The University of Florida will begin construction in November on the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence, a new 40,000-square-foot facility at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Wimauma, Hillsborough County.

Backed by $30 million in state funding and $4.5 million in federal support for equipment, the project aims to push innovation in agricultural automation and workforce development. Completion is expected by January 2027.

Nathan Boyd, associate center director and professor of horticulture and weed science, said the initiative is about safeguarding Florida’s agricultural industry—valued as the state’s second largest—and strengthening U.S. food security.

“Everything from transplanting to crop maintenance to harvesting is done by hand for most of our specialty crops,” Boyd said. “The solution to this is automation.”

Boyd noted that robotics and AI could help address labor shortages while ensuring food remains affordable and accessible across all income levels. He also referred to the ability to produce food domestically as a matter of “national security.”

Locating the center in Hillsborough County was deliberate, Boyd said, because of its central position in Florida and proximity to Tampa’s growing tech sector.

The facility will not only serve as a hub for agricultural technology research but also as a training ground for the next generation of scientists. “It’s going to give us the capability to train graduate students in ways we have not been able to do before,” Boyd said.

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(Image credit: University of Florida/IFAS)

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