 On Wednesday, the company, based in Southwest Virginia, will announce a $3 million seed round, led by Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology and The Pearl Fund Limited Partnership with participation from CAV Angels. Micronic is the kind of rare company that is seen as critically important and a possible model for future development. It’s a DeepTech company, led by a woman, emerging from a tiny university on the front lines of one of the biggest economic transformations in the United States, as Appalachia and the country’s energy infrastructure move away from coal.  Southwest Virginia-based and woman-led, early stage clean technology company delivers a patented water purification solution that cleans water from virtually any source The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) and The Pearl Fund today announced that CIT GAP Funds and The Pearl Fund L.P. led a $3 million seed round investment in Micronic Technologies, Inc, with participation from CAV Angels. Located in a Southwest Virginia Opportunity Zone, Micronic Technologies is a developer of a breakthrough Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) water purification technology that reduces wastewater volume by 95% and removes over 99% of contaminants in a sustainable and cost-effective way that hasn’t been achievable until now. “We are pleased to join The Pearl Fund in this investment for Micronic Technologies. This round builds on our initial Virginia Founders Fund seed financing for the company in 2019, and proves out the application of an Opportunity Zone investment framework for funding tech startups and founders in traditionally underserved geographies,” said Tom Weithman, Managing Director, CIT GAP Funds. “Opportunity Virginia has also played a role in Micronic’s success and execution, and we look forward to replicating the Micronic investment model in other Opportunity Zone investments.”  "Over the coming years, the Commonwealth of Virginia will enable and grow a leadership role in quantum information sciences. Already a thriving hub for information technology, cybersecurity, national security, and much more, Virginia is well placed to help prepare our state, region, and country for the quantum era. We look forward to working collaboratively with Connected DMV, partners, and institutions across the region to help develop our national capital region’s quantum innovation ecosystem." – David Ihrie, Chief Technology Officer, Center for Innovative Technology, Commonwealth of Virginia  These VC firms span the D.C., Northern Virginia and Baltimore areas. Whether you're seeking seed funding or raising a Series B, there's probably something here to propel your business. (CIT GAP Funds listed)  CIT GAP Funds Investment Director Alex Euler participated as a panelist in UpRiver 2020 | "UpRiver is an annual fall event hosted by Activation Capital that brings together founders and entrepreneurs throughout the Richmond region. Sara Maddox, Activation Capital's outreach and community affairs manager, said the pandemic was front and center as they decided on programming for this year's event..." "Everyone is going through tough times, and founders are going through tough times, as well," she said. "A lot of them are having to reimagine or pivot what their company needs to do to stay viable through the pandemic. We tried to have our panels focused on that."  Technology startup offers personalized and print boutique-quality greeting card The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that the Virginia Founders Fund (VFF) has invested in Card Isle, a Blacksburg, Va.-based technology company that is rethinking how greeting cards can be distributed in a changing retail landscape. Card Isle offers turnkey solutions to design, order, and print personalized greeting cards, and will use this capital from VFF to continue their rapid growth in the eCommerce gifting sector and develop new markets. DroneUp CEO and founder Tom Walker discusses teaming up with Walmart and Quest Diagnostics to deliver at-home coronavirus test kits in a contact-free way. #FoxBusiness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE8o2jCPb1s
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And where there’s a real-world technical challenge, there’s the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to provide an innovative solution.  NOVI’s reconfigurable satellites enable significant reductions in capital cost for constellation deployment  Richmond, VA, Sept. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that CIT GAP Funds has made a follow-on investment in Arlington, Va.-based NOVI, developer of the next generation of hardware and data analytics platforms for the new space, infrastructure and manufacturing verticals. Since CIT’s initial investment in early 2019, the company has accelerated strategic outreach and development on its first commercial technology. The additional capital from GAP Funds will be used to accelerate their commercial go‐to‐market strategy and support key hires. Note: Novi is a 2019 CIT Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) award recipient.
