Funding could help NeoCity land Korean businesses

In Part 2 of our series, the News-Gazette delves into Osceola County’s efforts in garnering Korean tech investment at NeoCity.

Public investments in attracting Korean business to Osceola County’s NeoCity are getting a boost from federal legislation aimed at getting more technology ‘made in America.’

Osceola’s $100-million tech park already is producing millions in semiconductors for the Department of Defense through BRIDG, a countyled nonprofit company, and SkyWater Technology, which recently replaced the University of Central Florida at NeoCity.

But a global shortage of semiconductors is backing up the production of everything from cars to computers, affecting supply chains and consumers the world over. And with growing U.S. security concerns about microtechnology produced in China and Russia, there’s new demand for semiconductors and other essential components of modern technology made in the U.S.

The CHIPS Act for America will provide $52 billion worth of tax credits over 10 years for companies that manufacture semiconductors in the U.S. and for investments in the facilities where they’re made, like Osceola’s $75 million fabrication facility, officially known as the Center for Neovation.

CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) legislation will hopefully help bring Korean smart-technology giant LG to NeoCity, said U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, who co-sponsored the CHIPS Act in the House.

Soto has been involved with the development of the publicly funded, 500-acre Kissimmee tech park since its inception during his tenure in the Florida Legislature from 2007 until he was elected to Congress in 2016.

Osceola County has been courting LG and other Korean technology companies since 2018, hosting Korean business envoys in Kissimmee and sending local officials to Korea.

“The South Korean DNA is wired for entrepreneurship and their track record in the technology field is a perfect fit for the things we are trying to establish here in Osceola County,” County Commissioner Cheryl Grieb said after her July trip to Seoul with Soto.

The two met with some 70 dignitaries and business leaders at a reception co-hosted by AmCham, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, and the U.S. Embassy, according to the county.

“This was my second trip to South Korea and I feel like we are really establishing important relationships that will help push NeoCity to the next level,” Grieb said in a county press release.

The county also has a $400,000-a-year, multiyear contract with NeoCity Links, a Kissimmee-based consulting firm, paid to recruit businesses to the county tech park since 2019.

“We are excited with the large strides the visit to Korea by Commissioner Cheryl Grieb and Congressman Darren Soto achieved,” NeoCity Links Chairman Mark Miller said in the release.

The county and LG were close to inking a deal for a “Smart City” project in 2019, Miller told the Orlando Business Journal that year. But the deal has yet to manifest.

But the “Smart City” pitch is still alive and was part of Soto’s and Grieb’s pitch in Seoul last month.

They toured Pangyo, known as the “Silicon Valley of Korea,” and LG’s ThinQ Home, which showcases the latest in home automation technology.

The longstanding military alliance between the U.S. and Korea - home to the largest U.S. military base outside the country - also positions Korean companies to be able to tap into the defense industrial base and U.S. military simulation centers in Central Florida and defense operations on the Space Coast, Soto said.

One of NeoCity’s most attractive features is the 109,000 square-foot semiconductor fabrication plant, or Center for Neovation, which is one of only 20 in the U.S., Soto said.

“We’re in the right place at the right time,” he said. “We’ve had some successes, but we’ve got to bring one of these companies home for a landing.”

Note: read Part 3 next week on how NeoCity is changing Osceola County’s economy.