, paywall headline, stale source, or not on the cited page. "Ray's read" = Ray's analysis, not a sourced fact. Form D rows are filer-typed; see [[2026-09-23-formd-tampa-60d]].

(a) What's getting funded (2025-2026)

Aggregate. Tampa Bay startups raised nearly $300M in the first half of 2026, led by cybersecurity (Tampa Bay Business Journal headline, paywalled, unverified: https://alpha-maven.com/story/venture-capital/tampa-bay-startups-raised-nearly-300m-in-first-half-of-2026-led-by-sizable-cybersecurity-rounds-the-business-journals). Tampa Bay Wave's portfolio raised a record $500M in 2025 (https://www.globenewswire.com/de/news-release/2025/12/17/3207173/0/en/Tampa-Bay-Wave-Portfolio-Companies-Surpass-500-Million-Raised-in-a-Single-Record-Breaking-Year.html) and passed $2B cumulative by Sep 2026 (https://tbbwmag.com/2026/09/18/tampa-startups-2-billion/).

By industry (press):

• Cyber: ReliaQuest raised $500M+ at a $3.4B valuation (Mar 2025, https://reliaquest.com/news-and-press/reliaquest-raises-more-than-500-million-in-funding-at-a-valuation-of-3-4-billion/). TENEX.AI (Sarasota) raised a $27M Series A in Sep 2025 (https://tenex.ai/news/tenex-seriesa/). A Tampa announcement is unverified: the cited page lists only a Sarasota address.
• Applied AI / software: STELLA Automotive AI raised a $22.1M Series B (Sep 2026, https://tbbwmag.com/2026/09/22/stella-automotive-ai-funding/). Force Equals raised a $2.2M seed (https://tbbwmag.com/2026/02/10/force-equals-raises-2-2m-seed-round-tampa/). Iteright raised a $1.3M pre-seed (https://stpetecatalyst.com/bay-area-ai-startup-receives-1-3m-in-pre-seed-round/).
• Fintech: Grifin raised an $11M Series A in Jun 2025 (https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/18/grifin-secures-11-million-to-make-investing-less-intimidating/). Its Tampa Bay location is unverified: the cited page names no city.
• Edtech: Knack (Tampa) closed a Series B, amount undisclosed (https://www.hypepotamus.com/knack-series-b-funding-qa-samyr-qureshi-edtech-tampa/).
• Proptech / space: DLAnalyzer raised a $1M pre-seed (https://www.hypepotamus.com/dlanalyzer-commercial-real-estate-investing/). Seagate Space (St. Pete) took the first investment from New World Angels' Space & Defense Ventures Group in Jan 2026; round size and stage are not stated (https://www.newworldangels.com/news/new-world-angels-invests-seagate-space).
• Biotech / health: see (d).

Form D, last 60 days. The Tampa-ZIP run found 25 operating-company rows and 41 fund and special purpose vehicle (SPV) rows. Mostly "Other"/"Other Technology." Notable: Peritas AI (Brandon, $5.5M sold; board lists Rony Abovitz), Huupe (Palm Harbor, $9.63M), Radius of Self (St. Pete, $3.6M), Bioinsights (Lutz, $2.75M). Filer-reported.

