NOTE: TUESDAY 1-ON-1 IS A MOSTLY WEEKLY SERIES OF DEEP CONVERSATIONS WITH ORLANDO’S RELEVANT AND TIMELY TECH NEWSMAKERS WHICH AIM TO PROVIDE CONTEXT ON THE CITY’S ECOSYSTEM AND BUSINESSES. Sal Rehmetullah started to get the business itch last summer. Having exited Orlando’s fintech unicorn Stax alongside his sister, Suneera Madhani, he was ready to explore what might come next. “We had done a good job of life integration but it was really nice to spend time to enjoy the fruits of our labor for a bit,” he said. “But I don’t think I could just be retired. Golf is fun. Sitting on beaches is grea ..read more

An independent video game studio primarily based in Orlando announced Monday a $10 million funding round to support the development of its debut title. AVALON has been building what it’s calling “a next-generation massively multiplayer online game” that incorporates interoperability between multiple worlds, with assets adapting and progression carrying over to each world. The result will be a world that empowers players to create, share and take ownership of experiences. Artificial intelligence-assisted and user-generated content systems will combine with Unreal Engine 5 to help players develo ..read more

Central Florida’s VR/AR Association chapter might have unlocked on Thursday something that has been a missing piece of the Orlando tech industry’s recent surge in momentum. As I popped my head in and out of sessions all day, I watched as leaders from the region sat on panels sharing expertise in widely disparate industries that all had tech in common. Healthcare. Entertainment. Education. It was enough variety to make my head spin. Last week, we shared that local tech people were excited because the summit would give audiences – local and otherwise – a glimpse at what this community has to off ..read more

Are you a military veteran in need of a partner to build your small tech business? Well, in Central Florida, you have one of the best, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. The Veterans Entrepreneurship Initiative was named Community Partner of the Year in northern Florida – and the entire state – by the SBA last week. “Our goal has always been to help build our economy by giving veterans the tools they need to start and grow businesses throughout the state, creating thousands of jobs,” says Rafael Caamano, VEI’s executive director. “We are so honored to have this organization r ..read more

A two-day summit in Orlando will be a flex of the region’s strength in immersive technologies as much as it will be a place for the city’s tech community to gather, industry leaders said this week. The VR/AR Association’s Central Florida contingent will bring its second Immersive Technology Summit to Full Sail University on Thursday and Friday. Among the industries it will showcase are medical tech, digital twins and education technology. “Orlando’s rise as a center for immersive tech presents a unique opportunity to assess its impact and potential,” said Innovate Orlando CEO David Adelson, wh ..read more

An Orlando edtech startup closed a $2 million seed funding round to bolster it’s AI-based course development technology. PETE Learning will use the money to build more awareness of its learning platform. PETE Learning was cofounded by Stax Payments cofounder Jacques Fu. Fu told OTN that he wanted PETE to serve as an example to others who build in Central Florida. “It’s humbling. I am happy that I’m able to strengthen my ties to the Orlando community,” he said in an interview. “I’m thrilled to be an example. When you build a great company here, you can exit, invest locally and keep seeing the c ..read more

There is more than one basketball team in town heading to the postseason. As the NBA’s Orlando Magic jostle for position in the postseason, its gaming division, known as Magic Gaming, has already punched its ticket. On the back of a point guard living up to his nickname, Joshua “unguardable” Hunter, Magic Gaming got hot this weekend. The result was a run that ended with a championship in NBA 2K League’s SWITCH tournament. The win brings with it $30,000. Magic Gaming’s point total for this year has earned a first-round bye in the postseason of the league’s 3v3 season. NBA 2K League’s format in ..read more

A brother-sister duo that produced one of Orlando’s highest-profile tech businesses in recent memory is off to a flying start with their next startup. Worth AI cofounders Suneera Madhani and Sal Rehmetullah announced a strategic partnership Friday with Equifax. The Atlanta-based consumer credit reporting giant is one of the three largest in the world. The partnership will make Equifax data on millions of U.S. businesses available to Worth AI. Worth uses artificial intelligence to produce more accurate risk assessments, quicker decisions and more standardized business credit scores assessing un ..read more

A Silicon Valley-based accelerator program launched two Central Florida locations in the last week, indicating its belief in the region as a potential technology hub. Plug and Play Tech Center, which operates dozens of accelerators around the world, announced on Tuesday that it would operate a cohort of smart cities-based companies from Orange County. The announcement came six days after a similar announcement of a sensor-based cohort in Kissimmee. Plug and Play CEO Saeed Amini on Tuesday put it bluntly as he addressed the crowd of educators, business owners and political leaders at University ..read more

An Orlando tech company has partnered with a local resource for seniors to protect that vulnerable age group from cyber threats. Perez Technology Group donated 5,000 downloads of its cybersecurity app CyberFence to the Central Florida-based Senior Resource Alliance. The move encourages seniors to take cybersecurity seriously while navigating their own “digital landscape,” said Karla Radka, SRA president and CEO. “Embracing technology is key to our mission of allowing seniors to age independently and safely,” she said. “But as seniors grow their digital presence, it puts them at greater risk of ..read more