John Allgair found out on his birthday when the U.S. National Science Foundation Engines grants would be announced.
The chief technology officer and interim president for Bridg on Jan. 26 learned the announcement was coming for the program and had to keep it under wraps until Monday. The nonprofit organization led the application that was one of 10 awarded up to $160 million over a decade, with the initial payment being $15 million over two years.
The award funds the Central Florida Semiconductor Innovation Engine within Osceola County’s 500-acre technology campus known as NeoCity. Besides Bridg, the engine includes multiple partner organizations including CareerSource Central Florida, Florida High Tech Corridor, Imec, Osceola County, Orlando Economic Partnership, University of Central Florida, University of Florida and Valencia College.
Allgair told Orlando Business Journal the award is a part of a broader goal for the county to diversify. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the county peaked at nearly 31% unemployment, brought on by temporary closures at many theme parks and attractions.
"I see it as being a cornerstone for where Osceola County can go," he said. "You know the county in the beginning had a lot of dependencies on tourism and agriculture and you know over the years there's been this need to diversify their economy."
The NeoCity Engine will name a CEO within six months of the award who will help oversee the engine and its progress. The goal over the next decade will be to form a fully functional ecosystem that includes further collaboration between those in research and development, manufacturing, business, workforce training and education.
Funding from the engines program also will help fund five research projects, which will include work at the University of Central Florida, University of Florida, and Imec tied to the applications and manufacturing processes of semiconductors.
The economic impact of NeoCity is projected at $50 billion once the master-planned site is fully built out, and projections call for 4,000 to 16,000 direct jobs.
Tim Giuliani, president and CEO of the Orlando Economic Partnership told OBJ there has been over $500 million invested by the federal and state government into NeoCity. That includes a Department of Defense contract worth up to $289 million, $50.8 million from the Build Back Better Regional Challenge and $21.67 million from the governor's Job Growth Grant Fund.
"All of that put together is creating scale and the infrastructure needed for this industry to thrive here for a long time," Giuliani said.
He added that the timing of the grant is fantastic tied to increased federal investment in semiconductors. That includes the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which allocated more than $52.7 billion for semiconductor research, development, manufacturing and workforce development.
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