HEARD AROUND VIRGINIA: May 2026

Arlington County-based Carecubes, a company working to eliminate infectious disease transmission in health care settings, announced March 19 the close of its $6.5 million Series A funding round. The company’s product is the Carecube ISTARI, an FDA-approved mobile isolation unit designed for rapid deployment. According to the company, the unit has been purchased by hospitals, clinics and emergency response systems in more than 36 communities across 13 states and territories. Investors include Mark Bertolini, CEO of Oscar Health, a New York-based technology-driven health insurance company. (News release)

McLean-based Claros, a power management solutions company with a mission to make AI infrastructure more efficient, announced March 19 it had raised an oversubscribed $30 million seed round. Co-led by California-based venture capital firm General Catalyst and McLean firm Red Cell Partners, the round also included participation from investors like London firm Systemiq Capital and Los Angeles-based Aero X Ventures. Claros products include a chip-to-grid platform consisting of an integrated voltage regulator that delivers power directly to processing units and Power Gateway, a DC-native power distributor that minimizes AC/DC conversion losses. (News release)

Arlington County-based software startup ORAN Development Co. (ODC) has raised $45 million from major technology and mobile industry partners, it announced March 26, as it prepares to deploy a product to turn cell towers into mini data centers. Artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia led the Series A alongside the venture capital arm of McLean-based government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Other lead investors include wireless communications provider AT&T, Finnish telecommunications firm Nokia and the venture capital division of Cisco Systems. ODC CEO and co-founder Srinivas Gudladana said the company plans to add 50 employees over the next year to its existing 100-person staff. (Washington Business Journal)

Sands Capital, an Arlington County-based investment management firm, announced March 17 the close of its Global Innovation Fund III, which raised $1.1 billion. Supporters of the oversubscribed fund included existing limited partners and new investors like the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The raise also drew strong interest from technology company leaders. The fund will invest in a small number of “category-defining companies” scaling in private markets. Global Innovation is part of Sands Capital’s $51 billion in assets under management growth investing platform. (News release)

Chesapeake-based Tidal Flight, a startup developing hybrid-electric amphibious aircraft, plans to invest $538,000 to expand its operations. The investment will be used to lease 13,000 square feet of hangar space at Chesapeake Regional Airport and to hire an additional six employees, tripling the company’s workforce, Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced April 7. The company’s Polaris aircraft is a hybrid-electric seaplane designed to carry between nine and 12 passengers on flights ranging from 100 to 500 miles. Polaris is expected to consume 85% less fuel than a traditional seaplane, lowering operating costs by 40%, reducing takeoff noise and nearly eliminating corrosion. (News release)

PEOPLE

Neumo Group, a $3 billion government software and payments technology company that just formed in August 2025, announced a CEO change in mid-March. The Centreville company appointed Matt Coury as CEO, replacing Paul Colangelo, who will remain on the board. Coury was most recently president of the company, which formed last year from the merger of Arlington Capital Partners portfolio companies Avenu Insights & Analytics, GovOS and Intellectual Technology Inc. (ITI). Coury was previously CEO at Texas-based GovOS, and before that, worked at private equity firm Vista Equity Partners. (Washington Business Journal)