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Ecosystem insights
Leaders from across Virginia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem discuss investing in new companies, challenges facing startups and advice for success. RASHEEDA CREIGHTON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JACKSON WARD COLLECTIVE FOUNDATION, RICHMOND WHAT LED TO YOU CO-FOUNDING JACKSON WARD COLLECTIVE FOUNDATION? JWC Foundation’s mission is to learn, grow and own in the Black community. The organization began when Kelli Lemon […][...]
McLean AI health care startup raises $111 million
A McLean-based health care tech startup wants to provide more targeted medical treatments for people with cancer, heart disease and other common diseases. Zephyr AI, founded in 2020, is a precision medicine company on a mission to democratize personalized medicine and is doing it by developing artificial intelligence-powered alg[...]
From salutes to startups
When Navy veteran Leland Remias was preparing to launch his Newport News real estate startup, VroomBrick, he looked for every resource possible to help him learn about business and scaling up. First, he completed an MBA from William & Mary in May. And in 2022, he participated in the Veteran Startup Challenge, a five-week int[...]
VIPC launches $100M fund partnership for Va. 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 Monday by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and named Virginia Invests, VIPC will commit $40 million to the seven funds using previously awarded funding from[...]
Lighthouse Labs leader has ‘deep heart for entrepreneurship’
Explaining how she became involved in supporting entrepreneurism, the new managing director of Richmond-based accelerator Lighthouse Labs jokes that “it was all accidental.” As a James Madison University senior putting herself through school, Debbie Irwin couldn’t find a class that lined up with her work schedule, so her d[...]
VIPC taps Benevento as permanent president and CEO
Joe Benevento will remain as the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp.’s president and CEO permanently after serving in the role on an interim basis since September 2023, VIPC announced Wednesday. Benevento took over as interim CEO when Bob Stolle announced he was stepping down. A not-for-profit corporation created in 1985 by the General Assembly as an […]
StartVirginia: HEARD AROUND VIRGINIA
Arlington County awarded a total of $225,000 in grants to five local startups that are the first to receive grants — of $25,000 to $50,000 apiece — from the county’s Arlington Innovation Fund. The fund supports early-stage tech companies, particularly those owned by women, veterans and minorities, while pushing down office vacancy rates. The five companies are: Dispatchr Technologies, which develops […][...]
Israeli defense giant launches Herndon aerospace accelerator
Herndon will soon have something in common with Tel Aviv — an aerospace accelerator and innovation center run by Israeli state-owned aerospace and defense company Israel Aerospace Industries, which helped design Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. IAI and IAI North America, its Herndon-based U.S. government contractin[...]
McLean AI health care startup raises $111M in Series A funding
McLean-based Zephyr AI has raised $111 million in a Series A funding round, the health care technology startup announced March 13. The round included participation from about 30 investors, including Revolution Growth, Eli Lilly & Co., Jeff Skoll, and Epiq Capital Group, according to a news release and a Securities and Exchan[...]
