 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.  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.  (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  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.”  The Herndon-based Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) on Thursday opened the application process for $7 million in grant funds from its new Commonwealth Commercialization Fund, focused on promoting innovation and technology commercialization initiatives.  "Richmond is home to a host of business incubators, nonprofits and educational initiatives that foster innovation and creativity; we look at what they do, the projects they support and what’s on the horizon..." “CIT is focused on the growth of innovation and entrepreneurship in all sectors of Virginia, or all regions,” says Bob Stolle, president and CEO of CIT. “We have a variety of programs that provide direct investment into early-stage companies and seed-stage investment for equity positions in early-stage startups.”  Cville-based AgroSpheres, Inc. has been named a “top 20 innovative company to watch” for 2020 by Business Worldwide magazine & featured in their latest issue! Check out pp. 40-43 to learn more about what this 3x CRCF awardee is developing:  The city of Fredericksburg is partnering with the Center for Innovative Technology to make Riverfront Park a "smart" location.  Running Headfirst into the Regulations “At DroneUp, we run head first into the rules, not away from them” - Tom Walker, CEO Around the same time Wing was obtaining its Part 135 certification, DroneUp was testing the limits of Part 107 with funding and researchers from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT). At the former campus of Saint Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Virginia, the team conducted 200 drone flights and successfully delivered 1.275-pound payload packages to 10-foot diameter targets on 1500-foot round trips using off-the-shelf commercial tech within FAA Part 107 flight rules. This Operation Last Mile exercise involved 10 pilots working through seven test scenarios, including one dubbed “E-VLOS to determine variables in performance between test operations within visual line of sight of the remote pilot in charge (RPIC), and operations where visual line of sight (VLOS) of the RPIC is occluded by terrestrial obstructions.” Fast forward in time. DroneUp is now routinely conducting short-range final mile deliveries of COVID-19 at-home self-collection kits under Part 107. At locations in Las Vegas, Nevada, Cheektowaga, New York near Buffalo and, more recently, El Paso, Texas, DroneUp is flying home self-collection and contactless at home COVID test kits with a forty-five minute turnaround time from order placement to doorstep. In a little more than seven weeks, the company has racked up 1,340 miles, 114 flight hours in local neighborhoods and hundreds of deliveries.  The City of Roanoke, VA is working with the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) on a flood sensor project. The city was chosen for the project by CIT due to its history of flooding and the city’s existing flood resiliency efforts.  The new Board appointees are as follows: • Jay Bellissimo, Managing Partner, IBM • David Berteau, President and CEO, Professional Services Council • Jennifer Chronis, Vice President, Federal, Verizon • Ted Davies, Chief Executive Officer, Altamira Technologies Corporation • Damon Griggs, CEO, Dovel Technology • Craig Halliday, Chief Executive Officer, Unanet • Diane Leopold, Chief Operating Officer, Dominion Energy • Paul Misener, VP, Global Innovation Policy and Communications, Amazon • Bob Stolle, President and CEO of Centers of Innovative Technology • Doug Wagoner, President and CEO, LMI • Dr. Gregory Washington, President, George Mason University Mallon is a familiar face: He previously worked for CIT GAP Funds and has now returned to the nonprofit to lead this new division focused on strengthening programs for entrepreneurs throughout Virginia.  State of Virginia - CIT is a nonprofit corporation that invests in technology companies within the state. The Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Division is one of four the nonprofit recently created as the operating arm for the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority. Investment, Commercialization and Strategic Initiatives make up the other three divisions.  CIT is coordinating a flood sensor pilot project that originated with the Department of Homeland Security. “And the ultimate goal would be to be able to do this throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Kirby told WDBJ7.  The city has partnered with Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology to bring specialized flood sensors to certain tributaries in the city. Chuck Kirby with CIT says that came about thanks to ongoing efforts by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to combat certain natural disasters – including urban flooding.  An arena wired with a range of leading-edge sensors including video, audio, particulate sensors and occupancy detectors demonstrates an essential use case  "Investments in an operating business like Micronic are countering early signals that opportunity funds are focused only on real estate deals." | ImpactAlpha, Nov. 4 – Virginia-based Micronic Technologies raised $3 million for its water purification technology. The Center for Innovative Technology’s CIT GAP Funds and The Pearl Fund led the investment, with participation from CAV Angels.  "BEYOND builds on the success of its forerunner, the UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP), which was led by the U.S. Department of Transportation and managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). That three-year program, which ended on Oct. 25, brought together companies, research organizations, state and local governments, and federal agencies on teams focused on high-impact drone-integration projects. Virginia’s selection for the program in 2018 kicked off two-and-a-half years of remarkable progress in a state that already had a reputation as a trailblazer in this field. The state’s team, which will continue in the BEYOND program, is led by the Center for Innovative Technology. The Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), an FAA-designated UAS test site whose leadership of multiple federal drone projects has propelled the industry forward, has managed the team’s three projects in collaboration with corporate partners Dominion Energy, State Farm, and Wing..."  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.  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) 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.  |
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Updated 2/26/2021