(b) Investors and angel groups active locally

• FLF (Florida Funders), Tampa. Early-stage investor; rebranded from Florida Funders to FLF in May 2025 with a Southeast focus (https://www.floridafunders.com/blog/flf-unveils-bold-new-brand). In Aug 2026 FLF and The Florida Institute launched Florida First Check: FLF places $75,000-$100,000 pre-seed first checks for the Institute; the first went to Stello AI (Tampa) (https://www.floridafunders.com/blog/florida-first-check-pre-seed-investment). Saxon Baum became Managing Partner in Jan 2026 (https://www.floridafunders.com/blog/flf-appoints-saxon-baum-managing-partner). FLF Accelerate Fund filed a Form D ($2.68M sold of $5M; [[2026-09-23-formd-tampa-60d]]).
• Ballast Point, Tampa. Growth capital for private companies "located primarily in the Southeast and Texas" (https://ballastpointpartners.com/). A lead of Takt's $9.25M round (Aug 2026) is unverified: the cited page does not mention it.
• TampaBay.Ventures. A $25M seed fund (https://tampabay.ventures/about/). Its news page has no item newer than Jun 24, 2024 (https://tampabay.ventures/news/).
• TiE Tampa Bay Angels (https://tietampabay.org/tie-tampa-bay-programs/tie-tampa-bay-angels/). A 2026 deal is unverified.
• New World Angels (Boca Raton, active in Tampa Bay). Its Innovation Fund led Iteright's $1.3M pre-seed (https://stpetecatalyst.com/bay-area-ai-startup-receives-1-3m-in-pre-seed-round/). Miami Angels joined New World Angels to form one investor platform (https://www.newworldangels.com/); the date is unverified.
• Coastal Community Fund, St. Pete. Launched Jun 2025 with a $25k minimum (https://stpetecatalyst.com/community-investment-fund-launches-supports-st-pete-startup/).
• TGH Ventures (Tampa General Hospital's venture fund). Grew from $10M to $25M in 2026 and now backs 14 companies (https://tbbwmag.com/2026/09/14/tampa-general-ai/).
• State capital:
  • Florida Opportunity Fund lists Tenex (Sarasota) in its portfolio (https://www.floridaopportunityfund.com/portfolio).
  • The Florida Growth Fund made $35.3M of direct investments in 15 companies in fiscal year 2024-25, out of $64.3M total (https://oppaga.fl.gov/Documents/Reports/25-09.pdf).
• Form D signal: 5 of the 41 fund/SPV rows are filer-typed venture capital funds: FLF Accelerate Fund (Tampa), ARK Strategic Capital Fund II (St. Pete), and Alpha Funds VIII, VIII-A and VIII-B (Odessa). The other 36 are 10 hedge funds, 5 private equity funds, 11 other investment funds, and 10 rows typed Other, Investing, Residential, Other Technology, or Oil and Gas ([[2026-09-23-formd-tampa-60d]]).
• Not found: "Tampa Bay Angels," "Suncoast angels," "Sixty Six Capital."

(c) Hubs, accelerators, communities (2025-2026; cells marked "unverified" are not on the cited page)

Recurring meetups:

• 1 Million Cups: St. Pete meets 9-10am every Wednesday at The Greenhouse (https://business.stpete.com/eventcalendar/Details/1million-cups-1668337). Tampa has a 2026 multi-date Eventbrite series at the ECC, listed from Wed Jan 7 at 9am; weekly cadence unverified; on Sep 23, 2026 the Eventbrite page showed "Event ended" (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1-million-cups-tampa-2026-tickets-1965515026354).
• Tampa Bay AI Meetup: 2,424 members; cadence not stated on the group page (https://www.meetup.com/tampa-artificial-intelligence-meetup/).
• Data Analytics & AI - Tampa Bay: monthly, Wednesdays (https://www.meetup.com/dataanalyticstampa/).
• Tampa Snowflake User Group: inaugural kickoff and hands-on lab Tue Jan 27, 2026 at COhatch West Tampa; cadence unknown (https://usergroups.snowflake.com/events/details/snowflake-florida-presents-tampa-snowflake-user-group-kickoff-amp-hands-on-lab-event/). It runs under the Florida Snowflake User Group (https://usergroups.snowflake.com/florida/).
• Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Central & North Florida: Tampa networking event on Nov 18, 2026 (https://centralnorthflorida.himss.org/events/tampa-networking-event-6).

Annual events:

• Tampa Bay Tech Week, 2027 edition across Tampa and St. Pete; month unverified (https://www.tampabaytechweek.com/).
• BSides Tampa, May (https://bsidestampa.net/).

