• Red 6 Integrates AR Training System on Boeing Apache Rotorcraft Platform

• Air and Space Force Modeling and Simulation Officials to Industry: Harness Reference Architecture

• Cole Engineering Awarded Hybrid Force-on-Force Small Arms Training System

• Immersive Defense Space Showcased at I/ITSEC

• Zen Technologies USA Unveils its Next-Generation AI-Enabled Live and Virtual Simulation Training Capabilities at I/ITSEC 2025

• I/ITSEC: Saab to showcase Studio version of Ground Combat Indoor Trainer

• PLEXSYS Showcases Integrated Training at I/ITSEC

• UCF’s Training Ground for Serious Fun and Games

• UCF’s Training Ground for Serious Fun and Games

All that payroll? It’s fueling fintech expansion. 

 Fintech and Enterprise: Quantum Launches, Baker Hill Hiring 40-50 Monthly 

Worth (founded by the same team that built Stax to unicorn status) just expanded their fintech leadership. Why? Space Coast hit 100 launches this year. That’s payroll processing at a scale they’ve never seen. Baker Hill, an Indiana lending-tech firm, opened an Orlando innovation center and they’re hiring 40-50 software developers and data scientists every month. Finexio and RipplePoint partnered to automate payments across our $75B tourism economy. Florida Quantum launched at Tech Basel in Miami this week (Dec 3) with ex-Luminar entrepreneur Scott Faris organizing quantum compute for defense simulations and lidar research. First coordinated quantum effort across Florida’s defense, aerospace, and tech ecosystems. Kore.ai became a launch partner for Microsoft Agent 365. 

• Kore.ai Selected as Launch Partner for Microsoft Agent 365 to Accelerate Enterprise AI Adoption

• Worth Expands Leadership Team to Accelerate AI Innovation and Enterprise Growth

• Indiana-based fintech to open innovation center in Orlando

• Finexio and RipplePoint Forge Strategic Partnership to Revolutionize Hospitality Financial Operations

All that tech revenue needs serious cybersecurity. 

Cybersecurity: National Wins Protect $50B in Assets 

Seminole State just earned NSA and DHS Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity designation. They’re training the cyber defenders protecting Space Force during those 100 launches. UCF’s team won the 2025 DOE CyberForce Competition with 8,783 points. They’re safeguarding the power grids that keep the Space Coast running. Every Falcon 9 launch, every NeoCity fab recipe, every Boeing contract lives on Central Florida networks. Chinese and Russian nation-states probe those networks daily. NSA and DHS designation means Seminole State grads get federal clearance pathways other schools don’t offer. 

Now let’s scale it with semiconductors. 

Semiconductors: Valencia’s First Florida Chip Degree Feeds 5K NeoCity Jobs 

 EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin toured NeoCity and called it a “national semiconductor hub” with 5,000 jobs on the horizon. Valencia College just launched Florida’s first Associate degree in Semiconductor Engineering Technology. First cohort started in August 2025. This is the only formal vocational pipeline in Florida aligned with what NeoCity actually needs. Luminar secured $200M to accelerate lidar sensors for SpaceX autonomous systems. Lake Mary’s new $50M flex campus just came online for manufacturing. Do the math: 5K jobs at $55-75K entry-level equals $275-375M in annual wages staying in Osceola County. UCF research feeds NeoCity fabs, which power SpaceX autonomy, which launches 5G satellites, which loops back to Valencia training. 

• Valencia College is first in Florida to offer semiconductor technician degree

• Luminar secures $200M capital commitment

• EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin Tours NeoCity, Discusses Osceola County’s Growing National Role in America’s Tech Future

• NeoCity project in Osceola County set to create thousands of jobs

• $50M industrial flex campus breaking ground in Lake Mary

Those chips power biotech sensors and health monitoring. 

Health and Biotech: Lake Nona Turns UCF Research Into Products 

UCF developed smartphone sensors for at-home health monitoring. Next step? It’s a 15-minute drive to AdventHealth Lake Nona for clinical trials. David Metcalf at UCF’s Institute for Simulation and Training just won AIMed25 Entrepreneur of the Year for healthcare innovations. Exousia Pro licensed UCF cancer technology for advanced diagnostics and therapies. Biller Genie tripled revenue and is hiring 100 people in Orlando for nationwide billing automation. da Vinci surgical robots are deployed across 200+ Lake Nona biotech companies. That 25 years of intentional biotech clustering compresses prototype-to-patient validation from 24 months to 8-12 months. 

• How robots, technology is helping surgery, medical science

• Biller Genie multiplies revenue, plans tech hiring spree in Orlando

• Exousia Pro, Inc. Completes Exclusive Licensing Agreement With the University of Central Florida for Novel Cancer Diagnostic and Therapy Platforms

• UCF Researcher Creates Novel Sensors for Smartphone-Based Health Monitoring

• Life Sciences Innovators Convene at BioFlorida’s 28th Annual Innovation Conference

• IST’s David Metcalf recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year at AIMed25

Now pilot those innovations in smart cities next door. 

Smart Cities: 11 Startups Pitch Dec 9 

 Plug and Play Orlando’s 11 smart cities startups pitch Dec 9 at Great Southern Box Company. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings allocated $1.5M to support this. Blue Frontier (air conditioning with 90% climate impact reduction, keynoting Deep Tech Summit Dec 11). LuftCar (hydrogen-powered air and road vehicles). EchoTwin (computer vision for infrastructure). Altaport (automated vertiports). SolyX (micro data centers you can deploy in weeks). Plus 3 others tackling clean energy, mobility, and city infrastructure. Lake Nona is the living lab where they pilot before scaling nationally. 

