NeoCity remains an enigma to many residents of Osceola County, but an event last Thursday demonstrated one of the core purposes of the NeoCity endeavor, to promote the development of innovative high-tech technology.
Sixteen tech entrepreneurs, referred to as “Batch 1,”gave presentations to an audience of national and international technology players. The event was hosted by Plug and Play, one of Neocity’s newest partners, which provided funding to each of the startups featured. The entrepreneurs demonstrated their ideas for tech startups, some with an emphasis on physical cybersecurity, including ways to validate genuine semiconductor chips to combat counterfeit chips entering into a secure supply chain. Other entrepreneurs put forth ideas on new materials to be used to manufacture semiconductor chips, such as diamonds, to combat heat and ensure durability.
Among the presentations and discussions several themes, in addition to security, kept coming up. “On-shoring” is simply the idea of bringing all facets of semiconductor manufacturing and associated equipment and secure materials sources back to the U.S., Europe, and other Western-style democracies. “Packaging” is a rather simplistic term for the complex assembly of multiple small but powerful chips into protective packages, which serve as a bridge between the tiny, sensitive semiconductors and the electronic systems they support. While packaging enables faster, higher volume computer processing, challenges of high operating temperatures, connectivity, and protection must be addressed. Sustainability, particularly in the area of materials, energy efficiency, and the growing demand for Arti_cial Intelligence applications, was another recurring theme.
In addition to the entrepreneur’s pitches, there was a high-powered panel discussion, including a representative from the US Patent Office and a UCF professor. The focus of the panel was to provide high-level industry information to enable entrepreneurs to take advantage of academic resources, such as UCF, in the Central Florida region, protect their emerging intellectual property, and engage with a network of similar-minded entrepreneurs. NeoCity, through its partners Plug and Play and IMEC, can also provide access to experienced industry professionals to help develop their products as quickly and efficiently as possible.
During the panel, Dr. Grace Bochenek of UCF discussed the recent ” launch” of the university’s HyperSpace Center to focus on developing technology that can propel vehicles at incredible speeds in Earth’s atmosphere of up to Mach 17 or 13,000 miles per hour. Currently, NASA’s X-43 holds the record, set in 2004, as the world’s fastest jet-powered aircra at approximately Mach 10. The new hypersonics research effort was cited as yet another leading aerospace, space, and defense research activity taking place within just a few miles of the NeoCity campus.
Another highlight of the Expo was the focus on hightech workforce development within Osceola County. The onsite magnet high school NeoCity Academy is ranked as one of the top 100 high schools in the nation. The County’s Osceola Prosper program enables high school graduates to attend Valencia College at no cost, earning the county’s school system the No. 4 spot among Florida’s 67 counties for graduating seniors transitioning to college. Completing programs at Valencia College guarantees students can proceed to UCF, which offers a variety of prominent and unique technology-related degrees.
For more information on NeoCity’s partner Plug and Play see https://bit.ly/4_sW1D.
