Fertility testing startup to establish $1.4M Albemarle HQ
Life sciences startup PS-Fertility Inc. will invest $1.4 million to establish its headquarters and operations in Albemarle County and plans to create 31 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. PS-Fertility Inc. will commercialize a male fertility diagnostic technology that was originally developed at the University of Virginia. The company will lease 4,000 square feet at […]
757 Angels will partner with VentureSouth
757 Angels, a Hampton Roads angel investment group that matches venture capitalists with local entrepreneurs, is partnering with VentureSouth, one of the largest angel investment networks in the United States. Effective in June, the partnership will provide more access to capital and investors to 757 Angels’ 140 members. Established in 2015 and based in Greenville, […]
StartVirginia: Jan. 2023 Heard around Virginia
Vienna-based Attune‘s indoor air quality sensor is the first North American-made indoor air quality sensor to receive environmental claim validation UL 2905, the company announced Dec. 6, 2022. The validation, from UL Solutions, evaluates sensors for accuracy by measuring multiple air quality parameters, including common pollutants such as total volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, carb[...]
On your mark
When Virginia Commonwealth University closed its buildings in spring 2020, then-student Julien Reininger wasn’t deterred from his entrepreneurial pursuits. In the kitchen of his parents’ Springfield home, Reininger ran a dehydrator for eight hours at a time, creating vegan jerky from canned jackfruit and developing different marinades. “I’m sure when I started doing it, they [&[...]
AWS boosts women-led startups
Nessle co-founder and CEO Carly Buxton and her chief technology officer have passed up salaries and dipped into their savings to keep the Richmond-based tech business running since its 2019 launch. The Nessle platform connects new parents with real-time tailored support. To keep Nessle running, Buxton applied for grants and participated in two previous accelerators. […]
StartVirginia: Nov. 2022 Heard around Virginia
Virginia Tech‘s Apex Center for Entrepreneurs has received a $500,000 donation from Apex Systems co-founder Win Sheridan. A 1994 Tech graduate, Sheridan made the donation to help the Apex Center engage with student entrepreneurs through programming, networking and funding. Launched in 2014, the Apex Center is named in recognition of a $5 million commitment from […]
Modus Create acquires Philadelphia-based firm
Reston-based Modus Create Inc., a technology consulting firm, has acquired Philadelphia-based product and application development firm Promptworks LLC, Modus announced Tuesday. A dollar amount for the acquisition was not disclosed. The acquisition follows two others made by Modus Create this year. In May, the company acquired Atlas Authority, a New York-based information technology services and [&[...]
Reading the room
In 2017, David Kern, a retired Naval submarine officer turned entrepreneur, had a lightbulb moment. While working on a data analytics project at a desk in the Naval Station Norfolk annex, he realized that his company, Virginia Beach-based Kern Technology Group LLC, needed to shift from focusing on product development to becoming a service contractor. […]
No myth
Last year, Lori Stacy found herself leading a unicorn. The CEO of Norfolk-based Trader Interactive, an online marketplace for boats, recreational vehicles, motorcycles and other niche vehicles, Stacy helped shepherd the company through its June acquisition by Australian auto retailer carsales.com Ltd. The Australian company paid $624 million for 49% of the business in August […]
Fluence announces next CEO, president
Julian Nebreda will become Arlington-based energy storage and digital applications company Fluence Energy Inc.’s president and CEO on Sept. 1. Nebrada succeeds Manuel Pérez Dubuc, who will step down on Aug. 31. Nebreda has been a Fluence board member since September 2021 and was most recently executive vice president and president of U.S. & Global […]
Hopewell businesses get boost after pitch competiton
Jonathan Montiel and his business partners Phillip and Lexi Hughes bought a building in downtown Hopewell and then asked community members what they needed. Their answer: more restaurants. That’s how City Point Ice Cream & Burgers was born, and it’s why the trio think they won the $15,000 first prize in the Homegrown for Hopewell […]
Carsales.com to fully acquire Trader Interactive
Australian online auto sales forum Carsales.com Ltd. plans to acquire the remaining 51% of Norfolk-based Trader Interactive from Eurozeo and Goldman Sachs Asset Management for $839.14 million, the companies announced this week. Carsales.com bought 49% of Trader Interactive in August 2021 for $624 million and will now own the company in its entirety, funding the […]