United States / Funding / By state / Florida
Funding for startups in Florida
Florida runs 15 programmes of its own, and 14 of them take applications right now. The 63 federal programmes further down are open to Florida companies too. We read each one on its official site and note the date we checked.
Run by Florida and local bodies
BBIF Florida Small Business Loans
BBIF Florida · Florida
A certified CDFI offers microloans, small business loans, contractor financing and commercial real estate loans to Florida businesses that can't get conventional bank financing.
Corridor Early-Stage Innovation Fund
Florida High Tech Corridor, via USF Research & Innovation · Florida
USF researchers can get up to $25,000 to advance early-stage innovations toward commercialization or startup formation.
Florida First Check
The Florida Institute (Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research) and Florida Funders · Florida
An evergreen pre-seed fund gives Florida's earliest-stage tech founders a first check of $75,000 to $100,000 plus company-building support.
Florida Job Growth Grant Fund
FloridaCommerce (Florida Department of Commerce), Executive Office of the Governor · Florida
Florida's public infrastructure and workforce-training fund, awarded to local governments and colleges rather than businesses directly, chosen by the Governor from FloridaCommerce-reviewed proposals.
Florida Recycling Loan Program
Florida First Capital Finance Corporation · Florida
Low-cost fixed-rate loans of $20,000 to $300,000 help small Florida recyclers and recycled-material manufacturers buy or refinance equipment.
Florida State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)
FloridaCommerce, with Florida Opportunity Fund and Florida First Capital Finance Corporation · Florida
Five state-backed financing tools (loan guarantees, collateral support, loan participation, capital access) help Florida small businesses borrow through participating private lenders.
Florida Venture Capital Program
Florida Opportunity Fund · Florida
State-backed venture capital fund makes direct equity investments in growing Florida companies to help them attract additional private investors.
Foundation Bull Ring Accelerator Grant (BRAG)
University of South Florida (USF Research & Innovation) · Florida
USF-affiliated startups building on licensed USF technology can get up to $25,000 to clear early development hurdles.
Matching Grants Research Program (MGRP)
Florida High Tech Corridor Council, with UCF and USF · Florida
Florida High Tech Corridor matches industry R&D spending up to $150,000 per project when a company sponsors research with UCF or USF faculty.
Research and Development Tax Credit Program
Florida Department of Revenue / FloridaCommerce · Florida
Florida C-corporations in target industries can claim a 10% state credit on qualified research spending above a base amount, applied for each March.
Tampa Bay Wave Accelerator Programs (Tech|X, CyberTech|X, HealthTech|X, FinTech|X, BlueTech|X)
Tampa Bay Wave · Florida
Zero-equity accelerator tracks in cybersecurity, health tech, fintech, ocean tech and general tech pair Florida startups with mentors and investor connections.
UCF Business Incubation Program
University of Central Florida · Florida
A two-decade-old UCF incubator gives Central Florida startups workspace, mentorship and connections to capital across three program tracks.
UF Innovate Ventures Fund
UF Innovate (University of Florida) · Florida
UF Innovate co-invests its $2 million annual venture fund alongside a lead investor in startups built on licensed University of Florida technology.
Venture Hive Miami Accelerator
Venture Hive · Florida
A 12-week Miami accelerator gives founders hands-on programming, mentorship and an ongoing investor and entrepreneur network.
Public Innovation Challenge
Miami-Dade Innovation Authority (MDIA) · Florida
Miami-Dade's innovation authority funds and pilot-tests startup technology that solves a county-selected challenge, such as its current water-operations round.
Want to filter these by amount or stage? Open them in the full directory.
Federal programmes open to Florida businesses
Grants 23
- AFWERX SBIR/STTR & Army xTechup to $15M
- Amber Grant for Womenup to $50k
- ARPA-E
- ARPA-H
- Comcast RISEup to $5k
- DHS SBIRup to $1M
- DoD SBIR/STTRup to $2.15M
- DOE SBIR/STTRup to $2.15M
- ED/IES SBIRup to $1M
- EDA Build to Scale (B2S)up to $5M
- EPA SBIRup to $400k
- Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program
- FedEx Small Business Grant Contestup to $50k
- NASA SBIR/STTRup to $1.27M
- NIH SBIR/STTRup to $4.19M
- NOAA SBIRup to $690k
- NSF SBIR/STTR — America's Seed Fund powered by NSFup to $1.25M
- Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) — Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiencyup to $25M
- SBA Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC)up to $200k
- SBIR/STTR (America's Seed Fund)up to $2.15M
- US DOT SBIRup to $200k
- USDA NIFA SBIR
- Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG)up to $200k
Loans & guarantees 15
- CAPLines (SBA 7(a) Lines of Credit)up to $5M
- CDFI Fund — Certified Community Development Financial Institution Network
- DOE Loan Programs Office (Office of Energy Dominance Financing)
- Export Working Capital Program (EWCP)up to $5M
- International Trade Loan Program (ITL)up to $5M
- Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan (MREIDL)up to $2M
- SBA 504 Loan Program (CDC/504)up to $5.5M
- SBA 7(a) Loan Programup to $5M
- SBA Community Advantage Loansup to $1M
- SBA Disaster Loans (Physical Damage & Economic Injury)up to $2M
- SBA Microloan Programup to $50k
- SBA-504 and 7(a) Combined Loan Cap ($10M)up to $10M
- EXIM Working Capital Guarantee Programup to $10M
- SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Programup to $14M
- State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)
Tax benefits 8
- Federal R&D Tax Credit (Section 41)
- New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC)
- QSBS Section 1202 Exclusionup to $15M
- Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ)
- R&D Payroll Tax Offset (Qualified Small Business Payroll Tax Credit)up to $500k
- Section 174A Domestic R&D Expensing Restoration
- State R&D Tax Credits (multi-state landscape)
- Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)up to $2.4k
Equity 7
- 500 Global Flagship Acceleratorup to $150k
- Antler US Residency
- gener8tor Investment Acceleratorup to $100k
- HAXup to $250k
- Neo Accelerator
- Techstars Standard Investment Termsup to $220k
- Y Combinator Standard Dealup to $500k
Support & credits 10
- AWS Activateup to $200k
- Google for Startups Cloud Programup to $350k
- Microsoft for Startupsup to $150k
- MassChallenge Accelerator Programs (Traction & Challenge)
- MBDA Business Center Network
- NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
- NVIDIA Inception
- Plug and Play Accelerator Programs
- SBA 8(a) Business Development Program
- Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program
The other Florida deadline funders will ask about
Most programmes above ask for financials and a company in good standing. In Florida that means the Annual Report — Due between January 1 and May 1 each year. The first report is due in that window the year after the articles became effective (Fla. Stat. s.605.0212(3)).
This page exists because Florida has at least 2 verified programmes of its own. See every state, or tell us about a Florida programme we are missing via the contact page.
Funders read the books before the pitch
Every programme on this page asks for financials in a particular shape. We keep Florida books in that shape year-round, so applying is an export rather than a rebuild.