Since opening in October, Florida Innovation Hub at UF has already made a difference for startup companies housed in the new facility, some companies' presidents said.
The Innovation Hub was built to supply startup technology companies with the facilities they need to conduct research.
"The hub has already helped significantly," said Mike Giampietro, president of Generation Wy, one of the businesses that moved into the Innovation Hub.
Generation Wy plans to develop and market a product to prevent interference with cable and satellite communication using large bandwidth spectrum areas called "white space," according to the Innovation Hub's website.
"White space wireless has been referred to as Wi-Fi on steroids," Giampietro said.
White space provides additional capacity for high-speed Internet, making it faster, according to the website.
Inside its office at the Hub, Generation Wy benefits from office space and access to the expertise of attorneys and engineering experts, Giampietro said.
A company called eTect is also settling in at the Hub.
Eric Buffkin, president of eTect, said the company makes a drug capsule that tracks when someone takes a medication for a clinical trial.
In the past, drug companies have relied solely on the responses of recipients who are testing the drug. Using eTect's computerized capsule, drug companies can track who actually took the drug and when they took it.
Buffkin said being in the Innovation Hub is also a networking opportunity.
Other companies that have moved in and are expected to start conducting research are Apollidon, NanoPhotonica, NeuroNet, One Software, Mind 2 Market, Shadow Health and Totuit.
"This looks to me like an empire that could provide great innovation," Giampietro said of the Innovation Hub community.