Calendars: tampa.dev; Global Nerdy weekly list (https://www.globalnerdy.com/2026/09/14/tampa-bay-tech-entrepreneur-and-nerd-events-list-monday-september-14-sunday-september-20/).

Dead or uncertain:

• The Synapse Summit has been discontinued (https://synapsefl.com/).
• Tampa Bay Data Science Group: 2026 calendar showed only speaker-request placeholders (unverified: no source link recorded).
• Techstars Tampa, Startup Grind Tampa, and Station House are uncertain.
• No dbt, edtech, or Venture Café group was found.

Ray's read (analysis, unverified): The empty Tampa Bay Data Science Group calendar may be an open speaking slot.

(d) Healthcare / life sciences

Institutions:

• Tampa General (TGH). Is deploying Palantir's Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) as a "Care Coordination Operating System," including revenue cycle management. Its Palantir-built Sepsis Hub is credited with 700+ lives saved as of Nov 2025 (https://www.tgh.org/news/tgh-press-releases/2025/december/tampa-general-hospital-and-palantir-technologies-honored-with-inno-award-for-partnership). Agentic call-center assistants have handled 2M+ calls (https://tbbwmag.com/2026/09/14/tampa-general-ai/). A report of 61 AI apps is unverified (403).
• Moffitt. Has a Machine Learning Department chaired by Dr. Issam El Naqa (https://www.moffitt.org/research-science/divisions-and-departments/quantitative-science/machine-learning/). Its Speros campus in Pasco held a grand opening for its outpatient cancer center in Jan 2026; an AI or data-science focus for Speros is unverified (https://www.wusf.org/health-news-florida/2026-01-19/moffitt-holds-grand-opening-outpatient-cancer-center-burgeoning-pasco-campus). It has a PathAI digital-pathology deal (https://www.moffitt.org/newsroom/news-releases/pathai-and-moffitt-cancer-center-announce-strategic-collaboration-to-deploy-the-aisight-dx-digital-pathology-platform-and-advance-ai-diagnostics/).
• BayCare. Gets $8.35M+ in Florida's 2026-27 budget for a neonatal intensive care unit at its planned BayCare Hospital Manatee, Pasco behavioral health services, and chronic-care programs (https://tbbwmag.com/2026/07/13/baycare-expansion/). Hospital count, Clearwater headquarters, and ambient-documentation use are unverified (not on the cited page).
• USF Health and the Bellini College of AI, Cybersecurity and Computing (https://www.usf.edu/health/delivering-health-excellence/2026/ai-future-medicine.aspx).
• Johns Hopkins All Children's. Its pediatric data science center won 2026 awards (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/publications/all-childrens-hospital/2026).

Raises and deals:

• Psilera (Tampa, biotech): $8.8M seed round (May 2026) (https://www.finsmes.com/2026/05/psilera-raises-8-8m-in-seed-funding.html).
• TSOLife (senior-living resident-data platform): $43M Series B led by PeakSpan Capital, May 2025 (https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/tsolife-raises-43m-expedite-product-development). Tampa location unverified: the cited page names no city.
• Avalon Healthcare Solutions (diagnostic-policy automation for 30+ health plans): strategic investment from Francisco Partners and WindRose Health Investors, Jan 2026 (https://hitconsultant.net/2026/01/15/investments-avalon-healthcare-solutions-windrose-francisco-funding-2026/). Tampa location and majority stake unverified (not on the cited page).
• Healthlink Advisors (St. Pete health-IT consultancy): acquired by Chartis (https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2025/11/12/healthcare-it-consulting-firm-healthlink-advisors-joins-chartis/).

Form D healthcare, last 60 days. The run returned 19 Florida operating-company rows (10 Biotechnology, 8 Other Health Care, 1 Pharmaceuticals) and 1 fund row. Only one is in Tampa Bay: PulsePoint EP (Tampa), $0 sold of $13M. The rest are elsewhere in Florida (e.g. EXUMA Biotech, West Palm Beach, $70M).

