The AnyDesk ribbon cutting in Clearwater in July.
Logan Profitt
Tampa Bay's tech and startup scenes are not slowing down as Q3 kicks off.
Between multiple international relocations, plenty of C-suite hires and promotions, growing acquisition deals and even a holograph partnership, we've rounded up the moves you may have missed in July below.
The moves
- Satisfi Labs, a New York-based tech company backed by Google and MLB, quietly moved its headquarters to Tampa in May. The company counts Amalie Arena, ZooTampa and Tampa Bay Lightning among its customers. Get the story.
Don White, CEO and co-founder of Satisfi Labs.
Satisfi Labs
- A German remote IT company has chosen Tampa Bay for its U.S. headquarters — and has already rented out two offices, with plans to double its local workforce by the end of the year. AnyDesk opened its Clearwater space last week and expects to open its downtown Tampa office space next month. It has roughly 40 local employees, with plans to hit 80 by the end of the year. Get the story.
The AnyDesk ribbon cutting in Clearwater in July.
Logan Profitt
- A United Kingdom-based sales and marketing firm that counts PayPal and Adobe among its clients has tapped Tampa for its new U.S. headquarters. Clarify announced it would be moving into the downtown Tampa WeWork space and expects to bring 25 high-paying jobs within the next 12 months. The Business Journal's got the details.
Clarify's U.K. office.
Robyn Liebenberg
Expansions
- Tampa-based software company Mad Mobile signed a long-term sublease taking over a piece of of PwC's former office, after the latter transitioned to a mostly remote workforce. Get the full story.
Mad Mobile is moving its Tampa headquarters to MetWest III in Met West International.
Mad Mobile
- GOBEL, a St. Pete-based consulting firm that uses tech to help health care partners, expanded to Dublin. The company launched its subsidiary GOBEL International to further cement itself in the European market and bulk up its roster of 1,000+ hospital and health systems.
The hirings
- Pocket Network, which hit unicorn status in January and has settled under the radar since, had some shakeups in its C-suite. The blockchain startup's COO, Adam Liposky, stepped down. Its chief governance officer, Jack Laing, will be stepping in as interim COO. Arthur Sabinstev was tapped as CIO and Laxman Pichappan is the company's new CFO. Pichappan is the former global head of financial planning analysis at Juul Labs.
Some of the Pocket Network, which has employees across the globe.
Michael O'Rourke
- Tampa-based bioinformatics company M2Gen hired Melissa Honour as its chief product officer. Before this, she served as VP of product management at North Carolina-based Ontada.
- Dax Brady-Sheehan, the CEO of Tampa-based Spectrio, has quietly stepped down, a spokesperson said in an email to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. There's no word on what Brady-Sheehan is now up to, but Tamara Bebb, Spectrio's chief financial officer, was named interim CEO. Get the story.
Dax Brady-Sheehan, CEO, Spectrio
Courtesy photo
- Tampa-based Big Brothers Big Sisters of America named Travis Gibson its chief technology officer. He will oversee the strategic planning and implementation of IT investments for the organization. He previously worked at LVMH, DeBeers Diamond Jewelers and Cox Automotive.
The acquisitions
- A Chicago-based talent consulting group acquired a Tampa tech firm for an undisclosed amount. Harmony Healthcare was bought by Addison Group, marking the first foray into tech for the consulting firm. Harmony Healthcare provides non-clinical staffing and consulting solutions in the health care sector and will help Addison further plant its flag in the space.
- A Tampa marketing tech firm with a focus on insurance acquired a fellow Tampa martech company for an undisclosed amount. Quote.com, which is a portfolio company of Tampa-based Osceola Capital, acquired Ring2Media. Ring2Media, while a marketing tech firm, specializes in Medicare enrollment.
The partnerships
- The University of Tampa partnered with Jacksonville-based IT company SkillStorm to launch tech skills-building programs in the hopes it turns the region into a “talent tech hub.” The two programs — an “accelerator program” and “emerging tech program" — are open to the general public, with UT students getting first priority. Get the story.
- The University of South Florida College of Engineering used technology from California-based Holofan Co. to let its dean, Robert Bishop, be in two places at once through the help of a hologram. Could this be the future of remote work, making Zoom and Microsoft Teams a thing of the past? Decide for yourself and check out the tech here.
USF College of Engineering Dean Robert Bishop in hologram form.
University of South Florida
- Web3-focused BlockSpaces teamed up with Orlando-based Cogent Bank in what they call an "unusual partnership." BlockSpaces will utilize Cogent's treasury management tools and payment platform, while Cogent will get a boost from BlockSpaces' innovation. The Business Journal's got the full story.
