Center for Innovative Technology (CIT)

​A Richmond-based startup company that operates an online platform to help counsel parents of children with autism has raised $1.8 million to expand its services.

AnswersNow, which was founded in 2017, announced Tuesday that it had completed the seed funding round led by the American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact and Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology.

​As a result of the recent growth, Fringe has raised $2.2 million in new funding, in a round led by Sovereign’s Capital, with participation from Felton Group, Manchester Story, the Center for Innovative Technology, and angel investors, including Jaffray Woodriff. As part of this investment, the company also added longtime advisor William Boland, Senior Director of Corporate Development and Strategy at Mission Lane, to its Board of Directors.

​AnswersNow recently closed a Seed Round of $1.8M lead by American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact and CIT with participation from Kapor Capital, Trolley Ventures, and K-Street Capital. Funds from the round are being used to fuel expansion plans, hire world class clinical talent to guide the efficacy of the services being delivered and guide marketing strategy to raise awareness of AnswersNow virtual ABA services.

​David Ihrie talks about CIT Smart Communities, the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA), and what projects might lend themselves for development in the Shenandoah Valley.

About the SVTC: The Shenandoah Valley Technology Council is a non-profit that serves technology users and creators in the Shenandoah Valley. Its members gather together for education, networking, and business development. By helping technology businesses in the area succeed and grow, the Shenandoah Valley Technology Council is an integral component of the region, helping bring high-paying technology jobs to the Valley. Website: https://svtc-va.org/

Charlottesville Business Innovation Council (CBIC) - interview with Sean Mallon, Vice President, Entrepreneurial Ecosystems at CIT

CIT's Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Division (EED) was established in July 2020 to support and promote technology-focused entrepreneurial ecosystems throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Starting with the understanding that entrepreneurs are important drivers of economic growth, EED supports Virginia-based partner organizations that support entrepreneurs through the early stages of business formation and growth.

​Services for both dealerships and consumers improve the car buying process, making it more cost effective and convenient

Richmond, VA, Feb. 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that CIT GAP Funds has invested in Richmond, Va.-based Sweetie Boy Delivers, provider of services that help easily transport vehicles from one location to the next for dealerships and consumers. Sweetie Boy Delivers will use this investment to expand its sales and development teams to meet the needs of the ever-changing transportation industry, which has many pain points.​

Charlottesville Business Innovation Council | Interview - Bob Stolle, President & CEO at CIT | Center for Innovative Technology | Virginia

​A family of funds managed by the Center for Innovative Technology has invested about $1.8 million into Richmond-area startups in recent years.

Through partnerships with Richmond-area groups like Lighthouse Labs, Trolley Ventures, 1717 Innovation Center, Virginia Commonwealth University and Startup Virginia, CIT GAP Funds is “actively cultivating a growing pipeline,” said Managing Director Tom Weithman. 

RICHMOND--Governor Ralph Northam today announced that Babylon Micro-Farms, a Virginia-based company that develops and produces remotely controlled, indoor hydroponic systems for growing fresh herbs, vegetables, and salad greens, will invest $140,000 to expand operations and relocate to the City of Richmond. Babylon’s new location in Scott’s Addition will enable the company to expand its capabilities in manufacturing, software development, and research and development so it can begin distributing nationally and internationally. Virginia successfully competed with Arizona and California for the project, which will create 24 new jobs.
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“We are thrilled to celebrate the growth of innovative Virginia businesses like Babylon Micro-Farms,” said Governor Northam. “The company’s dynamic, high-tech systems are helping to address food insecurity during the pandemic and getting fresh, local produce into the hands of more people. This expansion demonstrates the success that entrepreneurs can find in our Commonwealth, while also maintaining a strong commitment to environmental sustainability.”

Babylon Micro-Farms is a CIT GAP Funds Portfolio Company and a CIT Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) Awardee FY20 | The Babylon CRCF award, along with CIT GAP funding, is a prime example of how our programs work together to help sustain companies through the difficult first stages of the commercialization process. Sustainable urban agriculture technologies are among the most critical emerging technologies in the nation today, and thanks to Babylon, Virginia will play an essential role in the future of farming.

