Tampa Bay Wave has secured a $1.38 million federal grant to launch an accelerator for defense technology startups, adding a defense-focused program in a region home to MacDill Air Force Base and U.S. Special Operations Command.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded the money through its 2025 disaster supplemental program, which provides economic recovery funding to communities affected by major disasters.
Combined with matching financial support from Hillsborough and Pasco counties, the City of Tampa, the University of South Florida Institute of Applied Engineering and the National Center for Responsible Government Contracting, the project is expected to cost more than $1.7 million.
The new program comes days after TIME ranked Wave the No. 3 startup accelerator in the United States, behind Techstars and MassChallenge. Wave does not charge founders or take ownership stakes in participating companies; instead, it funds its programs through government grants and support from local governments, universities, corporations and foundations.
The defense accelerator will put 30 early-stage companies through two cohorts during an 18-month pilot and pair Wave’s existing programming with SOFWERX, a Tampa innovation hub that works with U.S. Special Operations Command.
SOFWERX will provide the technical portion of the program, while Wave will connect participating companies with mentors, investors and government relationships. The cohorts will conclude with Demo Days during SOF Week in Tampa in 2027 and 2028.
MacDill also houses U.S. Central Command, while Tampa Bay has more than 80,000 veterans, according to Wave.
Wave says the accelerator will focus partly on the defense industry’s “valley of death,” the period between early government funding and the larger contracts companies need to scale.
Wave will connect participating startups with private investors and other commercial opportunities as they pursue government work.
Wave estimates the two-cohort pilot will create 113 jobs, retain 75 existing jobs and generate more than $14.8 million in private investment.
Beyond the pilot, Wave plans at least seven additional cohorts through 2034, with a goal of eventually supporting more than 135 startups, generating more than $1 billion in public and private capital and creating or retaining more than 3,100 jobs.
The new program builds on accelerator programs that Wave says have supported more than 670 technology startups since 2013.
Those companies have raised more than $1.8 billion, created more than 7,300 jobs and completed 32 exits. Wave estimates they generate about $450 million in annual economic impact.
Wave itself was among the organizations disrupted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which struck Tampa Bay less than two weeks apart in fall 2024.
The nonprofit said the storms disrupted its programming for months and forced staff, mentors and startups to evacuate.
The award is Wave’s sixth federal grant as a prime recipient since 2022, bringing its total during that period to more than $18.4 million.
That includes a $13.9 million National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration award in 2024 supporting Wave’s four-year Continuum initiative, which includes its BlueTech|X Accelerator.