Important: Dec 9 is the same day as our Innovate Orlando holiday celebration at Eola View. Catch the startup pitches, then join us for the evening party. 

These demos attract federal and VC capital Dec 11. 

Deep Tech Summit Dec 11: Where Capital Gets Allocated 

 Florida Deep Tech Venture Summit is Dec 11 at GuideWell Innovation Center in Lake Nona. 150-200 leaders. Greg Autry (UCF Associate Provost for Space Commercialization, NASA CFO nominee) on Space Race 2.0. VCs like Stony Lonesome Group, Florida Opportunity Fund (managing $3B in state-backed capital), DeepWork Capital, and Mosley Ventures discussing where they’re deploying. Lockheed Martin, L3 Harris, Leidos sharing procurement priorities. Defense tech startups pitching: Zulu Pods, Rapta, Canaery, Hextronics, Mattrix Technologies, X-lumin. Space tech raising capital: Lone Star Data Holdings, NUVIEW, Star Catcher, Vaya Space. JPMorgan’s $1.5 trillion Security and Resiliency Initiative targets exactly these dual-use startups. This is where $5B in Team Orlando procurement decisions get made. 

Details: 6555 Sanger Rd, Lake Nona. 8 AM registration, 9 AM start, 6:30 PM reception. Register at https://floridadeeptechsummit.com 

Funded deep tech launches from the Space Coast. 

Education: UCF Number One Aerospace Producer, Embry-Riddle Goes Debt-Free 

 Florida Poly opened Wendt Engineering Center labs. Embry-Riddle just placed 13 students into DoD SMART scholarships worth $200K+ in debt avoidance plus guaranteed jobs. Emily Coello is working on robotics at Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic. Jacob Blanton landed at Missile Defense Agency on hypersonic rocket propulsion. UCF is the No. 1 aerospace and defense graduate producer in the nation. UCF alumni generate $6.7B in economic impact annually. Full Sail has graduated 80,000+ alumni in digital arts and entertainment; many now working in simulation, defense, and space companies.  

• Florida Poly Opens New Wendt Engineering Center to Boost Innovation

• Embry-Riddle Graduate Students Turn Human Factors and AI Research into Internship, Career Success

• Innovation Games 2025: Brevard’s Young Innovators Take Center Stage at Satellite High

• Embry-Riddle hosts STEM event to connect with high school educators

• Full Sail University Drone Innovation Center Officially Opens on Campus

• Volusia school district chosen to test drones to protect against active shooters

• Governor DeSantis Awarded $23.5 Million for Infrastructure in Three Communities

That talent builds everything above plus Space Coast capacity. 

 Space Coast: Starship Complex Approved for 76 Launches Per Year 

 Air Force approved Space Launch Complex 37 for Starship operations on November 20. Construction started immediately. This pad can support up to 76 Starship launches and 152 landings annually. SpaceX is investing $1.8B in Florida Starship infrastructure, creating 600 jobs by 2030. We hit 100 launches in 2025. Starship targets mid-2026 from LC-39A. Blue Origin employs 4,000 people in Brevard County with $2.3B invested across 500 Florida suppliers. UCF’s $125M hyperspace lab is advancing propulsion research. 

• Space Coast hits 100th launch of 2025 as pace accelerates

• Bezos’ Blue Origin to revamp New Glenn rocket before next Florida launch

• 1st Starship launch on Space Coast could come mid-2026, Space Force official says

• Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin announces next New Glenn rocket following successful NG-2 launch

• NASA and Boeing shorten contract for Space Coast launches

• SpaceX launch kicks off busy December on Space Coast

• OUR VIEW: Space Coast Shatters Launch Record as Three Companies Rocket Into History

• UCF targets new facility expected to generate $125M over 5 years

Falcon 9 launches Dec 7 at 4:40 PM. Watch it live. 

This Week’s Momentum 

1. I/ITSEC $28M+ contracts 
   
2. Starship Complex 37 approved ($1.8B, 600 jobs)  
3. Quantum, fintech, and enterprise expansion 
4. Cyber excellence validated  
5. Semiconductors pipeline launching 
6. Biotech commercialization 
7. Smart Cities pitch Dec 9  
8. Deep Tech Summit Dec 11  
9. Falcon 9 Dec 7 4:40 PM 
10. UCF number one, Embry-Riddle debt-free 

Your Move 

Dec 9: Plug and Play Smart Cities Expo at 10 AM, then Innovate Orlando holiday party at Eola View in the evening.  

Dec 11: Deep Tech Summit at Lake Nona, 8 AM to 6:30 PM.  

Tomorrow: Falcon 9 launch at 4:40 PM. 

Apply now: Embry-Riddle DoD SMART scholarships. Valencia chip degree. Baker Hill developer roles. 

Reach out to someone in a completely different sector this week. Grab coffee. Ask what they’re working on. Because the next big breakthrough in Central Florida won’t come from a brilliant single person working alone. It’ll come from two people from different industries who met at a networking event and realized their challenges had overlapping solutions. 

We’re stronger together, 

— Sheena 
CEO, Innovate Orlando