​Stafford’s Smart City is beginning to materialize.

​As an offshoot of the SCITI Labs program, CIT SMART is now deploying 66 of the flood sensors featured in this video below throughout Virginia. We are working with state agencies, including the Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, to make this a sustainable statewide flood sensor network.
 
The sensor network and the data it produces will help better characterize coastal inundation due to climate change, better predict the exact timing and location of flood events on rivers throughout the Commonwealth. It will also help better understand homeowners' risk in flood plains with more accurate updated models than those currently available.

​(Updated at 11:55 p.m.) More than 100 people have signed up to compete in Virginia’s inaugural Smart City Challenge, and organizers expect more to join in the coming weeks.

The proceedings kicked off on Saturday (Jan. 23) with remarks from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and panel discussions on how technology could be used to address societal challenges, from COVID-19 and natural disasters to the availability of healthy food and efficiency of traffic lights.

The month-long competition will conclude on Feb. 18 when participants pitch projects designed to improve modern communities by tackling issues in housing, transportation, health, education, and other sectors.

​Named Virginia’s most active investor by CB Insights for the past six years, CIT GAP Funds’ investments have helped create more than 6,500 new jobs in the Commonwealth in the last 15 years, it reported this month...  By Michelai Graham / STAFF

​Financing will support development of novel IL-2 treatments for various diseases

By Kaitlynn R. Copinger | January 19, 2021, 09:56am EST
A Virginia nonprofit organization wants to help young companies in strategically important industries commercialize their technology and create jobs in the commonwealth.

The Center for Innovative Technology believes a new fund will help them do just that.

The Commonwealth Commercialization Fund recently kicked off its first funding round with a plan to disperse $7 million in grants of up to $100,000 in 2021. 

​The CCI Technology Advisory Board inaugural members are: (from top left) Elisa Bertino, Tracy Gregorio, David Ihrie, and Jim Mollenkopf; (from bottom left) Melur “Ram” Ramasubramanian, Zachary Tudor, Sennur Ulukus, and Dan Woolley.

The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) has tapped top cybersecurity leaders to provide strategic guidance as part of its inaugural Technical Advisory Board.

“The inaugural members represent some of the highest levels of industry, academia, and government and bring a wide array of experience and expertise, including running large research groups and developing innovation programs, said Luiz DaSilva, CCI executive director. “They’re also strong advocates for the initiative and their expertise will help us develop programs to further enhance cybersecurity workforce development and innovation within the commonwealth.”​

​Cloud-based dust accumulation monitoring system will help prevent fires and explosions in manufacturing, industrial and agricultural processing facilities

​Richmond, VA, Jan. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that Virginia Founders Fund (VFF) has invested in Williamsburg, Va.-based Industrial Intelligence, developer of a continuous dust accumulation monitoring system. Industrial Intelligence’s solution alerts organization operations when dust accumulation levels become unacceptable. The startup plans to use this VFF capital for engineering and development of their prototype, patent expenses and further certification testing.

​Richmond, Va. – Jan. 13, 2021 – The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today released the 2020 CIT GAP Funds Impact Report, detailing both return on investment and socio-economic impact achieved since the fund’s inception in 2005. A family of funds placing equity investments in Virginia’s high-growth based technology, life science, and cleantech companies at the earliest developmental stages, CIT GAP Funds has deployed $32.4 million in capital across 240 portfolio companies. 

In 2020, NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist conducted a trade study about venture capital firms and their relationships with technology startups. The study used independent research and qualitative data from interviews with firms to develop recommendations for how NASA could increase the impact of its investments. ​

True to The Monthly Blend’s mission of catalyzing regional collaboration, in this Episode, we bring together the brand new CEOs of both TEDCO and CIT, mirror organizations in their respective states of MD and VA. Troy Stovall and Bob Stolle meet for the first time and share their visions for their organizations. Topics include investment, stimulating economic development, areas of focus, and diversity & inclusion. You may be surprised to hear what these leaders have to say about what’s coming for MD and VA!