Tysons-based TheIncLab expanded to Florida with an AI lab

Tysons, Virginia-based TheIncLab has opened an AI lab in Florida, it announced last week.

The five-year-old engineering design company launched its Artificial Intelligence Experience lab inside Tampa, Florida-based The Undercroft, a cybersecurity incubator that opened last summer, to serve its existing and new clients in the area.

Our 3rd location and 2nd AI+X lab Ybor City is now home to TheIncLAB https://t.co/YH0WyaJQvD

— TheIncLab (@TheIncLab1) January 16, 2020

TheIncLab reported that it has plans to hire at least 15 engineers and developers over the next year to work out of the Tampa AI lab. This AI lab is the company’s third location, it’s other two being here in the District and in Nashville. During its tenure, the company has worked with several branches of the Department of Defense and other organizations across the healthcare, aerospace, manufacturing and consumer electronics sectors.

The company’s founder and CEO Adriana Avakian told the Washington Business Journal that TheIncLab considered expanding into other places like California and Texas, and even further in Nashville. TheIncLab first got Tampa on its radar when it was one of 10 tech companies selected out of 432 applications to participate in the Tampa Bay Wave’s TechDiversity program last summer, a 90-day accelerator powered by The Nielsen Foundation.

“TheIncLab’s announcement is further proof that Tampa’s reputation as a rising tech market is gaining national attention and attracting some really innovative companies,” said Marie Chinnici-Everitt, chair of the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, in a statement.

With this expansion, the company said it also plans to partner with universities local to Tampa to offer internships to students.

“TheIncLab is an exciting addition to the Tampa Bay region’s innovation ecosystem, and we look forward to having this cutting-edge company nearby for future collaborations with faculty and student researchers,” said University of South Florida College of Engineering professor Sudeep Sarkar in a press release.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor even took to Twitter to show her excitement about the expansion:

Welcome to the @CityofTampa, @TheIncHub! So excited to welcome this cutting-edge organization to the @HistoricYbor business district – a growing hub for innovation, tech and creative services! #TransformingTampa https://t.co/FCkTsCQ3wp via @tbbjnewsroom

— Jane Castor (@JaneCastor) January 17, 2020

Outside of its hiring plans for its Tampa lab, TheIncLab has five open positions listed on its site currently.