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Tampa Bay Innovation Center gets rebranded
“These technologies are going to permeate every industry, every sector and every company,”
Leaders of the ARK Invest-backed Tampa Bay Innovation Center celebrated a new chapter in the business accelerator’s story Wednesday.
It will now be known as spARK Labs by ARK Invest.
This rebranding reflects a change in strategic direction and leadership, said CEO Rebecca Brown, who began her tenure in July. An open house event at the ARK Innovation Center, where the nonprofit is headquartered, was held to mark the occasion.
Now incubating 25 companies, spARK Labs launched a new program to help businesses scale and grow in October. Startup leaders can receive one on one support, collaborate with the ARK Invest research team and gain access to a group of advisors. Capital opportunities are also available.
“It’s a whole new focus on the disruptive innovation technologies that ARK Invest really spearheads. So, we are incubating companies across artificial intelligence, robotics, energy storage, blockchain and multiomics biology technologies,” Brown explained to the Catalyst.
“That’s really important for us as a society because those are the themes that are converging and affecting every aspect of our lives.”
The nonprofit, which was founded in 2003, has been based at the ARK Innovation Center, at 1101 4th St. South, St., since January 2024.
Constructing a building for the organization was a lengthy process. When ARK Invest relocated to St. Petersburg from New York in 2021, it became a partner in the $15.87 million project.
ARK Invest founder and CEO Cathie Wood believes investing in startups and modern technologies can help the Tampa Bay area become a national innovation hub.
She explained at the Wednesday event that many technological advancements came from the defense industry, which played a role in the success of the Silicon Valley area in California. The proximity to MacDill Air Force Base could be a catalyst for more research and development in the region.
Innovations such as artificial intelligence are transforming the way business is conducted, Wood said.
“We’ve got to understand that these technologies are going to permeate every industry, every sector and every company, blurring the lines between them,” she explained.
“Disruptive innovation means the traditional world order is going to change and it is so important to get students and communities on the right side of change.”
spARK Labs by ARK Invest website
