Osceola County’s tech district is getting a nearly $51 million boost Friday from an American Rescue Plan grant.
The federal dollars will almost double the capacity of NeoCity’s microchip manufacturing facility. The microchips are used by NASA and other aerospace companies in the area.
Congressman Darren Soto says locally producing these materials means lower costs and more jobs.
“We appreciate tourism and agriculture are our two biggest employers in Osceola County. We also know we need to diversify our economy and we have chosen the path of high-tech manufacturing, predominantly microchips and microsensors. And we've already seen some of that happen. And this grant’s going to help us with the entire ecosystem.”
Soto likened NeoCity’s potential growth thanks to this grant to the economic powerhouse that is Lake Nona, with its thriving medical complex and autonomous shuttle company Beep.
“That's going to be key as we're working to fill the needs of local aerospace companies, satellite companies. We basically take larger types of electronics and shrink them down to microchip size as satellites need to get much smaller as well as airplane components and rocket components.”
Read more about NeoCity here.
