Kaine, Warner respond to Trump White House rescinding spending freeze memo
The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded a controversial memo issued Monday that froze spending on more than $3 trillion in federal financial assistance, including grants and loans backing economic development and infrastructure projects across the nation. In the two-sentence memo issued Wednesday, Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director of the Office of Management and […]
Trump’s pause on $3T in federal funding could impact Va.
Update, 7:30 p.m. A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump‘s freeze on federal spending until at least Feb. 3, but the White House did not immediately respond to the judicial order. On Monday, Trump ordered a freeze on more than $3 trillion in federal financial assistance, including grants and loans backing economic development and […]
County grants boost early-stage entrepreneurs
As an early-stage startup founder, Ray Magee grew accustomed to hearing ‘no.’ In the eight years since he founded Centreville-based BloomCatch, a plant recognition app, Magee reckons he’s applied for seven or eight grants. So, when BloomCatch landed a $50,000 grant from Fairfax County in November 2023, he admits to some initial disbelief. “I thought, […]
StartVirginia: Heard Around Virginia September 2024
Blue Delta Capital Partners, a Tysons-based venture capital firm, is preparing to make more equity investments in regional growth-stage tech firms serving the federal government following the close of a $250 million fund. The firm plans to offer noncontrolling ownership investments of between $15 million and $50 million from its Blue Delta Capital Fund IV. […]
SWVA projects recommended for $10M in federal grants
Four Southwest Virginia economic development projects have been recommended to receive a cumulative $10 million in federal Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grants, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, announced Monday. The projects are on sites where coal was mined prior to 1977, the year the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation […]
Fairfax tech firm Antithesis exits stealth mode with $47M
It‘s appropriate that Vienna software startup Antithesis is housed in the former headquarters of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus’ parent company. After all, Antithesis emerged from stealth mode in February to announce it had raised a Jumbo-sized $47 million in seed funding. Founded in 2018, Antithesis is an AI-powered cloud platform for autonomously […]
VIPC partners with VC funds to invest $100 million in 100 startups
The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp. is partnering with seven venture capital fund managers to invest $100 million in 100 Virginia-based startups. Through the partnership, announced May 20 by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and named Virginia Invests, VIPC will commit $40 million to the seven funds using previously awarded funding from the U.S. Treasury Department’s State Small […]
Reston software firm boosted by $60M investment
Raft, a Reston-based software engineering firm and government contractor, has received a $60 million investment from Washington Harbour Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based private investment firm. Founded in 2018, Raft will use the funds to “intensify its research and development efforts, significantly enhancing its command and control (C2) product offerings for the tactical edge,” acco[...]
A fair share
Virginia’s first Black governor says it‘s past time for the state’s historically Black colleges and universities to receive their fair share of the pie. Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, a Virginia Union University alumnus, jokes that he has been advocating for increased state funding for Virginia HBCUs “for about a hundred years.” The Biden administration […]
Roanoke fintech startup KlariVis closes $11M funding round
KlariVis closed an $11 million Series B funding round, the Roanoke-based banking data analytics startup announced Thursday. KlariVis provides data analytics solutions for community banks and credit unions. The fintech company has doubled its revenue and customer count year-over-year and has 100 clients, according to a news release. The $11 million will be used for […]
$729M federal transportation package will finish Long Bridge expansion
The most significant rail choke point on the East Coast will be fixed as part of a $729 million federal funding package for transportation projects in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday at an event in Arlington County also attended by a […]
VCU sets sponsored research funding record
Virginia Commonwealth University set a record for its sponsored research funding — $464.6 million — in fiscal 2023, the Richmond public research university announced Friday. The total is a 14% increase since last year and a 71% increase over five years ago. “I’m proud that research is one of the fastest areas of growth and […]