Tampa Bay Wave and Vanderbilt Health Launch Dual-Region HealthTech|X Accelerator for Behavioral Health and Addiction Startups
Healthcare innovation moves faster when founders have access to the right expertise, resources and relationships.
That idea is at the heart of Tampa Bay Wave’s 2026 HealthTech|X Accelerator, a dual-region program developed in partnership with Vanderbilt Health through the Brock Family Center for Applied Innovation.
For the first time in Wave’s history, an Accelerator cohort will operate across Tampa and Nashville, connecting two healthcare ecosystems to support startups developing solutions for behavioral health and addiction.
Connecting Founders to Healthcare Expertise
Through the partnership, companies selected for the 2026 cohort will gain direct access to Vanderbilt researchers, clinicians, informaticists and health system leaders, along with opportunities to explore clinical research partnerships, technology transfer and licensing of Vanderbilt technologies.
“Behavioral health and addiction don’t leave room for ideas that only work on paper. Founders need clinicians willing to test their technology against real patients, fast. That’s what Vanderbilt brings to this partnership, and paired with everything we’ve built in Tampa Bay, it gives these founders a shot most Accelerators can’t offer,” said Linda Olson, Founder and CEO of Tampa Bay Wave.
“Vanderbilt Health and the Brock Center for Applied Innovation are excited to collaborate with Tampa Bay Wave to welcome innovative behavioral health and addiction-focused startups into the HealthTech|X cohort,” said Dr. Ken Holroyd, MD, MBA, Director of Brock Family Center for Applied Innovation at Vanderbilt Health. “Together, we look forward to connecting founders with Nashville’s vibrant healthcare innovation ecosystem and providing exposure to Vanderbilt’s world-class clinical, research, and entrepreneurial resources to accelerate their business progress.”
One Accelerator, Two Healthcare Ecosystems
The 2026 HealthTech|X cohort will include in-person session weeks in both Tampa and Nashville, with virtual engagement between them. The program will culminate in pitch nights in each market and a remote Demo Day.
The dual-region structure gives founders an opportunity to build relationships across both communities, expanding their connections with investors, healthcare leaders, researchers and potential partners.
The program also builds on Tampa Bay Wave’s broader healthcare ecosystem, which includes Tampa General Hospital, BayCare, USF Health, Moffitt Cancer Center and the Tampa Medical Research District.
“Behavioral health and addiction are two critical areas of healthcare that need innovation from strong founders,” said Dr. Richard Munassi, MD, MBA, Managing Director of Tampa Bay Wave. “The opportunity to pair two of the strongest HealthTech ecosystems in the United States in Tampa and Nashville is unique and a major inflection point for Tampa Bay Wave, but most importantly provides an opportunity to rally investors, healthcare executives, and more to support the incoming cohort companies in a big way as they grow and scale their startup.”
“The entire Brock family and Brock Recovery Group team is excited to see the launch of the 2026 HealthTech|X Accelerator program focused on Behavioral Health and Addiction startups. With pairing together a world class Accelerator in the Tampa Bay Wave with all that Nashville and the Brock Family Center of Innovation at Vanderbilt Health has to offer, along with the tremendous ecosystems of Tampa and Nashville, the program will undoubtedly be of high value to all the matriculating startups, now and into the future,” said Major Brock, CEO, Brock Recovery Group.
Building Beyond Regional Boundaries
The 2026 HealthTech|X Accelerator marks a new chapter for Tampa Bay Wave.
By bringing programming to Nashville for the first time, Wave is extending the reach of its Accelerator model while creating new connections between founders and healthcare resources across regional boundaries.
It is a collaboration built around a shared goal: giving promising behavioral health and addiction startups more of the relationships, expertise and opportunities they need to build and scale.
Learn more about the 2026 HealthTech|X Accelerator and program details at Tampa Bay Wave’s HealthTech|X webpage.