Where AI/data work happens:

• TGH's Palantir deployment (Care Coordination Operating System, Sepsis Hub).
• Moffitt's Machine Learning department.
• Greenway Health (Tampa; electronic health record (EHR), practice-management and revenue cycle management vendor). In Jan 2026 it launched an "Agentic AI Factory" built with AWS (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/greenway-health-launches-agentic-ai-factory-to-redefine-the-future-of-healthcare-technology-302665952.html). Its Novare EHR platform has a separate release; coding and prior-authorization features are unverified.
• HealthTech/X's 2026 cohort, run with Vanderbilt Health, focuses on behavioral health (https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/09/23/3367780/0/en/tampa-bay-wave-collaborates-with-vanderbilt-health-to-launch-dual-region-healthtech-x-accelerator-for-behavioral-health-and-addiction-startups.html).
• Optum/Florida Blue/Centene Tampa data teams: unverified.

Family-adjacent angles:

• Oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS): This pass found no Tampa OMFS residency. Florida programs include the University of Miami/Jackson Health System residency (https://graduate.jacksonhealth.org/program/oral-maxillofacial-surgery/) and the University of Florida (unverified: no source link recorded). USF has no dental school (unverified: no source link recorded). The nearest dental school is the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine, with clinics in Bradenton (https://lecom.edu/dental/). Dental service organization headquarters cluster in Sarasota, for example Dental Care Alliance (unverified). See [[01-projects/life/2026-07-21-family-medical-careers-scenario]].
• Applied behavior analysis (ABA): USF's ABA programs earned top national rankings for certification-exam pass rates (Aug 2024, https://www.usf.edu/cbcs/news/2024/usf-aba-exam-rankings.aspx). This pass found no Tampa-based private-equity-backed ABA platform or ABA software company; a search miss is not proof of absence.
  • Ray's read (analysis, unverified): HealthTech/X's behavioral-health and addiction focus is the nearest live hook for the family's ABA connection. The Vanderbilt release does not mention ABA or autism.
• Clinical research:
  • CenExel Tampa is expanding (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cenexel-clinical-research-network-expands-capabilities-across-sites-nationwide-302702099.html).
  • Alcanza acquired Tampa Bay Medical Research (https://markets.financialcontent.com/wral/article/247pressrelease-2026-1-5-alcanza-clinical-research-announces-strategic-acquisition-of-tampa-bay-medical-research).
  • Moffitt runs 400+ clinical trials (unverified figure).
• Revenue cycle management (RCM) / explanation of benefits (EOB) AI: This pass found no funded Tampa RCM/EOB AI startup. Search scope: the 60-day Tampa and Florida-healthcare Form D runs ([[2026-09-23-formd-tampa-60d]]) and 2025-2026 web research. A search miss is not proof of absence. Nearest local work: Greenway's RCM product line; TGH's Palantir deployment, which includes revenue cycle management (TGH link above); and Moffitt's Apr 2024 proof of concept with NVIDIA, Oracle and Deloitte, which fine-tunes a large language model (LLM) on about 100,000 inpatient notes to improve coding accuracy and reduce claim denials (https://www.moffitt.org/newsroom/news-releases/moffitt-cancer-center-to-revolutionize-cancer-care-delivery-using-ai-and-machine-learning-with-nvidia-oracle-and-deloitte/). Related: the acquisition funnel's home health / RCM lane ([[01-projects/acquisitions/2026-08-30-shortlist-refresh-scored]]).
  • Ray's read (analysis, unverified): If a wider search confirms the miss, Tampa has room for a local RCM/EOB AI startup.

(e) Ten highest-value first coffees (Ray's analysis, unverified)

The ranking and each "Why (Ray's read)" line are analysis. Facts carry citations.

