The Florida-Israel Business Accelerator (FIBA)

Before there was a $7.3 billion corridor, there was a non-profit in Tampa with a hypothesis: Israeli innovation could be transplanted into Florida's economy — not as a diplomatic gesture, but as an economic development strategy. The Florida-Israel Business Accelerator proved the hypothesis. FIBA is now the institutional backbone of the Florida–Israel technology corridor.

Founded on a State Grant, Built Into Infrastructure

FIBA launched in 2016 with support from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity — a state-sponsored accelerator designed to connect Israeli technology companies with American customers, capital, and strategic partners. Headquartered in Tampa, with its office inside the Embarc Collective innovation hub, FIBA operates as a non-profit economic development engine powered by public and private sector grants.

Pam Miniati and Rafeket Bachur-Phillips, co-executive directors since 2020, built FIBA from a Tampa Bay pilot into a statewide pipeline. By 2024, FIBA had expanded to Miami, adding a second front in South Florida's venture and enterprise market. The move reflected what the data already showed: Israeli founders weren't choosing between Tampa and Miami. They were choosing Florida.

The Portfolio: 100+ Companies, $1.5 Billion Raised, 11 Exits

FIBA has supported more than 100 Israeli technology companies entering the U.S. market. The numbers that matter: 50% of FIBA-supported companies established a physical presence in Florida. Together, portfolio companies have raised a combined $1.5 billion in direct investment, created more than 200 high-skilled, high-wage jobs across the state, and produced 11 high-value exits — companies acquired or publicly traded.

The portfolio spans the sectors that define Israel's export economy: XTEND (autonomous defense drones, now heading to Nasdaq at a $1.5 billion valuation), XR Health (VR-based therapy, FDA-cleared), Biobeat (remote patient monitoring), StemRad (radiation protection for astronauts and first responders, co-developed with Lockheed Martin for NASA's Artemis program), Aviv Clinics (hyperbaric oxygen therapy), ECOncrete (bio-enhancing marine concrete for coastal infrastructure), CyberWell (online antisemitism monitoring), Tabit (restaurant management), Como (customer engagement), and Apollo Power (flexible solar panels for commercial rooftops).

How FIBA Works: The Acceleration Model

FIBA is not an incubator and not a venture fund. It is a market-entry accelerator — a bridge between an Israeli company's first American conversation and its durable U.S. headquarters. The model: FIBA scouts and vets Israeli companies with proven technology. It connects them with Florida industry partners — hospitals, defense contractors, hospitality operators, municipal agencies — who have the problem the Israeli technology solves. It facilitates introductions to capital, legal counsel, and operational infrastructure. And it stays involved after the handshake.

The critical innovation is sector-specific matching. FIBA doesn't run a generic pitch day. It organizes vertical-focused events — hospitality tech forums with Tampa Bay restaurant groups, cybersecurity briefings for Florida's defense corridor, healthtech demonstrations for hospital systems. Israel Pitch Day, held annually in Tallahassee, puts Israeli founders directly in front of Florida lawmakers and agency heads. The 2026 edition brought Israeli companies before state legislators in the Capitol building itself.

The Tampa Anchor

FIBA's choice of Tampa — not Miami, not Boca — was deliberate. Tampa offered proximity to MacDill Air Force Base and U.S. Central Command (relevant for defense tech), a lower cost structure than South Florida, and a business community hungry for differentiation. FIBA's office sits inside the Bryan Glazer Family JCC in West Tampa — a physical location that embeds Israeli technology inside Jewish communal infrastructure, a signal that the accelerator exists at the intersection of commerce and community.

The Tampa anchor also positions FIBA in Florida's emerging second tech corridor. While Miami attracts the venture capital and the headlines, Tampa is building the production and integration layer — the place where Israeli technology becomes American-made product. XTEND's NDAA-compliant drone production facility is in Tampa. StemRad's U.S. subsidiary operates from Embarc Collective. The pattern: Miami for capital, Tampa for manufacturing and defense.

FIBA and Israel Tech Week

FIBA is a strategic partner of Israel Tech Week, the annual conference that has become the connective tissue of the Florida–Israel corridor. In 2025, ISRTW drew 1,500+ attendees. In 2026, attendance exceeded 2,000 with a surge in direct-from-Israel arrivals. FIBA's role at the event is both logistical and curatorial — selecting which Israeli companies present, facilitating investor introductions, and hosting side programming on sector-specific themes.

What FIBA Means for the Corridor

Corridors don't happen by accident. They happen because someone builds the institutional plumbing — the introductions, the legal templates, the first customer meeting, the visa guidance, the office sublease. FIBA is that plumbing for the Florida–Israel technology corridor. Without it, 429 Israeli companies in Florida is a statistic. With it, it's an ecosystem.

This article is part of Olam's Florida–Israel section — ongoing reporting and research on the capital, companies, and community building the Florida–Israel corridor.

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Olam and 5W AI Communications share common ownership. Olam reports independently on the Israeli economy, including on research produced by 5W. Editorial decisions are made by Olam's editorial team.

Ronn Torossian is the founder and chairman of 5W AI Communications, the AI Communications Firm. He is the publisher of Everything-PR and the author of two best-selling editions of For Immediate Release.

The Florida-Israel Business Accelerator: The Institution That Wired Israel to Tampa