Abacode expects to hire eight to 10 more staffers during the next nine months. A data visualization and artificial intelligence company, Ybor City's TheIncLab outgrew its 400-square-feet space at the Undercroft and relocated to 8,000-square-feet offices in El Pasaje building earlier this year. It now plans to hire 40 next year and pay an average wage of $85,000 annually. Positions will be in software engineering, emerging technology, data science, 3D design, and artificial intelligence. "All new positions will be in Tampa," says Adriana Avakian, CEO of TheIncLab.

A tech company that works to develop artificial intelligence-enabled systems that learn and collaborate with humans is expanding to Tampa. TheIncLab, based near Washington D.C., has opened an "AI X lab" -- that is, artificial intelligence plus experience -- at the Undercroft, a tech development center and membership guild for companies focused on cybersecurity. Along with TheIncLab, the Undercroft provides work space for local offices of BlackHorse Solutions, Sharp Decisions, @Risk Technologies and Bull Horn Communications. The Undercroft has offices in one of Ybor City's most historic structures, the El Pasaje building on E Ninth Avenue. Built in 1886, it originally housed the Cherokee Club, a private retreat for for wealthy cigar-makers.

A few months after taking part in Tampa Bay Wave's TechDiversity accelerator, TheIncLab has established an office in Ybor City. The company, headquartered in Washington, D.C. and with an office in Nashville, develops artificial intelligence-based systems designed to learn and collaborate with humans. On Monday, the company moved into The Undercroft, a cybersecurity guild and development center in Ybor City. Local civic, business and government leaders have been pushing to grow the technology sector, so the TheIncLab's decision to open an office here comes as welcome news. "TheIncLab's announcement is further proof that Tampa's reputation as a rising tech market is gaining national attention and attracting some really innovative companies," said Marie Chinnici-Everitt, managing director of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. and chair of the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council.