 Investment program spanning the Commonwealth continues to drive critical technology sectors during unprecedented times Richmond, VA, Nov. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced today that CIT GAP Funds has again been named Virginia’s most active investor by CB Insights, a developer of a tech market intelligence platform that analyzes millions of data points on venture capital, startups, patents, partnerships, and news mentions to predict future technology trends. For the sixth year in a row, CIT GAP Funds joins an impressive list of VCs in the U.S. “CIT’s sustained commitment to investing at the earliest stages of company development positions CIT GAP Funds as a fundamental building block of the Commonwealth’s startup ecosystem,” said Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball. “Even in these trying times, CIT’s investment outcomes are a fitting tribute to Virginia’s entrepreneurial vitality, community spirit, and economic and social diversity.”  Food safety and supply chain solution keeps global food chain safe, predictable and flowing despite market uncertainty Richmond, VA, Nov. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that Virginia Founders Fund (VFF) has invested in Rosslyn, Va.-based Mesh Intelligence, developer of a proactive food safety and supply chain solution to predict upcoming and evolving risks and disruptions globally to help organizations plan and act faster. Mesh Intelligence helps food organizations identify, predict, and mitigate critical food safety risks in their global food supply chain before they happen. The company plans to use this VFF capital to invest in hiring key talent, enhancing the company’s technology, building the company’s presence in Virginia.  "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.  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.” 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
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.
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.”  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.  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.  National Science Foundation’s 2019 SBIR award winner uses machine learning to convert key data into guidance for farmers that helps boost crop yields The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that CIT GAP Funds has invested in Alexandria, Va.-based Agrology, developer of prediction agriculture technology that helps farmers boost crop yields. Agrology’s solution uses machine learning to convert high-quality data into predictive guidance for crop growers that directs them to the right amounts, location and timeframe to apply inputs to their farm for maximized results. “Over 90% of farmers do not have any sensors or software to guide their irrigation and inputs, a process that is overwhelmingly manual across a majority of farms. As a result, many farmers do not get the coverage they need to monitor the individual micro-climates on their farms,” said Tom Weithman, Managing Director of CIT GAP Funds. “Agrology is meeting a critical market need for the agriculture industry, allowing farmers to achieve maximum profitability across their entire farm while using optimal levels of inputs. CIT looks forward to following Agrology this year as they continue to grow.”  VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., June 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DroneUp recently partnered with Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) in tests designed to determine how unmanned aerial systems can assist with critical delivery during times of crisis under the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Part 107 regulations.  Scout, recently rebranded from Eighth Continent Technologies, conducts in-space inspections to extend satellite lifetimes and prevent space debris The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that CIT GAP Funds has invested in Alexandria, Va.-based Scout Inc., formerly Eighth Continent Technologies. Scout, provider of non-invasive risk assessments and mitigation services to reduce failures in spaceflight environments, conducts on-site inspections of space assets using small, inexpensive satellites, producing data that saves customers hundreds of millions of dollars. CIT GAP Funds’ investment will help Scout build prototypes, expand the team with critical expertise, and enable growth of industry and government customer acquisition.  Vienna, Va.-based startup launches new solution to accelerate analysis of patient and population data for COVID-19 using NLP and AI The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that CIT GAP Funds has invested in Vienna, Va.-based MetiStream, developer of a platform that uses big data, Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning to reveal hidden insights in unstructured clinical data. MetiStream’s Ember Platform delivers better analytics to decrease health risks, and improve quality and outcomes for healthcare organizations. MetiStream will leverage the GAP Funds investment to help expand and accelerate sales, marketing and product development efforts.  Additional funding supports the fintech startup’s approach to improving the insurance quote process for both applicants and insurers The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that CIT GAP Funds has made a follow-on investment in Richmond, Va.