 Richmond, Va. – Sept. 21, 2020 – The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced the participation of Investment Directors, Jennifer O’Daniel and Marco Rubin, as selection committee members for Forefront 2020’s Startup Showcase. Forefront, scheduled to take place virtually from Sept. 22-23, will bring together leading capital sources and industry changemakers who are committed to advancing efforts that build inclusive and diverse entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Forefront's review and selection process is an independent process led by MAVA Investor Members. O’Daniel and Rubin took part in selecting the 35 competitive startups to participate in this year’s Startup Showcase on the first day of the event. When: Tuesday, September 22, 2020 from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET Where: For more information about the virtual event, please click here. What: Forefront 2020 Startup Showcase Ultimately, 35 competitively selected startups will take the virtual stage to present in front of professional investors and corporate partners. Showcase Companies represent the strength of commercial enterprises being built across D.C. and the greater National Capital Region and beyond. These startups stood out for the following characteristics:
Who: CIT Investment Directors By Michael Martz, Sep 15, 2020  Bob Stolle, a former top state commerce official and member of a prominent Virginia political family, has been named the new president and CEO of the Center for Innovative Technology. Stolle, who previously has served as senior vice president of policy and regional initiatives at CIT, will succeed Ed Albrigo, who has led the state-supported technological research initiative for five years and will help the leadership transition through mid-October. https://richmond.com/business/local/former-state-official-named-new-leader-at-center-for-innovative-technology/article_2b37e704-6402-5028-af96-330e9154aafe.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_RTDNEWS
 Photo - Richmond Times-Dispatch Weekend: Jan 26, 2020 Richmond, Va. – September 11, 2020 – The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) Board of Directors today announced Bob Stolle as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer and President of CIT. Stolle previously served as CIT’s Senior Vice President of Policy and Regional Initiatives as well as the head of CIT’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Division. Startup is developing targeted solutions for targeted diseases to address antibiotic resistance, one of today’s biggest threats to global health  “Techulon is advancing a new generation of therapeutics with broad application based on technology that is highly selective of disease targets. This results in more effective drugs that exhibit fewer side effects to patients,” said Tom Weithman, Managing Director of CIT GAP Funds and Virginia Founders Fund. “The startup has already demonstrated the benefits of this targeted approach and is working towards human proof-of-concept studies and translating these findings into clinical applications. We look forward to being part of Techulon’s success.” Startup’s portable device uses advanced data forensics and monitoring techniques to provide complete data protection and detect threats to a user’s endpoint device  “While billions of dollars have been spent protecting and securing traditional endpoints, very little has been invested to protect mobile device endpoints. Attackers work on the same model as any other business, in which they are looking to get the greatest return on their investment of time and resources,” said Tom Weithman, CIT Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of CIT GAP Funds. “Even in the company’s early stages, Cervais is positioning itself as a major competitor to take advantage of the security issues surrounding both consumer mobile devices and the IoT market. We look forward to following their continued success.”  Great story in the news last night on a vital group effort to bridge the internet access gap ahead of the school year and help make #broadband economically feasible in hard to reach places in #Virginia! Interviews with Stafford County CTO Michael Cannon and #CITSMART David Ihrie and Keith Walker, CEO of Aer Wireless as well as Pete Torres and his kids (Homeowners association and pilot program participant.) We are working together to pilot a new technology that could help make broadband economically feasible in hard to reach places. The County has a VATI grant. It would look for more funding there to expand coverage beyond the initial pilot. Aer will also provide private service offerings to homes that can access the signal but not eligible for the pilot since they don’t have kids in Stafford schools.  - Multi-agency collaboration to create pilot program that will help ensure Virginia has the safest and most open UAS airspace in the U.S.  Business Facilities didn’t let the COVID-19 crisis skew the results in our 16th annual rankings report: They remain the most credible and comprehensive location leaderboards.  Virginia was ranked #1 for Cybersecurity, Unmanned Aerial Systems, and Digital Infrastructure; #2 for Business Climate; and #3 for Workforce Development and Offshore Wind...  The broadband network that connects Stafford County schools will soon be used to bring high-speed internet to about 130 private homes in the Hartwood area as part of a new program slated to begin next month.  