"Cyber Bay": How Tampa Became a Cybersecurity and AI Hub
· 4 min read · Article X-29
Ask people in the industry what Tampa Bay tech is known for, and many will give you the same answer: cybersecurity. The region has picked up a nickname that sticks: Cyber Bay.
It didn't happen by accident. Several things came together: a major military presence, a few security companies that grew very large, and a university that made a big bet on AI and cybersecurity education.
The military anchor
MacDill Air Force Base in South Tampa is home to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Both need secure communications, threat intelligence and a large workforce of cleared cyber professionals.
That creates steady demand for talent and contractors, and for startups working on defense-related security problems. Veterans leaving service often stay in the area, which adds experienced people to the local talent pool.
Security companies that grew very large
Tampa Bay has produced cybersecurity companies that operate at national and global scale:
- KnowBe4, founded in Clearwater in 2010, grew into one of the world's best-known security awareness training platforms. Vista Equity Partners completed its acquisition of KnowBe4 in February 2023, in a deal valued at about $4.6 billion.
- ReliaQuest, based in Tampa, raised more than $500 million at a $3.4 billion valuation in 2025, in a round led by EQT, KKR and FTV Capital. The company reported annual recurring revenue above $300 million and said it was growing more than 30% year over year while profitable. In 2026 it pledged $1.5 million to Florida State University for AI cybersecurity research.
- Rapid7 and ConnectSecure also have headquarters or major offices in the region, according to USF.
Companies like these help a whole region grow. They train hundreds of engineers and analysts who later leave to start companies of their own, invest as angels, or join local startups as early employees.
A college built for the moment
In March 2025, Arnie and Lauren Bellini gave $40 million to the University of South Florida, the largest gift in USF's history. Arnie Bellini built ConnectWise, a Tampa software company. The gift created the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing, which USF describes as the first named college in the U.S. dedicated to where AI and cybersecurity meet. It welcomed its first students in fall 2025.
USF's announcement also noted that more than 25% of Florida's tech jobs are in the Tampa area. The Bellini College is designed to grow that talent pipeline, with integrated undergraduate and graduate programs and research partnerships with government and industry.
Why AI and security go together
AI and cybersecurity are increasingly the same field. Attackers use AI to write better phishing emails and to find weaknesses faster. Defenders use it to sort through huge volumes of security alerts and respond automatically. ReliaQuest's funding announcement, for example, focused on AI agents that automate security work.
A region that trains people in both, next to military customers with real cyber needs, has an advantage that's hard to copy.
What it means for everyone else building here
Most Tampa startups aren't security companies. Ours isn't. But Cyber Bay helps everyone building software here:
- Security talent is local. Getting privacy and security right is much easier when experienced people are nearby.
- Customers expect it. Businesses in a region full of security experts ask sharper questions about how you handle data. That pushes you to build better from the start.
- The talent spreads. Engineers trained at large security companies bring discipline around reliability, testing and threat modeling to every company they join afterward.
We keep privacy front and center in our own products, collecting only the data an app actually needs and saying so plainly. Part of that comes from building in a region where security is taken seriously.
Sources
- Historic $40M gift establishes Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing at USF (USF, March 2025)
- ReliaQuest Raises More Than $500 Million in Funding at a Valuation of $3.4 Billion (ReliaQuest, 2025)
- Tampa's ReliaQuest gifts FSU $1.5M for AI cybersecurity research (Business Observer, April 2026)
- Vista Equity Partners completes acquisition of KnowBe4 (St. Pete Catalyst, 2023)
- Cybersecurity sector bear hugs Tampa region (Business Observer)