May 5 - 8, 2025

Join us at SOF Week 2025

SOF Week is the single most important opportunity for SOFWERX to engage with the SOF community and collaborate on addressing challenges, advancing initiatives, and shaping the future of delivering cutting-edge capabilities to SOF operators.

Explore SOFWERX

Visit our booth

See SOFWERX in Action

Visit SOFWERX at Booth 2510 & 2512 during SOF Week to connect with our team and explore how we’re bridging the gap between industry and defense to drive impactful solutions for the special operations community.

Event overview

An opportunity for innovation and collaboration

SOF Week unites leaders in defense, technology, and military operations to explore advancements that meet the evolving needs of special operations forces. It’s a hub for innovation, collaboration, and thought leadership, bringing together industry, academia, and government to shape the future of special operations.

SOFWERX Supports Warfighters

SOFWERX was created under a Partnership Intermediary Agreement, established in September of 2015, between DEFENSEWERX and the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Located in Tampa, FL, SOFWERX has a dynamic environment designed to create a high rate of return on collision for all participants. Through the use of our growing ecosystem, promotion of divergent thought, and neutral facilitation, our goal is to bring the right minds together to solve challenging problems.

Join the Ecosystem

Our facility

Visit and Explore SOFWERX

Download our welcome packet

Whether you are coming to SOFWERX to tour the facility, attend a meeting, or participate in an event, we are excited you've decided to become part of the mission.

Vistor parking

Vistor parking guide at SOFWERX

Visitor Parking is located in the gravel lot diagonal to the SOFWERX facility. Street parking is also available. Don't want to Uber? Take the FREE "Trolley" TECO Streetcar from the Tampa Convention Center to Stop #1 at Ybor City Centennial Park Station and walk down to 2nd Ave where we're located!

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

SOFWERX is an open collaboration venue established under a Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA) between the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and DEFENSEWERX. It serves as a platform designed to bring together industry, academia, government, and non-traditional partners to accelerate innovation and solve critical challenges for the warfighter.

The SOFWERX facility provides a variety of capabilities to support ideation, collaboration, rapid prototyping, and experimentation. These include:

Open collaboration spaces for interactive collisions
Numerous meeting spaces and can accommodate meetings or workshops ranging from 4 – 250 personnel
Welding stations for metal fabrication (MIG, TIG, Stick for steel/aluminum)
Grinders and machining tools for prototyping
Iron Worker for cutting and shaping metal
Manual and CNC Lathe/Mill capabilities
Plasma Cutter
Horizontal Bandsaw
Hydraulic Press Brake for sheet metal forming
Drill Press
3D Printers (Resin based, Plastic Filament based, and Plastic Filament with carbon fiber inlay)
Software tools including SolidWorks (CAD), Fusion 360 (CAM), Ansys Fluent (CFD/Simulations), and MATLAB

The SOFWERX ecosystem is comprised of Industry, Labs, Academia and Government Stakeholders that care about solving challenging Warfighter problems to protect our freedoms and way of life. When USSOCOM brings a Warfighter problem to SOFWERX, the SOFWERX team alerts the ecosystem participants (via e-mail) about the opportunity, and how they can participate. Subsequently, the first step to understanding Warfighter challenges is to sign into the ecosystem so you may be notified.

No, joining the SOFWERX Ecosystem is completely free. SOFWERX operates with an open-door philosophy to encourage innovation without financial barriers. Participation is open to a wide range of participants, including industry leaders, small businesses, entrepreneurs, researchers, academia, and government entities interested in contributing to national defense challenges.

Getting involved with SOFWERX starts with becoming part of our ecosystem. This is the first step to understanding Warfighter challenges and being notified about opportunities to participate. The only requirement is your willingness to engage.

Sign up to join the ecosystem at sofwerx.org/ecosystem
Once registered, you'll receive email notifications about upcoming opportunities
Participate in events, hackathons, and challenge sprints
Submit innovative ideas and technology solutions
Collaborate with other ecosystem members through workshops and networking
Engage in rapid prototyping and experimentation efforts

SOFWERX events are open to a wide range of participants, including industry leaders, small businesses, entrepreneurs, researchers, academia, and government entities. While most events are accessible to the public to foster collaboration between non-traditional and traditional defense partners, we encourage all interested parties to check our event pages for specific participation requirements.

SOFWERX is located in Tampa, Florida, near MacDill Air Force Base, where USSOCOM is headquartered. The facility serves as a hub for innovation, bringing together diverse stakeholders to address the most pressing challenges faced by the Special Operations community.

Address:
1925 E 2nd Ave Suite #102
Tampa, FL 33605