USF CONNECT just locked in another five years of operation at the Tampa Bay Technology Incubator, and the news is great for anyone following the regional innovation ecosystem. The renewal contract is worth around $5.5 million and keeps all the spaces that make this incubator stand out from the rest around here. Shannon Pastizzo, the program director, confirmed the details of the deal and made it clear that the renewal is not just paperwork — it is a signal that the University of South Florida is serious about turning academic research into products, companies, and real market impact.
For those who are not familiar yet, USF CONNECT is an economic and business development initiative from the university focused on helping tech startups actually grow, moving from the early stage to market with solid structure and quality support. And look, with companies like Psilera, Soil CEA, Modelithics, and PolyMaterials App in the portfolio, it is easy to see why the program remains relevant after more than two decades. 🚀 This contract renewal is no small detail — it represents the continuation of work that has already turned several ideas into real businesses with international reach.
What the renewal means for Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay had already been establishing itself as one of the most promising tech hubs in the southeastern United States, and the continuity of USF CONNECT at the incubator reinforces exactly that momentum. The agreement covers both the existing space and an expansion, according to director Shannon Pastizzo. When a major university renews a contract of this magnitude, it is essentially saying it believes in the economic potential of the region and wants to keep being an active part of building it. That is a big deal. Five years of commitment to infrastructure, mentorship, network access, and technical support for anyone trying to take an idea off paper and turn it into a real company.
The $5.5 million contract value covers the maintenance and operation of the Tampa Bay Technology Incubator spaces, including the labs that are the program’s biggest differentiator. According to Pastizzo, it is precisely this lab infrastructure that puts USF CONNECT in a standout position compared to other startup organizations in the Tampa Bay scene, like Embarc Collective and Tampa Bay Wave. Having access to that kind of setup inside an incubator connected to a university is a massive advantage for any founder just getting started.
Wet labs and dry labs: understanding the difference
One of the incubator’s biggest strengths is offering both wet labs and dry labs. But what does that actually mean in practice? Wet labs are environments equipped with specialized plumbing, ventilation, and safety infrastructure. They are designed for work involving chemical or biological substances and other materials that require specific handling conditions. Dry labs, on the other hand, are geared toward activities like engineering, computing, and research that does not require the same infrastructure, focusing more on the hardware side of science.
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This combination of spaces is what allows startups with very different profiles to find the ideal environment within the same incubator to develop their products. A biotech company needs completely different things from a startup working with electronic components, and the Tampa Bay Technology Incubator can serve both under one roof. 💡
How USF CONNECT supports startups in practice
The mission of USF CONNECT goes well beyond offering physical space for companies to work. The program functions as a bridge between the knowledge produced inside the university and the real demands of the market, connecting founders with researchers, faculty experts, and a robust network of mentors. The director herself tied the contract renewal to USF’s efforts to take university research out of the lab and bring it to market.
According to Pastizzo, renewing this contract shows the prioritization of commercializing technologies developed at USF. That includes all the intellectual property created at the university that, down the road, can become the foundation for new companies or products. This integrated support model is what sets a university incubator apart from a regular coworking space, and it is exactly what attracts startups with a more technical profile and ambitions for accelerated growth.
Psilera: from academic research to clinical trials
Psilera is one of the most compelling success stories in the portfolio. It is a Tampa-based biotech company founded in 2019 by USF alumni Chris Witowski and Jackie von Salm, both holding PhDs in natural products chemistry from the university. The company joined the Tampa Bay Technology Incubator in 2020 to develop treatments inspired by psychedelic compounds targeting neurological and mental health disorders.
Since then, Psilera has been attracting significant outside investment. The company recently closed an oversubscribed $8.8 million seed round to advance PSIL-006, its lead drug candidate, toward initial human clinical trials. The USF Research Foundation had previously invested $200,000 in the company. On top of that, Psilera closed a licensing agreement in 2025 involving a portfolio of DMT-related patents. 🎯
Modelithics: more than two decades of history
Modelithics dates back to the very beginning of USF’s incubation efforts. The company was incorporated in 2001 as a spinout from the university and became the first company admitted to what was then called the USF Technology Incubator. Its technology was born from university research involving models used to design microwave and millimeter-wave electronic components.
More than twenty years later, Modelithics remains headquartered in Tampa and sells its simulation modeling products and services to clients around the world. USF engineering professor Lawrence Dunleavy, who co-founded the company, has described that growth as the worldwide commercialization of a technology that originated from work done inside the university. It is the kind of trajectory that shows the long-term power of a strong incubation program.
PolyMaterials App: energy and advanced materials
PolyMaterials App is a more recent example of that same path. Founded in 2017 by former USF engineering professor Manoj Ram, the company develops energy storage technology. Among its projects are solid-state supercapacitors designed to deliver high energy density and long life cycles in applications ranging from consumer electronics and medical devices to the aerospace and defense sectors.
The company remains based at USF Research Park and has already received federal research funding. Its awards include grants from the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, involving the Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency. In 2026, the company reported receiving another STTR Phase I award from the Air Force, showing it continues to push forward with its solutions. 🌐
The university’s role in regional tech development
The University of South Florida has a consistent track record of investing in initiatives that go beyond the classroom, and maintaining USF CONNECT as a strategic program is proof of that. When an academic institution decides to put resources, infrastructure, and reputation into a startup incubator, it takes on an active role in the economic development of its region — and that has a direct impact on the lives of people who live and work there.
It is worth noting that the director did not share numbers on how many companies have gone through CONNECT over the past five years, how many remain based in Tampa Bay, or how much employment and investment those companies have generated. Still, the individual examples she cited give a solid picture of the program’s impact. Cases like Psilera, with its multimillion-dollar funding round, and Modelithics, with clients spread across the globe, show that we are talking about concrete results and not just promises.
What becomes clear with this renewal is that USF CONNECT is not just surviving — it is cementing its place as one of the strongest incubation programs in the southeastern US. For Tampa Bay, that is excellent news. For startups looking for a place to set up shop and grow with quality support, it is an open invitation. And for anyone following the innovation and emerging technology movement in the United States, it is yet another data point confirming that Florida is moving from a supporting role to an increasingly central one in this story.
