 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.  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.  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.  A Charlottesville-based startup company that makes indoor, hydroponic farming systems is moving its headquarters to Richmond with plans to hire about 24 people over the next few years. Late in 2019, Babylon Micro-Farms raised $2.3 million in funding mostly from investors, but the capital raise also included a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct research on its systems, along with a $50,000 grant from Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology. Northam’s office said Virginia competed with Arizona and California for the headquarters office relocation project. 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.  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. “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.  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.  "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. 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
 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.  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.  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.  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.  Drone-assisted deliveries have often been thought of as the future, but a recent partnership between United Parcel Service (UPS), Workhorse Group, DroneUp and the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology has proven that future is now.  *DroneUp is a CIT GAP Funds Portfolio Company, and DroneUp CEO Tom Walker serves as a CIT Unmanned Systems Advisory Board Member.
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Updated 2/24/2021