1. Scott Arnold, TGH Chief Digital & Innovation Officer, or his team (https://tbbwmag.com/2026/09/14/tampa-general-ai/). Facts: agentic AI assistants answered 2M+ calls since Sep 2025, and TGH Ventures grew to $25M (same link). Why (Ray's read): the most visible production health-AI work found in this pass, attached to an active investor.
2. Linda Olson, Tampa Bay Wave CEO (Dec 2025 release above). Facts: HealthTech/X's 2026 cohort focuses on behavioral health and addiction (Sep 23, 2026 release above), and the Wave has 670+ portfolio companies (https://tbbwmag.com/2026/09/18/tampa-startups-2-billion/). Why (Ray's read): behavioral health sits next to ABA, and the portfolio gives her wide deal visibility.
3. Greenway Health's Agentic AI Factory product lead (role; no person named). Fact: a Tampa EHR and RCM vendor building agentic AI with AWS (Greenway link above). Why (Ray's read): the closest local build to the RCM/EOB venture thesis.
4. Dr. Issam El Naqa, Chair of Moffitt's Machine Learning Department (https://www.moffitt.org/research-science/divisions-and-departments/quantitative-science/machine-learning/; the page names him Chair in a 2026 item on his American Society for Radiation Oncology fellowship). Why (Ray's read): oncology AI meets clinical trials.
5. Saxon Baum, FLF Managing Partner (Jan 2026 link above). Fact: FLF places Florida First Check's $75,000-$100,000 pre-seed checks (link above). Why (Ray's read): local capital, deal flow, and a pre-seed door.
6. Embarc Collective community lead (role). Fact: Embarc supports 145+ startups and is opening a St. Pete hub (Sep 17, 2026 link above). Why (Ray's read): a direct route to founders on both sides of the bay.
7. Tampa Bay AI Meetup organizers (https://www.meetup.com/tampa-artificial-intelligence-meetup/). Fact: 2,424 members. Why (Ray's read): a speaking slot there puts a Claude/data practitioner in front of a 2,400-member local AI group.
8. Tampa Snowflake User Group organizers (https://usergroups.snowflake.com/florida/). Fact: the Tampa group held its first event Jan 27, 2026 (event link above). Why (Ray's read): phData home turf ([[01-projects/phdata/cert-progress]]); a new group lets early members shape it.
9. USF ABA faculty in Child & Family Studies (role). Fact: USF's ABA programs sit in the Department of Child and Family Studies and top national exam-pass rankings (2024 link above). Why (Ray's read): data problems in behavior analysis, and a bridge to the family's ABA-executive connection.
10. Samyr Qureshi, Knack founder and Executive Chair (Hypepotamus Q&A, Oct 2025, link above). Facts: he founded Knack in Tampa in 2015; with the Series B he stepped down as CEO to become Executive Chair, and Megan Dusenbery (Austin) became CEO. Why (Ray's read): the closest local edtech peer for Scribble Works ([[01-projects/printables-product/index]]).

Correction — 2026-10-01 (deep-research)

Two amendments from [[2026-10-01-national-rcm-eob-ai-behavioral-health-scan]], which ran the national scan this map called for:

1. Section (d)'s read that "Tampa has room for a local RCM/EOB AI startup" is geographically true but strategically weak. This is software sold nationally. A gap in Tampa is not a gap in the market. The national scan found the lane occupied at the top by one credible venture-backed entrant (Camber) — occupied, though not crowded.

2. The Form D negative carries less weight than this map assumed. The map correctly flagged that "a search miss is not proof of absence." The national scan established why: SEC EDGAR Form D is nearly blind to venture-stage healthcare software. Full-text search returned zero Form D hits for Camber, Thoughtful AI, Finni Health, Raven Health and Nirvana Health — all with publicly reported rounds. The only Form D in the entire scan was Behave Health Corp (2019).

Method implication for future ecosystem maps: go company-site-first plus state filings (Sunbiz / Delaware / Washington). Treat an EDGAR negative as uninformative for this cohort rather than as evidence of absence.