15 Startups Pitch at Tampa Bay Wave’s 2026 Tech|X Accelerator Pitch Night
On July 16, 2026, 15 startups from Tampa Bay Wave’s 2026 Tech|X Accelerator—a program designed to help high-growth startups scale and connect into the region’s innovation ecosystem—took the stage at Pitch Night at Feeding Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Powered by The Nielsen Foundation, the event brought together members of the Tampa Bay tech community to celebrate innovation, entrepreneurship and the founders building what’s next.
To kick off the evening, attendees heard remarks from Andrea Bertels, vice president of corporate citizenship at The Nielsen Foundation, and Greg Celestan, president of Celestar, before founders presented their pitches.
But the most valuable parts of an accelerator happen long before Pitch Night. They are found in the mentorship, connections and insights that help founders sharpen their vision, strengthen their business models and prepare for growth. Pitch Night served as the culmination of months of learning, collaboration and progress, offering founders the opportunity to showcase how far they’ve come and where they’re headed next.
“I would recommend to any founder who has at least one customer and is on the verge of seeing their product scale, or achieve product-market fit, to consider the Tampa Bay Wave program and the Florida ecosystem in general,” said Youssef Abubaker, CEO and founder of TechNovaTime. “It’s been a very refreshing surprise to see how innovative this ecosystem is and how much people want to help you.”
Since 2018, 126 Tech|X startups have collectively raised more than $493 million and created more than 1,850 jobs.
More Than a Pitch
Pitch Night may be the most visible milestone, but it is only one part of the Tech|X experience. Throughout the program, founders sharpened their business models, strengthened their storytelling and gained access to mentors, investors and industry leaders through intentional introductions. By bringing founders into a network of experienced entrepreneurs, capital providers, corporate partners and community leaders, Tech|X helps create the relationships that often prove just as valuable as the curriculum itself.
This year’s cohort showcased solutions across artificial intelligence, healthtech, fintech, sustainability and advanced manufacturing, demonstrating both the breadth of innovation emerging from the region and the strength of the founders driving it forward.
They also traveled to get here. This year’s founders came from as far as London, Santiago and Buenos Aires to participate in the program’s in-person weeks in Tampa, a signal that Tampa Bay has become a destination serious founders choose.
“Pitch Night is always an inspiring reminder of what’s possible when talented entrepreneurs are connected to the right network, mentorship and resources. We’re proud to celebrate these founders and help accelerate their journey toward growth and success.”
Building Companies, Strengthening the Ecosystem
This network is at the heart of Tech|X. The program helps founders gain perspective, test assumptions and build relationships that continue well beyond the accelerator.
The Nielsen Foundation powers Tech|X as part of its national focus on expanding economic opportunity and access to innovation, and Tampa Bay’s growing startup base makes it a natural place to invest.
What Is Tech|X?
Tech|X is Tampa Bay Wave’s flagship startup accelerator for early-stage technology companies. Founders receive mentorship, investor introductions and business model support across the program, including in-person weeks in Tampa. Since 2018, the program has supported 126 startups. Applications for future cohorts open at tampabaywave.org/techx.
What’s Next
For the 2026 cohort, Pitch Night marked an important milestone, but not the finish line. It was the start of the next phase of growth, as these founders continue to build, scale and stay connected to Tampa Bay Wave’s portfolio of alumni companies, mentors, investors and community partners.
Applications for the 2027 Tech|X Accelerator cohort will open next year. Founders can learn more and apply at tampabaywave.org/techx.
Thank you to The Nielsen Foundation, our mentors, sponsors, investors and community partners who make Tech|X possible. And congratulations to this year’s founders as they continue building what’s next.
The 2026 Tech|X Cohort:
Cabana (New Orleans, LA)
Cabana is the first integrated behavioral health platform bridging clinical care and shared human experience to deliver continuous daily support and outcomes at scale.
Founders: David Black and Heather Townsend
Casera (Seattle, WA)
Casera is an AI-native enterprise case management platform that helps hospitals reduce avoidable days and improve patient progression.
Founders: Neeraj Singh Bhavani and Alex Levin
CryptoMate (Kalispell, MT and Buenos Aires, Argentina)
CryptoMate is building a future where every transaction becomes a product, enabling communities to fund their own financial growth.
Founders: Alan Boryszanski and Guido Fernando De Luca
Grovity (Miami, FL)
Grovity is an enterprise platform designed to build, orchestrate and manage a digital workforce of AI employees that automate and optimize critical business processes.
Founders: Samuel Urquijo, Manuel Steremberg, Miguel Urquijo and Juan Esteban Rios
Hybron, Inc (El Segundo, CA)
Hybron is an advanced composites manufacturing company developing next-generation materials and production solutions.
Founders: Brennan Lieu and Aaron Guo
Kneu (London, England)
Kneu Health delivers FDA-cleared, smartphone-based continuous monitoring for Parkinson’s disease and dementia, transforming everyday interactions into clinically meaningful insights.
Founders: Caroline Cake and Dr. Kinan Muhammed
LastMinute (Peabody, MA)
LastMinute is building a platform designed to help healthcare providers fill shifts quickly and reduce operational costs.
Founders: Leo Dassa and Leslie Hirshberg
Listra.ai (New York, NY)
Listra is the AI execution layer for accounts payable, resolving exceptions, communicating with vendors and syncing seamlessly with finance systems.
Founders: Andrew Anton and Taylor Lilley
Loyalink (Santiago, Chile)
Loyalink is an AI-native platform that transforms customer and employee experiences into actionable intelligence that drives business growth.
Founders: Cristian Pérez, Emilio Deichler, Felipe Navarrete and Miguel Correa
Opalite Health (Palo Alto, CA)
Opalite Health is an AI-powered medical interpreter that enables healthcare providers to communicate across any language barrier.
Founders: Cathleen Kuo and Alex Mehregan
Rahm Sensor Development Inc (Orlando, FL)
Rahm builds contact-free monitoring systems that detect human distress in real time.
Founder: Vik Ramprakash
Stakeholders Sustainability Index (SSINDEX) (New Haven, CT)
SSINDEX is a Yale-backed AI SaaS platform that helps companies anticipate operational risks, replace traditional surveys and optimize sustainability investments through stakeholder analytics.
Founders: Rod Castro and Ignacio Torres
Surgicure Technologies (Cambridge, MA)
Surgicure Technologies is a medical device company improving patient outcomes through innovative airway management solutions, from hospital ICUs to the battlefield.
Founder: Irena King, PhD
TechNovaTime (Pompton Lakes, NJ)
TechNovaTime turns screen recordings of healthcare employees into digital replicas that execute work inside existing systems.
Founders: Youssef Abubaker, Cameron Cubra and Andrew Gelbard
Vetavize (Orlando, FL)
Vetavize is the TurboTax for veteran benefits, helping employers reduce unnecessary healthcare costs for veteran employees through AI and automation.
Founder: Anthony Rivera
To learn more about Tampa Bay Wave’s accelerator programs, portfolio companies and founder resources, click here.