Why global accelerator chose Kissimmee for its first Florida location

Participants in a 12-week Plug & Play accelerator program

Plug and Play Tech Center

By Sarah Kinbar - Staff writer

September 21, 2023, 11:12am EDT Updated 10/30/2023 4:10 pm

Sunnyvale, California-based Plug & Play Tech Center CEO Saeed Amidi and his team are getting ready to start local operations on Jan.1, 2024.

This comes after Osceola County commissioners approved a drafted agreement between the county and Amidi's company on Sept. 19. The next day, Plug & Play's Vice President of Corporate Partnerships Johannes Rott and Head of Semiconductors Rouzbeh Borhani already were on a flight to Florida to prepare the opening.

The outpost will be located at NeoCity in the Bridg building, and the plan is to identify 20 to 40 semiconductor startups per year for the next three years, building those companies up to full throttle with business support and funding, said Amidi.

CEO Saeed Amidi of Plug and Play Tech Center

Alex Stover

The family behind Plug & Play — the Amidis — fled Iran decades ago after the Islamic Revolution, setting up a carpet business in California. The Amidis bought a Palo Alto building at 165 University Avenue that became a hotbed of innovation, with Google and PayPal housed there.

Amidi stocked the building with tech companies, sometimes investing in them.

"It was through tenants of that building, some which we were able to invest in, that we learned the technology world and that's how Plug & Play got started," Amidi said of the startup incubator, accelerator program and business he runs.

Cromwell Schubarth, a technology editor now retired from OBJ’s sibling publication Silicon Valley Business Journal, covered Plug & Play since its founding, interviewing Amidi many times.

Former technology editor Cromwell Schubarth of Silicon Valley Business Journal

“It’s been interesting to watch the business morph from real estate — being a landlord for tech companies during the early stages of the current tech boom — to being an accelerator that partners with established tech companies to scout for them in specific industry verticals. They work hand in hand with these industry players,” he said.

Presumably, Amidi will bring these relationships to Florida, brokering brilliant connections that help NeoCity actualize as the high-tech manufacturing hub it was intended to be.

Orlando Inno spoke with Amidi to learn why Central Florida was an appealing choice for Plug & Play’s newest location.

What stood out to you about our region that made you want to bring Plug & Play here?

It was 60 days ago that I was there, and first I had an incredible conversation with UCF President Alexander Cartwright. I love the way he cares about development and entrepreneurship. I hope to bring more of that to Central Florida, a culture of helping entrepreneurs, helping startups, having more angel investment groups, more venture capital firms. Frankly speaking, I think that's the way we change the world.

What needs to happen for you all to be ready to start operations at NeoCity in January?

We really need the corporate participation for this project to work. Yesterday, I had the chief digital officer of Schneider Electric with me, and I was with all the C-suite executives at Honeywell Aerospace. We are contacting all our corporate partners to let them know what we’re going to do in Florida, asking them to be a part of choosing startups to invest in.

Who do you have in mind to work on the team at your new Kissimmee location?

We’ll have four people ready to go by the beginning of the year. I just asked our HR for the names of all our employees and interns who live in Central Florida. I want half the team to have worked with me for two or three years, and half to be UCF graduates.

What will the focus of the NeoCity Plug & Play branch be?

First, we will launch this smart manufacturing vertical emphasizing semiconductors, but we work in other verticals, too. Fintech is our number one vertical. I have invested in over 450 fintech companies. Eleven of the companies in my portfolio are fintech unicorns. AI is big for us, too.

Where do you think the funding will come from for businesses in your accelerator?

We are planning to accelerate between 20 to 40 startups a year with funding from California and New York, because the majority of the VCs are on the coast. I think that because we have such big relationship with VCs that instead of moving to California or wherever the funding is coming from, we could just connect them where they are.