First, the bad news. The latest venture capital (VC) figures were released by PitchBook on Oct. 12, and the numbers are dismal — in Orlando and elsewhere. In most markets, third-quarter 2023 saw the lowest overall VC deal value in six years and the lowest deal count in about three years.
Ten VC deals were made in Central Florida, totaling about $24 million. That’s less volume than Q2, when nine investments totaled over $93 million.
But that’s on trend, according to PitchBook’s executive summary, which noted that there has been a marked decrease in megadeals in recent times.
Meanwhile, Sunnyvale, California-based business accelerator Plug & Play Tech Center CEO Saeed Amidi — who along with his team is getting ready to open up shop at NeoCity in Kissimmee on Jan. 1 — couldn’t be less worried about market conditions in the Orlando area.
All he sees is opportunity, he told Orlando Inno.
Sure, his headquarters’ metro area saw 504 VC investments totaling well over $12 billion in the recent quarter — which is low for Silicon Valley. And yes, “the deal count in Orlando is very low and the money invested is very low,” as he put it. “But the talent is there. The engineers are there. UCF is there, and Disney, Universal, the airport. The ingredients are right.”
Amidi has big plans for Central Florida in the new year. The deal with Osceola County that has Plug & Play moving into semiconductor manufacturing hub NeoCity is sealed. He told Orlando Inno he’s currently in talks to open another outpost adjacent the University of Central Florida and can imagine having as many as five Plug & Play locations in Central Florida in the near future.
Here’s what else he said.
Venture capital investments have been anemic in the Orlando area. Do you see that changing?
I do. I can see Plug & Play making up to 20 investments in Central Florida startups per year. That’s direct investments from us. And then I can see us facilitating 100 deals per year with our corporate partners. We have a good reputation for spotting startup investment opportunities and a track record of pairing our partners with the right businesses. They trust us.
What is it about our region that excites you?
Orlando is like other areas where we’ve had success. There’s a major university and lots of engineers graduating from there — and they are very diverse, from many different countries, Latin America in particular. We opened up near Berkeley and Stanford and found that you only need to spark ideas that get graduates thinking about starting a business instead of looking for a job.
What we’ll do in NeoCity is focused on advanced manufacturing, the semiconductor industry, but we’re looking at more verticals for other Central Florida locations. There's no reason to stop with one vertical. Just this week I’ve met with my team to talk about what we can do with travel, hospitality, food, health care, agriculture and other areas where there’s a lot of talent in Central Florida. We’re already talking to Orlando's big players in those verticals.
Does Plug & Play typically fan out after establishing itself in one vertical in one location?
Historically, yes. When we went to Tokyo six years ago, we started with financial services and then picked up other industries. As far as locations, we are moving into Austin, Texas, and already looking at Dallas. Actually, I’ve opened over 50 offices around the world, but this year I've been jokingly saying I discovered America again. American entrepreneurs are ready for us.
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