Tampa General Hospital is the first hospital in Florida to successfully complete a urologic surgery using a sophisticated new robot, cutting just one small incision to allow for a faster and less painful recovery. The robot, Intuitive’s da Vinci SP surgical system, was used Thursday to remove a patient’s cancerous prostate, a news release said.
St. Petersburg-based marketing firm Big Sea was named “Marketer of the Year” by the Tampa Bay chapter of the American Marketing Association in two categories. Big Sea was honored for content marketing for a campaign for Florida Physical Medicine and for digital marketing for a campaign for Pin Chasers.
The University of South Florida ranked No. 73 among 462 schools on the inaugural 2019 Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings. The rankings measure the social and economic impact of institutions worldwide. USF was the top university in Florida and fifth best in the nation.
The St. Petersburg Development Review Commission unanimously approved a site plan and variance for Grand Central Brewhouse & Restaurant, including a micro-brewery and tasting room. One commissioner called the project "exciting" and another said he was glad the site would be cleaned up. The property, at 2324 Central Ave., is the site of a former Taco Bus that closed in 2017.
Community Brands, a St. Petersburg software firm, acquired Attendee Interactive, a Maryland-based company specializing in conference planning and event management. The deal follows Community Brands' March 22 acquisition of Core-apps and TripBuilder Media, also event management software companies. Community Brands, which provides software and payment solutions to associations, nonprofits, schools and faith-based groups, did not disclose financial details.
TAO Connect, a St. Petersburg tech company with a digital platform aimed at making behavioral health therapy more accessible, partnered with the University of Ottawa. Students can access the TAO platform with wellness tools on the go, in addition to in-person sessions on campus. A grant from the National Science Foundation last year allowed TAO to develop a French language version of its therapeutic software to extend its reach into Canada.
deepwatch, a St. Petersburg-based provider of managed security services, raised $23 million in Series A funding led by ABS Capital Partners. deepwatch said it would use the money to accelerate research and development for its machine learning security analytics platform, as well as go-to-market expansion.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush joined the board of directors of Protect My Car, a St. Petersburg-based company that provides extended warranty products for vehicles. Bush is managing partner and chairman of Dock Square Capital, which acquired a minority stake in Protect My Car. Financial terms were not disclosed. Protect My Car is a portfolio company of Crestview Capital.
Arora Engineers completed the acquisition of Electronic Data Inc. in St. Petersburg. EDI is a business process consulting and technology firm that specializes in maintenance, asset, and facility life cycles, as well as integrated workplace management systems. Arora, an engineering firm in Philadelphia, did not disclose financial terms in a news release.
In December 2018, the St. Pete City Council passed an ordinance regulating single-use plastic straws city-wide, as well as EPS (or Styrofoam) on city rights-of-way. During 2019, businesses throughout St. Pete will transition toward offering fewer single use plastics. The City of St. Pete has released a toolkit and printable brochure to help businesses ease the transition. Check out the toolkit and more information here.
The St. Petersburg Chamber is helping businesses tell the St. Pete story. The Grow Smarter Toolkit includes copy, facts, and visuals to use in company materials for promotion or recruiting. The toolkit puts information like demographics, economic facts, and arts and culture in the hands of businesses to simply copy and paste into their own materials. Explore the toolkit here.
Women now represent 24% of the cybersecurity workforce, according to a survey released Tuesday by(ISC)², a nonprofit association of certified cybersecurity professionals based in Clearwater. This estimate is a higher percentage than in past reports in part due to the adoption of a new sample methodology. The report also found that challenges like wage inequality remain, a news release said.
