Dual-Use & Defense Tech
Dual-use and defense technology is the Ambition Accelerated track hosted in Miami, spanning autonomy, sensing, cybersecurity, space and other capabilities that serve both commercial and defense customers.
Ambition Accelerated trackHosted in Miami
Organizations
Accelerate Brevard: Chamber of Innovation
Brevard County's chamber of innovation supporting the Space Coast business, tech, and startup community.
Actuate Ventures
Deep-tech and space-tech venture firm and venture studio backing early-stage founders.
Central Florida Tech Grove
Government-industry-academia collaboration space in the Central Florida Research Park accelerating modeling, simulation and training innovation.
Co:Lab Pensacola
Downtown Pensacola business incubator and growth accelerator offering office space, mentors, and business services.
DualForce Labs
Miami company building secure marketplace and integration infrastructure for vetted defense and dual-use technologies.
Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast
The official economic development organization for Brevard County, Florida's Space Coast.
Embry-Riddle Research Park (MicaPlex)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's 50,000-square-foot research park and incubator for aviation, space, and unmanned-systems startups.
eMerge Americas National Security Partner
eMerge Americas' national security platform connecting dual-use startups with government buyers, investors, and defense partners in Miami.
FIU Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy
Florida International University institute for defense, national security, and cybersecurity policy research and workforce training.
Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition
Pensacola-based state research institute working on AI, robotics, cybersecurity, and human resilience.
Florida Institute of Technology
A STEM research university on the Space Coast.
FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance
Greater Pensacola's economic development organization, with a stated focus on cyber, defense, and advanced manufacturing.
Groundswell Startups
Nonprofit high-tech incubator and coworking space for Space Coast founders in Melbourne.
ITEN WIRED
Pensacola nonprofit tech community hosting the Southeast's annual ITEN WIRED / TechNet CyberCoast summit.
Lab22c
Miami innovation consultancy and ecosystem connector that co-leads the local DoD-backed Rapid Innovation Accelerator.
Misfit Labs
Miami-based AI-native venture studio that co-builds and scales technology companies, including defense and dual-use ventures.
National Center for Simulation
Nonprofit consortium promoting the modeling, simulation and training industry from Orlando's Central Florida Research Park.
North Brevard Economic Development Zone
Public economic development agency advancing commerce and space-industry growth in north Brevard County.
Palantir Technologies
Data/defense-tech firm relocating HQ to West Palm Beach ('Gold Coast')
Rapid Innovation Accelerator - Miami (RIA-Miami)
DoD-backed Miami accelerator helping small businesses win federal defense contracts and SBIR awards.
Space Florida
Florida's aerospace economic-development agency.
Stony Lonesome Group
Defense/dual-use investor
TechFarms
Panama City Beach technology incubator offering workspace, prototyping, and mentoring to early-stage hardware and tech startups.
TechFarms Capital
Panama City Beach venture capital firm making seed and early-stage investments in Southeastern US tech startups.
The LAB Miami
Wynwood coworking and innovation hub that hosts Miami's dual-use and defense accelerator programs.
UWF Center for Cybersecurity and AI
University of West Florida center anchoring Pensacola's 'Cyber Coast' cybersecurity workforce and research.
Startups
Certus Core
Data & AI company building semantic knowledge graphs (sKG) and the IBIS platform for defense, government and enterprise.
DAGR Group
AI narrative-intelligence and decision-support platform detecting information threats in open-source environments.
Elucid8 Augur
AI-native market-intelligence platform for government contracting.
Fowado Technology Group
Fowado designs and manufactures American-made unmanned aerial systems for defense, public-safety and commercial use, including ISR, payload-delivery and cargo-transport drones.
Ondas Inc.
Ondas builds autonomous drone platforms and counter-drone systems, including the American Robotics Optimus drone-in-a-box for 24/7 automated ISR and security operations.
Redwire Space
Redwire is a space infrastructure company supplying sensors, avionics, payloads, solar arrays, in-space manufacturing and uncrewed systems to government and commercial customers.
Seagate Space
Seagate Space is developing mobile offshore ocean launch platforms designed around the demands of commercial small-launch operators.
Sidus Space
Sidus Space designs, builds and operates low-cost, rapidly scalable satellites and delivers space-based data and predictive analytics as a mission partner from concept to low Earth orbit.
SkyTL
AI-powered mission-management and decision-intelligence platform for wildfires and multi-hazard disaster response (WindTL, TAGS).
SubUAS
SubUAS builds the Naviator, an unmanned system that transitions seamlessly between air and water for defense and maritime missions.
Terran Orbital
Terran Orbital designs and manufactures small satellites and spacecraft components for national-security, defense and commercial customers.
Tesseract Ventures
Builds advanced robotics, autonomous drones and AI 'smart ecosystems' (NOMAD, PRISM, MOSAIC, ECHO) for defense, agriculture and energy.
Vaya Space
Vaya Space develops orbital launch vehicles powered by vortex-hybrid rocket engines that burn recycled-plastic (HDPE) fuel grains, targeting both commercial and defense small-satellite launch.
VTEM Labs
Service-disabled veteran-owned offensive-security platform (SPEAR) for threat exposure management.
XTEND
XTEND builds human-guided autonomous drone and robotic systems (its XOS operating system) for rapid-response ISR, counter-UAS and border-protection missions across air, ground and maritime domains.
Industry players
HEICO Corporation
HEICO is a Hollywood, Florida-headquartered aerospace and electronics company that designs and manufactures FAA-approved replacement parts and mission-critical components for aviation, defense, space, and medical markets.
Jabil Inc.
Jabil is a St. Petersburg-headquartered Fortune 500 manufacturing-services company providing design, production and supply-chain solutions across aerospace, defense, healthcare, automotive and other industries via 100+ sites worldwide.
L3Harris Technologies
L3Harris is a Melbourne-headquartered defense technology prime contractor spanning space and airborne systems, communications, avionics and electronic warfare, formed by the 2019 merger of L3 Technologies and Harris Corporation.
Lockheed Martin (Orlando / Missiles and Fire Control)
Lockheed Martin's 260-acre Orlando campus is the home of its Missiles and Fire Control business, designing and manufacturing precision-engagement missiles, rockets and manned/unmanned combat systems for the U.S. military and allies.
Northrop Grumman (Melbourne)
Northrop Grumman's Melbourne site is a 17-building, 109-acre campus adjacent to Orlando Melbourne International Airport where the company designs, develops and tests advanced manned aircraft and battle-management command-and-control systems.
Redwire Corporation
Redwire is a Jacksonville-headquartered space infrastructure company supplying spacecraft components, solar arrays, digital engineering and in-space manufacturing and biotech platforms for civil, commercial and national-security customers.
RTX / Collins Aerospace (Largo)
RTX's Collins Aerospace operates a 450,000-square-foot Largo facility producing radars, satellite and secure-communications components and RF/digital defense products, backed by a 2026 $26.5M expansion.
Sidus Space
Sidus Space is a Merritt Island-headquartered Space-Infrastructure-as-a-Service company that manufactures satellites (its LizzieSat line), space hardware and AI/ML-based space data products from a 35,000-square-foot facility.
Terran Orbital
Terran Orbital is a Boca Raton-based manufacturer of small satellites and satellite components for U.S. and allied aerospace and defense customers, acquired by Lockheed Martin in 2024.