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 re[...]
StartVA: Va. tech startups lead in fundraising
Before his company opened its Series B funding round last year, Elad Schaffer, co-founder and CEO of Faye, heard from a large venture capital fund. Could he meet with them the next day in San Francisco? It was a 14-hour flight for Schaffer, who lives in Tel Aviv, Israel, but splits his time between there […]
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 entrep[...]
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 es[...]
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 Virgini[...]
VCU startup grabs military attention, funding
A discovery by a Virginia Commonwealth University research scientist that could revolutionize the treatment of massive blood loss injuries is receiving major support from the military. In August, the U.S. Air Force awarded a $1.8 million grant to Perfusion Medical, a company co-founded by Martin J. Mangino with support from the [...]
VCEDA seed grants sow small business growth
Adam Patterson knew if his fashion design company was going to thrive in his hometown of Big Stone Gap, he needed capital — and a new sewing machine. “Mine was so old, it sewed crooked stitches,” says Patterson, founder of Jones-Hurst Designs. Patterson received a $10,000 grant in September from a Virginia Coalfield Econom[...]
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, Par[...]