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19 Virginians are finalists for EY Mid-Atlantic Entrepreneur of the Year
Nineteen Virginia entrepreneurs are finalists for EY’s 2025 Mid-Atlantic Entrepreneur of the Year award, with winners to be announced June 18.
Electra raises $115M to build ultra-short aircraft
Manassas-based aviation startup Electra.aero announced Monday it has secured $115 million in Series B funding to enter pre-production and certification phase of its EL9 model, a hybrid ultra-short aircraft that can take off and land in 150 feet. The round was led by Prysm Capital, a New Jersey-headquartered growth equity firm. Prysm’s co-founder and managing […]
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 […]
UR students launch food startup — for school credit and profit
Lindsay Batten never thought she’d become a CEO before leaving college, but the University of Richmond senior is beginning her final semester as head of a brand-new startup. The company — which will produce a newly conceived pesto Caesar salad dressing called Envee — is the result of a marketing class focused on entrepreneurship, Bench […]
StartVirginia: Heard Around Virginia – February 2025 edition
Crystal City venture capital firm America’s Frontier Fund is among the nation’s first VC firms to secure approval for up to $175 million in matching capital under the Small Business Investment Company Critical Technology Initiative, a federal program aimed at boosting investment in tech areas vital to national security. This funding for 2-year-old AFF, whose […]
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 […]
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 […]
SEC, Hampton managing partner of BFM Fund settle charges
The Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges in early October against a Hampton-based managing partner of The BFM Fund and a limited liability company for allegedly breaching their fiduciary duties and misleading investors. Himalaya Rao-Potlapally of Hampton is a managing partner of Portland, Oregon-based BFM Fund, a seed-stage private venture capital fund focused on founders […]
