New academic partnerships will propel St. Pete startups

The ARK Innovation Center in St. Petersburg has a new resident with funding and intellectual property to propel local entrepreneurs: The USF Institute of Applied Engineering. 

Based on the University of South Florida Tampa campus and flush with military contracts, the Institute of Applied Engineering, in collaboration with the Florida High Tech Corridor, will establish a presence at the startup incubator. Prominent investor Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Invest, chairs the ARK Innovation Center’s board. 

Taylor Johnston, COO of the Institute of Applied Engineering, said the mutually beneficial partnerships would bring USF students and researchers closer to investors, entrepreneurs and the maritime and defense industry cluster in St. Petersburg’s Innovation District. The new agreement will also provide local founders with access to the Florida High Tech Corridor’s Matching Grants Research Program. 

“Just being next to those companies – there’s always the opportunity to iterate, to throw ideas against each other,” Johnston told the Catalyst. “Just being present in the space is beneficial all around. The more people you have in there, the better ideas flow.”

The U.S. Department of Defense could invest heavily in some of those ideas. Researchers at the Institute of Applied Engineering (IAE), founded in 2018, focus on national security specialty projects and dual-use technologies with government and civilian applications. 

The IAE will facilitate an $85 million U.S. Army contract awarded to USF in September. U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), based at MacDill Air Force Base, recently renewed a five-year, $85 million contract with the university. 

Johnston said there are “four legs to the stool of defense innovation.” Those include academic institutions, venture capital, startups and a military customer, “at the end.” 

The Florida High Tech Corridor is an economic development initiative encompassing three research institutions: USF, the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida. Partnering with the organization allows the IAE to access up to $150,000 in grant funding. 

Johnston said the goal is to help startups “grab some defense money to build that commercial vertical,” and vice versa. The academic institution “in the middle” provides intellectual property (IP), research and “that expert kind of insight” into both processes. 

From left: Sierra Perez, program planner analyst for the Florida High Tech Corridor; Becca Brown, CEO of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center; Taylor Johnston, COO of the USF Institute of Technology Applied Engineering; and Elizabeth Nelson, program director for the Florida High Tech Corridor. Photo: Vickie Chachere.

Wood bought the ARK Innovation Center’s naming rights after moving her company to St. Petersburg in 2021. The 45,000-square-foot facility, which opened in December 2024, has recently strengthened ties with the surrounding Innovation District and its Maritime and Defense Technology Hub. 

Becca Brown, CEO of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, said in a prepared statement that partnering with IAE and Corridor would bring “world-class research and applied innovation directly into the ARK Innovation Center.” USF St. Pete, the College of Marine Science, the Hub and several government agencies are just across Bayboro Harbor from the evolving facility. 

“Together, we’re creating a living lab where academia, industry and entrepreneurs collaborate to turn breakthrough ideas into real-world impact,” Brown added. “We are thrilled about this partnership.” 

Paul Sohl, CEO of the Corridor, said the partnership aligns with the organization’s mission to advance innovation across a 23-county region. “This unique center, in the heart of one of Florida’s most dynamic innovation hubs, is a launchpad for collaboration between investors, entrepreneurs, researchers and industry leaders who are coming together to solve problems and shape the future.” 

Johnston said he works with Alison Barlow, executive director of the Innovation District, on a weekly, “if not daily basis.” Partnering with the center will expand IAE engagement across the bay. 

Johnston expects ideas to cross-pollinate at the ARK Innovation Center. For example, the IAE could realize that a member’s technology meets a defense department need and offer its expertise to bridge the gap. 

While those collaborations could lead to a licensing agreement, Johnston stressed that the IAE would not infringe upon a startup’s IP. “Sometimes it’s just us doing an evaluation, but we believe that at least establishing an office like this around those other small businesses can help inspire USF faculty, students and graduate students to maybe go down their own entrepreneurial way,” he said. 

“If you didn’t have this kind of engagement, there’s not an avenue or an outlet for those folks at USF who call St. Pete home to see that there is a supportive infrastructure for them to grow their business.”

Johnston added that the defense department “wants to make stronger bets on younger technology companies” through its non-dilutive grant proposals. He believes the new partnerships could help “de-risk” investments from the agency and venture capital firms.