UCF Business Incubation Program and Andromeda Ventures Launch Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Dual-Use Technologies

Partnership connects Central Florida’s innovation ecosystem with venture capital, technical expertise, and commercialization pathways for technologies with applications on Earth and in space
Orlando, Fla. (April 30, 2026) — The UCF Business Incubation Program and Andromeda Ventures today announced a strategic partnership designed to accelerate the development and commercialization of dual-use technologies — innovations with applications across both terrestrial and space environments — while strengthening Central Florida’s position as a global hub for advanced industry.
The partnership connects one of Florida's most active university-anchored incubation ecosystems with a venture firm focused on scaling technologies aligned with critical capability gaps across government and commercial sectors.
“It’s no secret we’re in a new dawn for the space industry, which is creating tremendous opportunities for companies throughout Central Florida,” said Rafael Caamano, interim director of Innovation Districts and the Incubator at the University of Central Florida. “Bringing in the team at Andromeda to help our companies and the incubator represents a new wave of partnerships the incubator is looking to create in order to help grow the Central Florida economy.”
Through the partnership, UCF incubator companies will have access to Andromeda’s network of technical experts, strategic partners, and venture investment opportunities aligned with the firm’s mandate.
Andromeda Ventures, based in Washington, D.C., was founded by co-founders and general partners Dr. Christyl C. Johnson and Christian Elam, whose combined experience spans NASA executive leadership, venture investing, policy development, and global public-private partnerships.
Johnson previously served as Associate Administrator and Deputy Associate Administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, where she led the development and oversight of the agency’s most advanced technology programs, spanning early-stage research through flight-ready systems. In that role, her team identified 187 documented technology shortfalls critical to enabling sustained human presence on the Moon — capability gaps that no nation currently has solutions to, and that Andromeda was established to help address.
 
“The companies building tomorrow’s most consequential technologies are not all going to emerge from traditional aerospace pipelines,” Johnson said. “Some will come from ecosystems like this one, where cross-disciplinary teams are solving hard problems from the ground up. The UCF Business Incubation Program has built something desperately needed in this country, and we are here to help the best of these companies move faster from innovation to impact.”
Elam previously founded Bachmanity Capital and was an early investor in defense technology company Thor Dynamics. He co-authored the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act and was appointed a United Nations Peace Ambassador in 2024.
“Central Florida has built something we don’t see often: a university-anchored incubation ecosystem with genuine international reach, a strong concentration of dual-use technology companies, and a leadership team that thinks strategically about where the ecosystem needs to go,” said Elam. “This collaboration is about building a shared pipeline, so the right companies get the right capital, guidance, and connections at the right time.”
The collaboration will initially focus on several areas:
• Venture pipeline development for companies advancing dual-use technologies
• Commercialization support and mentorship for select incubator companies
• Advisory participation to support venture readiness and ecosystem alignment
• International market positioning, including support for companies entering the United States through the UCF BIP’s Soft Landing Program
Andromeda Ventures invests in technologies that deliver immediate value on Earth while addressing the demands of mission-critical environments, including those tied to long-term human presence in space. The firm supports portfolio companies through technical validation pathways, regulatory insight, strategic partnerships, and access to global markets.
The collaboration is expected to expand over time as both organizations work together to identify high-potential companies and strengthen pathways from early-stage innovation to venture-scale outcomes.
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Media Contacts:
For the UCF Business Incubation Program: Alan Byrd, 407-415-8470, Alan@ByrdConnections.com
For Andromeda Ventures: Tony Chamblee, 310-770-4313, tony@andrventures.com
About Andromeda Ventures: Andromeda Ventures invests where the future is being built — at the convergence of space exploration, defense modernization, and resilient infrastructure. Leveraging government-validated technology roadmaps, deep strategic partnerships, and an experienced leadership team, Andromeda backs mission-critical technologies that deliver immediate impact on Earth while enabling humanity's expansion beyond. For more information, visit www.andrventures.com 
About the UCF Business Incubation Program: The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program is a community resource that provides early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to become financially stable, high-growth/impact enterprises. Since 1999, this award-winning program has provided vital business development resources resulting in over 300 local startup companies reaching their potential faster and graduating into the community where they continue to grow and positively impact the local economy.
 
With eight facilities throughout the region, the UCF Business Incubation Program is an economic development partnership between the University of Central Florida, the Corridor, Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties, and the cities of Eustis, Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Springs. In 2023, current incubator clients supported over 1,000 employees and generated over $120 million in revenue.  Nineteen companies graduated from the program and remained in the local community. For more information, visit www.incubator.ucf.edu