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Virginia 500 spotlight : JOE BENEVENTO
WHAT I WAS LIKE IN HIGH SCHOOL: I was fairly social and outgoing, but I also captained the chess team and competed in the state championship. HOW I BALANCE MY WORK AND PERSONAL LIVES: Since starting out in my career 20 years ago at Goldman Sachs, work has never really been a [9 to 5] job […]
STARTVIRGINIA April 2025 news roundup
Antithesis Operations, a Vienna software testing startup whose tools find bugs in computer programming code, announced in mid-February it had raised $30 million in new funding. The company aims to double its workforce and continue its expansion into new markets. Repeat investor Amplify Partners, a California-based venture capital firm, led the funding round, and San […]
Biotech accelerator launches in Charlottesville
At the beginning of April, the Charlottesville area will enter a new phase in its journey to become a hub for biotech innovation with the launch of the Commonwealth Bio Accelerator. The program will help early-stage biotech companies from the University of Virginia and others in the surrounding region and beyond move from the research […]
Convicted of bilking investors, Nikola founder and Trump donor gets a presidential pardon
Trevor Milton, the founder of electric vehicle startup Nikola who was sentenced to prison last year for fraud, was pardoned by President Donald Trump, the White House confirmed Friday. The pardon of Milton, who was sentenced to four years in prison for exaggerating the potential of his technology, could wipe out hundreds of millions of […]
Founders of Black-owned brands adapt their hopes and business plans for a post-DEI era
NEW YORK (AP) — The co-founders of a company that makes lip products for darker skin tones no longer hope to get their line into Target. A brother and sister who make jigsaw puzzles celebrating Black subjects wonder if they need to offer “neutral” images like landscapes to keep growing. Pound Cake and Puzzles of Color […]
Google to buy cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32B in largest deal in company’s history
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google has struck a deal to buy cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion in what would be the tech giant’s biggest-ever acquisition at the same time it‘s facing a potential breakup of its internet empire. The proposed takeover announced Tuesday is part of Google’s aggressive expansion into cloud computing during an artificial intelligence boom. The [&hell[...]
Tiny Cargo gets big local support
In a bid to keep the startup local, the Roanoke Regional Partnership found a 10,800-square-foot warehouse to renovate and looped in Roanoke Valley Development Corp. and Greater Roanoke Valley Development Foundation, which jointly purchased the building and offered Tiny Cargo favorable leasing terms. “If a place has the real estate solution to offer a business, […]
STARTVIRGINIA: HEARD AROUND VIRGINIA
The second CvilleBioHub Device & Tech Expo will take place Jan. 30 at Northfork Research Park in Charlottesville. Registration is open, and participating companies include Luna Labs, Inbio, Cutagenesis, BrightSpec and others. Tickets are available at cvillebiohub.org. (News release) Joining a number of other Northern Virginia startups in the growing drone space, D-Fend Solutions, a […]
Lexington tech firm aims to bridge last-mile broadband gap
Broadband access may become easier to attain for businesses as a Lexington-based company looks to wirelessly transmit data more reliably. Over the past 22 years, Attochron has been working towards improving what’s referred to in the industry as free-space optical communications (FSOC) — using lasers to send data through air instead of via fiber optic […]
Heard Around Virginia: December 2024
Fixify, an Arlington County-based AI-powered IT help desk solution provider founded in 2023, announced Oct. 23 that it has closed on a $25 million Series A funding round co-led by Costanoa Ventures, Decibel Partners and Paladin Capital Group with participation from Scale Venture Partners. The funds will be used to scale its workforce and accelerate […]
STARTVIRGINIA: HEARD AROUND VIRGINIA
Afton Scientific, a manufacturer of sterile injectable pharmaceuticals, plans to invest over $200 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Albemarle County, creating more than 200 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Oct. 2. In January, Arlington Capital Partners, a private investment firm specializing in government regulated industries and closing gaps in sectors like health care, […[...]
Defense tech startups close major funding rounds
Venture capital firms are betting big on two Northern Virginia-based defense contracting startups that are promising high-tech solutions to military challenges. In August, McLean-based Defcon AI announced it had raised $44 million in seed funding led by San Francisco investment firm Bessemer Venture Partners. The same month, Parry Labs in Alexandria raised $80 million in […]
