This was a week that captured why Orlando’s tech economy is gaining momentum—and why more people are finally starting to see it.

Last night, we hosted a Founders Dinner with more than 40 entrepreneurs across sectors: game development, healthcare, defense, and more. Different industries, yes—but nearly every conversation came back to a common theme: building technology that transforms how people learn, train, heal, and experience the world.

That kind of cross-industry connectivity is exactly what sets this region apart.

This morning, we opened the Florida Simulation Summit, where I had the opportunity to moderate the interactive tech demo session—featuring smart city technologies that use simulation and data to improve how we move, respond, and plan. It’s a reminder that Orlando’s leadership in immersive and applied tech isn’t limited to defense—it’s shaping the systems that power future cities.

That same convergence showed up across this week’s headlines:

• AMETEK’s $920 million acquisition of FARO Technologies sends a global signal that Orlando’s advanced hardware, optics, and sensing technologies are not just technically sound—they’re commercially critical.
• Vrgineers and Dedicated Computing’s new partnership pushes the frontier of real-time flight training, merging high-fidelity simulation with systems integration and real-world deployment.
• LightPath Technologies secured a $4.9 million defense contract, reinforcing the depth of our optics and manufacturing sectors and their role in next-gen defense systems.
• Echelon launched its new StrengthIQ platform, blending physical equipment with personalized, data-driven performance tech—a great example of how human-centered engineering is scaling out of Orlando.
• Two UCF alumni are creating real workforce pathways for neurodivergent adults—through both hands-on repair training and digital platforms. It’s not just inclusion as a value; it’s inclusion as innovation.
• Meanwhile, Unreal Orlando and Ongaku Overdrive continued building community around immersive storytelling, gaming, and creative expression. These ecosystems feed our talent pipeline and remind us that culture is part of infrastructure too.
  
  

Individually, these stories stand on their own. But together, they reflect something bigger:

Orlando isn’t a fragmented ecosystem—it’s a converging one.

And while we continue to monitor the implications of last week’s proposed Army cuts to PEO STRI, we’re encouraged by the leadership of the National Center for Simulation and Orlando Economic Partnership, who are working with urgency and focus to protect the innovation infrastructure that’s made Central Florida a global leader in simulation and training.

Across every headline this week, there’s a throughline: Orlando is one of the few places in the world where engineers, creatives, and technologists routinely move between building flight simulators, immersive rides, virtual worlds, and smart city systems.

At Innovate Orlando, our role is to make that story more visible, better connected, and more valuable—for the people building it.

We’re proud to do that work, every week.