Fortune 1000 California software company to acquire Pype PUBLISHED JULY 23, 2020BY SYDNEY LAKE Since 2017, Autodesk has acquired Assemble, BuildingConnected and PlanGrid — totaling more than $1.1 billion. Pype has been backed by Blackhorn Ventures, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Scott Garber and the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. It has also received funding from the Herndon-based Center for Innovative Technology’s CIT GAP Funds, which are seed-stage investments in Virginia-based technology companies.  Startup Spotlight: RoundlyX, which enables investments in digital assets, plans growth with CIT investment | “You don’t need to be a cryptocurrency expert to invest responsibly, and dollar cost averaging is a proven, responsible strategy to build a digital asset portfolio,” said Alex Euler, investment director at CIT GAP Funds. “RoundlyX has an experienced, innovative leadership team with a strong vision to build a global, full spectrum digital asset financial services platform.” Elliott said the investment by CIT, which supports early stage companies in Virginia, shows there is a future in digital assets.  “These award recipients are advancing a number of new technologies, such as therapeutics, including those for infectious disease; unmanned systems for agriculture, utilities and smart buildings; and increased cybersecurity for the healthcare industry,” Albrigo said.  Small technology-based businesses to receive funds for projects in clean energy, cybersecurity, data analytics, life sciences, and unmanned systems  Press release & list of award recipients here | https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/all-releases/2020/june/headline-858245-en.html RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam today announced 26 small technology-based businesses and four universities will receive incentive grants to commercialize their research in clean energy, cybersecurity, data analytics, life sciences, and unmanned systems. The new Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) grants award $2.48 million in funding and leverage more than $13 million in matching investments to drive progress in emerging technologies.
“These entrepreneurs and innovators are on the front lines of bringing new products and technologies to market, while driving job creation and supporting Virginia’s economic recovery efforts,” said Governor Northam. “I am pleased that the Commonwealth is able to support these growing companies as they develop high-potential solutions in emerging industries and build businesses from research started right here in Virginia.” Administered by Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), CRCF invests in priority research and commercialization activities through the private sector, academia, and nonprofit research institutes. The fund accelerates innovation and economic growth in Virginia by advancing solutions to important state, national, and international challenges through technology research, development, and commercialization. Since it began in 2011, CRCF has awarded more than $30 million to help launch nearly 380 early-stage technology projects in strategically important industries.  Weithman will join other panel members to discuss innovative approaches to gain access to capital Richmond, Va. – June 16, 2020 – The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that CIT GAP Funds Managing Director, Tom Weithman, will participate as a speaker during InBIA’s 2020 International Conference on Business Incubation (ICBI34). For more than three decades, ICBI has brought together champions for entrepreneurship around the globe to form connections, share ideas and resources, and reinvigorate professional perspectives. The panel discussion, which will be hosted virtually as part of the full online event, will focus on innovative approaches to gain access to capital. Weithman will join fellow speakers Judy Mahan, Director of Economic Development at Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Anne Lufkin-Riaño, U.S. Regional Manager at Kiva; and Mysty Rusk, Director at The Brink SBDC. For more information on this year’s conference, visit inbia.org/icbi34. When: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 from 4:15 PM to 5:00 PM ET Where: To register for the virtual event, please click here. What: Innovative Approaches to Access Capital With the right approaches, startups and other early-stage companies can access a much deeper pool of capital that was previously unavailable to them. During this panel discussion, experienced investors and experts in entrepreneurship will share insights on the many different, innovative approaches to accessing capital, as well as best practices for pursuing funding. Weithman brings his perspective on CIT GAP Funds’ investment strategy and outcomes, as well as the applicability and portability of CIT’s model for other state and regional ecosystems. Who: Tom Weithman, Managing Director, CIT GAP Funds As architect and leader of CIT GAP Funds, Tom has established himself as one of the nation's foremost experts on quasi-public fund formation, early stage investment, accelerator development and the contribution of "catalytic capital" to innovation, commercialization and economic development. Under his leadership, CIT GAP Funds has placed more than 200 equity investments in emerging tech, life science and clean tech companies, leveraging more a billion of private capital onto CIT GAP Funds portfolio company balance sheets. CIT GAP Funds has been acknowledged by Entrepreneur Magazine, CB Insights and the Association for Corporate Growth as one of the nation's leading early stage venture funds.  RVA's best startups, innovators and stakeholders of 2020 While we’re only halfway through 2020, the tech and innovation ecosystem has provided no shortage of startups and entrepreneurs deserving of Richmond Inno’s highest accolade. |
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Updated 10/22/20