Tampa venture capital firm invests in govtech startup

It's the firm’s first leap into the government sector

By Laura Lyon
| 1:58 p.m. February 19, 2025
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

From left to right: The executive team at Certus Core CEO Jake Dyal, CDO Joe Blankenship and CTO Tim Toohill

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

A venture capital firm based out of Tampa, aptly named Tampa Bay Ventures, recently announced an investment into a local government technology startup. Certus Core, founded in 2021 by a group of veterans, counts itself as the latest addition to the firm’s portfolio and is the first government-focused startup investment.

Financial terms of the investment weren't disclosed.

Certus Core operates a platform that assists government entities with analyzing massive amounts of information, with a focus on national security and infrastructure planning, according to a statement The aim of the platform is to unite siloed networks with the goal of lowering barriers to data analysis and collaborative decision making.

However, the platform is poised to work across multiple sectors. The Certus Core team has an eye on agriculture, manufacturing, aviation and health care, to name a few.

Tampa Bay Ventures was founded in 2021 and currently has 17 companies in its portfolio. According to its website, the firm began with a $27 million seed fund to be dispersed to at least 20 local companies over five years according to its website.

author

Laura Lyon

Laura Lyon is the Business Observer's editor for the Tampa Bay region, covering business news in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties. She has a journalism degree from American University in Washington, D.C. Prior to the Business Observer, she worked in many storytelling capacities as a photographer and writer for various publications and brands.