Innovation Fusion event in Tampa focuses on tech in sports

The Florida-Israel Business Accelerator’s annual Innovation Fusion event is coming up May 22, and this year, the focus is on innovation in sports.

The event, which is entering its third year, will highlight different ways technology is changing the sports industry. During the sit-down dinner, attendees will hear from keynote speaker Aviv Shapira, who created the sport tech startup Replay, and learn about the story behind his company, now known as Intel True View. True View uses advanced technology to provide a more immersive fan experience during NFL games. Shapira will also discuss his next startup venture.

Rachel Marks Feinman, executive director of the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator, says the choice of innovation and sports as the theme of this year’s event was a logical one.

We all know that Tampa has a reputation as a sports town,” she says. “We have three professional sports teams, regularly host major national sporting events, and just generally love our sports at all levels. Our goal is to make Tampa known as a tech town too, so what better theme can there be than combining the two?”

The event will also feature a panel discussion with Lightning CEO Steve Griggs, Atul Khosla, Chief Corporate Development and Brand Officer of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, William Walsh, Vice President and Strategy and Development of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Rob Higgins Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission.

Feinman hopes that attendees will leave feeling inspired about the future of tech in Florida.

“I want everyone to see the potential for Central Florida to be Ground Zero for discussion and opportunity around sports tech,” she says. “More broadly speaking, Sports Tech encapsulates both performance and wellness for the players, as well as fan experience. Both of these areas have much broader application than just sports.”

For more information about the event, which will be held at the Bryan Glazer Family JCC, click here.

Homebrew Hillsborough

Also coming up later this month, Homebrew Hillsborough will host a meeting at Cyber Florida on May 31. Cyber Florida, which is hosted at USF, is a state-funded organization focused on positioning Florida as a national leader in cybersecurity through education and workforce development.

The event will include a brief presentation along with a social engineering escape room.

To sign up for the event, click here.

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Read more articles by Jaymi Butler.

Jaymi Butler is a writer and editor who enjoys telling the stories of growth and innovation in the Tampa Bay Area, which she has called home since 2003. A former reporter for the Savannah Morning News, The State, and The Tampa Tribune, she has covered a variety of topics ranging from business to features to public health -- and she even got to sit in on an American Idol audition just feet away from Simon Cowell!