Commentary: Startups are winning in Virginia

Virginia is competing to win — and startups are winning in Virginia. Through Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Compete to Win strategy, Virginia has fostered a strong, dynamic, opportunity-driven business environment — unleashing innovation and entrepreneurship, attracting early stage investment capital, and expanding startup ecosystems through collaborative public-private partnerships. Since 2022, a record 15,000 new high-growth/high-wage startups have been created in the commonwealth — the fastest and highest Virginia has realized in any three-year period.

Entrepreneurs in Virginia are transforming ideas into companies that help solve critical industry challenges and national societal needs. Startup company Claros is commercializing technology to improve energy efficiency and power delivery in data centers for AI and high-performance computing. GenLogs is creating a data-driven truck freight intelligence platform to reduce supply chain fraud and theft and to combat fentanyl smuggling and human trafficking.

Early stage investment capital provides the crucial fuel startup companies need to scale operations and create jobs. Over the past three years, more than $7 billion of venture capital investment from the private sector has poured into Virginia’s early stage companies. In 2023, Virginia ranked top 10 nationally (No. 8) for venture capital investment — its highest state ranking in nearly 20 years — in a National Venture Capital Association report.

Leading venture capital funds such as Bessemer Venture Partners and General Catalyst, along with top corporate venture groups like GV (formerly named Google Ventures) and Pfizer Ventures, are actively investing in Virginia startups. Veteran Ventures Capital, a VIPC Virginia Invests fund partner dedicated to investing in veteran-led tech startups, relocated its headquarters to Virginia last year. More recently, Virginia has served as the host location for several new conferences that attracted startups and investors from across the country, including Startup World Cup (Virginia Beach), Startup Runway (Richmond) and Blu Cyber Venture Forum (Tysons).

New public-private partnerships are expanding Virginia’s robust network of startup ecosystems by leveraging targeted regional assets, unique competitive advantages and strategic industry sectors.

Collaboration in National Landing between JBG Smith, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus, VIPC, Arlington County and other ecosystem stakeholders is catalyzing the launch of Virtus Innovation Center and Starburst National Landing Launchpad at the intersection of industry, government, tech and research. These new startup incubator and accelerator platforms will specifically focus on dual-use technology development in critical areas of national security innovation and defense tech. Entrepreneurs will gain on-site SCIF space access and direct connections to mentors, customers and investors.

Virginia is cultivating new ways to connect university research with entrepreneurs and capital from the private sector to accelerate commercialization. A collaborative life sciences innovation network — spanning biotech, health sciences and advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing — is rapidly expanding across the Charlottesville, Roanoke-Blacksburg and Richmond-Petersburg regional ecosystems.

Backed by over $500 million in public-private investment over the past three years, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, VCU and numerous ecosystem partners, including VIPC, are collaborating to foster new lab-to-market pathways and startup growth opportunities. Recently, CvilleBioHub and U.Va. launched the Commonwealth BioAccelerator to support emerging biotech startups like GenEp and Avant Genomics with access to on-site wet lab space and entrepreneurial support services.

Startup companies in Virginia benefit from proximity to a unique base of research centers, science labs and infrastructure testbeds to advance technology commercialization. Electra.aero, for example, has propelled prototype development of its hybrid-electric short take-off and landing aircraft at Manassas Regional Airport and conducted real-world flight test demos at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton Roads and Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico. With over $100 million in early stage capital raised, Electra.aero now holds a pre-order book for 2,200 aircraft valued at $9 billion.

Virginia is America’s top state for business — and the best place to launch, build and grow a startup.

Joe Benevento is president and CEO of Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp., a state-funded nonprofit that supports innovation, commercialization and the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Virginia.