Four companies and a nonprofit organization led or founded by University of South Florida (USF) alumni, along with two Cyber Florida programs, an AI hub developed at USF, a former USF CONNECT Student Innovation Incubator company, and a Tampa General Hospital partnership are among the 23 recipients of this year’s Tampa Bay Inno Awards. The awards ceremony will be hosted by the Tampa Bay Business Journal on November 18.
Tampa-based biotechnology firm Psilera will receive recognition in the Deal of the Year category for its 2025 licensing agreement transferring its DMT (N,N-dimethyltryptamine) patent portfolio to Berlin-based biopharmaceutical company atai Life Sciences. The USF Research Foundation invested $200,000 in Psilera last year. Psilera was cofounded in 2019 by USF alumni Chris Witowski and Jackie von Salm as part of USF CONNECT’s Tampa Bay Technology Incubator.
In the Partnership of the Year category, St. Petersburg-based Hypathia Collaborative and an AI partnership between Tampa General Hospital and technology company Palantir are among the winners. Linsey Grove, CEO of Hypathia Collaborative, is a graduate and instructor at USF College of Public Health. According to the press release: “USF Health and Tampa General form one of the nation’s leading academic health systems.”
Pikmykid, which provides digital tools for managing school safety, and TeacherServer, a free AI platform for teachers, are recognized in the EdTech category. Pikmykid was cofounded by Chief Operating Officer Chitra Kanagaraj, a USF alumna who began her project in the USF CONNECT Student Innovation Incubator. TeacherServer AI was created by Zafer Unal, a professor at USF College of Education and participant in the 2022 USF I-Corps program.
Cyber Florida’s phaseZero Innovation Incubator and Security Operations Center Apprenticeship Program (SOCAP) are being recognized in the Supporter category. PhaseZero supports entrepreneurs building cybersecurity businesses while SOCAP offers paid internships to students pursuing careers in cybersecurity.
ConnectSecure and Guardare—technology companies led respectively by Peter Bellini and Lars Letonoff, both graduates from USF Muma College of Business—will be honored for their achievements in cybersecurity.
The awards highlight continued contributions from University of South Florida alumni and programs to innovation within Tampa Bay.