-based Fenris. Over the last 12 months, Fenris has expanded their sales operations and enhanced their data delivery and analytics platform. The company plans to use this additional funding to further build out their product suite to meet demand from current and prospective clients. “Fenris clients are seeing real results, including an increase in conversions accompanied by a 25% decrease in cost of acquisition due to smarter ordering of downstream reports, and up to 80% reduction in manual effort,” said Jennifer O’Daniel, Investment Director, CIT GAP Funds. “CIT is pleased to expand our relationship with Fenris through this follow-on investment, and we look forward to the company’s continued growth in 2020.”  Seed funding sources for Embody included both CIT GAP Funds & Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF)  Automated micro deposits round up purchases to the next dollar to buy, secure and store digital assets on a user’s chosen exchange | The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that CIT GAP Funds has invested in Richmond, Va.-based RoundlyX, a digital asset wealth management platform.  Herndon, VA, May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The skies in Brunswick County were buzzing with activity last week. Leading unmanned aerial vehicle companies were demonstrating the viability of using drones for medical emergency package delivery. This operation took place in response to the White House task force on Coronavirus (COVID-19). The former Saint Paul’s College campus located in the Town of Lawrenceville, Virginia provided the perfect test location. Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) coordinated the multiday testing effort that was led by DroneUP of Virginia Beach and included UPS and its subsidiary UPS Flight Forward, Workhorse Group and AirBox Group based in Richmond. The group was researching how unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, might assist medical professionals in their fight to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. The experiment evaluated the commercial drone industry’s ability to scale up small UAS deliveries in order to assist the U.S. healthcare system during the pandemic. Tom Walker joined Neil Cavuto today on Fox Business Network to discuss DroneUp's recent drone delivery testing with UPS, Center for Innovative Technology Virginia (CIT), and Workhorse Group Inc. Click through to watch now: https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6151637756001/#sp=show-clips Neil Cavuto @TeamCavuto | Senior Vice President, Managing Editor and Anchor for both FOX News Channel and FOX Business Network. Anchor of FNC's Your World, Cavuto LIVE and FBN's Cavuto: Coast to Coast.  Interview Tom Walker, DroneUp CEO, discusses how his company is teaming up with UPS to deliver medical supplies to frontline COVID-19 workers | Tom Walker | CEO of DroneUp | CIT GAP Funds Portfolio Company | Virginia Center for Unmanned Systems at CIT Advisory Board Member
Apr. 23, 2020 - 2:26 - Tom Walker, DroneUp CEO, discusses how his company is teaming up with UPS to deliver medical supplies to frontline COVID-19 workers
Interview Tom Walker, DroneUp CEO, discusses how his company is teaming up with UPS to deliver medical supplies to frontline COVID-19 workers | Tom Walker | CEO of DroneUp | CIT GAP Funds Portfolio Company | Virginia Center for Unmanned Systems at CIT Advisory Board Member
Video link:https://video.foxnews.com/v/6151617096001
To determine how UAS could help medical professionals in their fight to stop the spread of the Coronavirus, DroneUp, UPS and its subsidiary UPS Flight Forward (UPSFF), Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), and Workhorse Group recently came together to test the technology in Lawrenceville, Virginia.   The Tysons-based tech company is connecting food trucks to multi-family properties to offer more dining options to residents practicing social distancing. Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced that its early-stage fund, CIT GAP Funds, has invested in Tysons, Virginia-based Curbside Kitchen, developer of a platform to connect food trucks with owners of commercial offices and multi-family residential buildings.
The company was founded in 2017 and last August also nabbed an investment from CIT’s Virginia Founders Fund, which supports companies with female, minority or veteran founders, or other entrepreneurs located in regions outside of Northern Virginia. Curbside Kitchen CEO Amy Katz said in a news release that the company has been able to quickly roll out mobile and text ordering in the last year with the financial support from CIT.  The company plans use the fresh funding to expand its sales, marketing and product development efforts. CIT GAP Funds' Tom Weithman said that in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, the org remains open for business.
Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced that its early-stage fund, CIT GAP Funds, has invested in Vienna, Virginia-based MetiStream, developer of a platform that uses big data and machine learning to find hidden information in unstructured clinical data. https://technical.ly/dc/2020/04/03/cit-gap-funds-invests-vienna-based-metistream/ |
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Updated 11/23/20