John Boucard literally built the technology that would end up choosing Tampa as its next home base.
Boucard, CEO of Kansas City-based Tesseract Ventures, has moved to the city and deemed it its military headquarters.
"We spent time analyzing where to put our HQ and I'm convinced Tampa is it," he said. "We used our own technology to see who’s hiring, who’s filling the patents. There are all these companies focused on software development, AI, data visualization, and I want to interface with those people."
Tesseract, which was founded in 2018, develops products in the robotics and artificial intelligence spaces, with a large focus on the military sector. The presence of Macdill Air Force Base was another factor in moving to the city, Boucard said.
His next goal is to build a smart factory in the city, which would host a mix of robotics, AI and analytics. It will also have a manufacturing component, including a 3D printing space.
"I need a place to amplify [skillsets] and I'm building a place to do it," he said. "Think about how people are trying to come back to work; this has to be the right place in terms of temperature, lighting. We've built it in Kansas City but want to do the same in Tampa. It's a unique place where we're leveraging brainpower and then using our own tech to visualize and produce our offerings."
His team is still looking for a space, he said, which needs to range from 10,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet and preferably be in an opportunity zone. Opportunity zones are typically in distressed areas and can offer corporations the ability to invest in the area and receive tax deferment.
"Imagine if Microsoft or Amazon or Apple started in an opportunity zone — How huge that would be?" Boucard said. "We look at our Department of Defense friends that have been able to operate in an opportunity zone and it's a huge opportunity to be able to recruit. Since Tampa has high tech and military, this allows us to open to our future workforce."
The company currently has roughly 20 employees across its three locations: Kansas City, Northwest Arkansas and Tampa. They expect to have 25 by the end of the year, with five-to-10 of those working in Tampa.
"Beyond core engineering, we're very interested in creatives with other sets of skills — People that can draw, write, can explain stories to different types of decision-makers," he said. "We’re recruiting heavily for very unique minds. It's those individuals that make up this 21st century, smart factory of the future."
Tesseract previously raised $2 million in 2020 and is in the process of closing a Series A round between $15 to $20 million. Boucard estimates they will raise for a Series B round sometime in 2022.
"I believe Tampa is the No. 1 city for growing entrepreneurship and high tech," he said. "Tampa is exactly the right place and the right time and right people."
