A System Coming Into Focus 

A spool of hollow-core fiber rolls off the production line, thin as a straw and engineered for light, not electricity. It’s not headed for a lab, it’s going live. 

Relativity Networks, born out of UCF, just closed a $6.1M seed round to scale its infrastructure optimized for AI data demands, backed by Prysmian and Orlando investors. Early supporters include Zendicate Ventures, founded by Jonathan Taylor, one of the region’s original tech titans, along with GoVo Ventures. This is infrastructure, not a prototype. 

A couple turned a van into a $4M business. A biotech company validated a digital twin of human disease. A new accelerator launched focused on hospitality tech. Capital is recirculating, talent is compounding, and sectors are starting to operate as one system. 

But friction remains. StarterStudio called it the “Swiss cheese” problem, gaps in support that slow progress. 

Behind the scenes, Innovate Orlando is working to reduce that friction, convening partners, building digital tools, and supporting a more connected ecosystem. 

What does it take to reduce friction across systems, sectors, and cities? This week offered clues. All story links are listed at the bottom of this newsletter or hyperlinked in the blog post. 

Simulation as Infrastructure 

Simulation is no longer prep work, it’s how decisions are made. 

At R-CON a few weeks ago, Carolina Cruz-Neira, Soheil Sabri, and the Digital Twin Consortium outlined how digital twins are shifting from visualizations to decision engines. That vision is already unfolding. 

Orlando has one of the deepest pools of digital twin talent in the country, rooted in decades of simulation leadership at UCF. Hesperos, for example, validated a disease model using organ-on-a-chip technology to replace animal testing in malaria treatment research. “This is the first time that a microphysiological system has been used to generate a digital twin capable of predicting human outcomes for both efficacy and toxicity,” said Dr. James J. Hickman, Chief Scientist and Co-founder of Hesperos. 

PEO STRI field-tested multi-domain simulation during its Lexington Green exercise. And adoption across healthcare and infrastructure is now about execution. 

Simulation isn’t a support function, it’s core infrastructure. 

Systems That Learn 

As AI scales, traditional infrastructure isn’t keeping up. 

Relativity Networks raised $6.1M to scale its hollow-core fiber designed for AI-grade data. Its founder, a Luminar alum, joins a growing wave of engineers launching ventures across optics, autonomy, and sensing. It’s not hype, it’s generational depth. 

Sonoco announced a $30M expansion, bringing new tech and roles to packaging lines with support from one of our major ecosystem drivers, the Orlando Economic Partnership. “From assisting with permitting to helping navigate the process smoothly, we’re committed to ensuring that innovative, global companies like Sonoco continue choosing our region,” said Tim Giuliani, President and CEO of the Orlando Economic Partnership. 

Longbow secured a $348M radar contract. Cuhaci Peterson adopted NVIDIA GPUs to simulate construction in real time. Winter Park launched a smart mobility hub with sensors, adaptive lighting, and synchronized transit. Qualus expanded its grid modernization portfolio via ADM acquisition. 

Infrastructure in this region isn’t static, it’s learning. 

Health, Environment, and AI at Work 

UCF’s Lake Nona Hospital opened its doors to local leaders this week to showcase simulation-based training, AI-supported diagnostics, and the kind of interdisciplinary education that puts engineers and physicians on the same page. 

That same convergence will be on display August 4 at the GuideWell Innovation Center during Plug and Play’s Health Program launch. Backed by GuideWell, KPMG, and Orlando Health, and featuring Pat Geraghty, CEO of GuideWell, it’s a window into how startups are tackling urgent healthcare problems from within Orlando’s ecosystem. RSVP here 

Elsewhere, a startup secured $1.2M to turn plastic into compost with worms. Another deployed sensors to monitor lake pollution in real time. Not just sustainability headlines, system inputs touching health, logistics, and infrastructure. 

Crunchy Tech turned bowling into a data engine. Training Mode uses gameplay for behavioral modeling. These are calibration tools, not novelties. 

Kore.ai rolled out its latest suite on AWS. Solodev reaffirmed its federal AI competency. UCF’s David Metcalf laid out the ABCs of AI governance, AI, blockchain, and cybersecurity, building trust models for automated systems. 

This isn’t just about AI models, it’s about impact. 

A Shared Operating System 

Innovation used to mean experimenting. Now it means interoperating. 

Biotech feeds simulation. Game engines power training. Defense research accelerates hospital workflows. These aren’t parallel tracks, they’re feedback loops. 

The federal government sees it too. Agencies and primes want partners that build systems usable in both mission and market. Orlando’s done that for decades. 

Here, simulation, space, entertainment, health, and optics have always been cross-pollinated. Now the challenge is friction, visibility, faster teaming, and aligned incentives. 

This week, Innovate Orlando convened its first Collective Impact meeting, bringing together tech support organizations to align programs and reduce redundancy. Our Q2 Board of Directors meeting confirmed what many of us already feel, the momentum is accelerating. 

We’re looking for collaborators: 

• Branding Task Force 

• Tech Connect 2.0 Task Force 

• Startup Committee 

• Collective Impact Leadership Council  

We’re also gathering input for Tech Connect 2.0 through an open RFI. This platform will map, match, and accelerate Orlando’s innovation assets. Check it out here.

As StarterStudio flagged, the “Swiss cheese” problem is real. But the system is getting smarter, and we’re stitching it together, piece by piece. And next week you will start to see come changes, the legacy Orlando Tech Community brand will phase out to support all the organizations participating the Collective Impact Leadership Council effort. This is progress.  

Want in? Submit news, sponsor a theme, or help shape the future of our region’s innovation economy. Contact Sheena@InnovateOrlando.io. 

— Sheena

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