Fairfax Founders Fund Grants Awarded To 8 Fairfax County Tech Startups
Second Cohort of Fairfax Founders Fund Recipients Announced
To support the growth of the Fairfax County startup ecosystem, eight innovative companies have been awarded grants as part of the second cohort of the Fairfax Founders Fund (FFF). FFF provides technical assistance and $50,000 grants to startups developing innovative technology solutions and demonstrating business growth opportunities.
“The Fairfax Founders Fund is instrumental in catalyzing the growth of our county’s innovation economy,” said Rebecca Moudry, director of Fairfax County’s Department of Economic Initiatives. “By providing crucial seed funding and support, we are empowering these eight exceptional startups to transform their visionary ideas into tangible products and services. This investment not only fosters technological advancement, but also drives job creation and economic prosperity within Fairfax County.”
Fairfax County Economic Development Authority wants to congratulate the second cohort of FFF grant recipients:
- KAPPA AgTech – Develops agricultural technology to enable cultivators to grow more sustainably.
- Karambit.AI – Leverages automated software reverse engineering and program analysis to automatically detect when new or malicious code has been added to closed-source packages in a software supply chain.
- Magna Labs – Empowers computational biology teams to confidently build and use bioinformatics tools.
- NanoNiFe – Provides battery design and international licensing; engineering and electrochemical consulting; and U.S. Manufacturing and commercialization of residential Vanadium Redox Flow battery [in development].
- PLURIBUS – Pioneers new methodologies of data science, data analytics, decision science, and geosocial and geospatial awareness.
- NIOSolutions – Simplifies the technology adoption for companies and partner on their digital transformation journey.
- Saltenna – Pioneers plasmonics, a new wireless communications and sensing technology.
- ZipID – Automates SaaS products to simplify Form I-9 compliance.
More information about program eligibility criteria and future opportunities to apply for FFF funding can be found here. To read more about the five Fairfax County companies that received FFF grants as part of the initial cohort in 2023, click here.
Catalyzing startups
Herndon-based IAI North America wants to identify the next group of startups that will disrupt the aerospace industry, reported Washington Business Journal. The company’s Catalyst accelerator program, which launched earlier this year as a five-month business training program, is seeing some initial success and is even garnering interest from the firm’s parent company, Israel Aerospace Industries. Julio Flores, IAI North America’s senior director of business development, said the accelerator brought an initial batch of four startups from across the country to Greater Washington. It’s actively going through applications to pick up to 10 startups for its second cohort, which will be named later this fall. The company is offering up to $100,000 in equity investments to each startup that enrolls in its accelerator as part of a bet they will produce a significant return in the future.
New tune
Private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners has purchased a majority stake in Tysons-based Harmonia Holdings, a provider of Agile and DevSecOps services to federal customers, reported Washington Technology. Damon Griggs, former CEO of Dovel Technologies, was named CEO and chair of Harmonia. Jon Brooks, former chief legal officer at Dovel, will fill the role of chief business and legal officer for Harmonia. Two of Harmonia’s founders, Pallabi Saboo and Jai Saboo, retain ownership positions in the company and will serve as strategic advisors. Pallabi Saboo will also serve on Harmonia’s board of directors. Griggs and Brooks looked at 100 companies over nearly two years before signing the deal with Harmonia.
Eagle in flight
Falls Church area based General Dynamics Information Technology acquired Tampa-based Iron EagleX, a provider of artificial intelligence/machine learning, cyber, software development and cloud services for the Special Operations Forces and the intelligence community. The acquisition expands GDIT’s portfolio of differentiated technology capabilities and further strengthens its ability to support defense and intelligence missions across all warfighting domains. It is also a key part of the company’s technology investment strategy launched last year, which includes investments in technologies such as AI, cyber, software development and quantum. As part of this acquisition, hundreds of highly technical and cleared employees from 18 locations will join GDIT’s workforce of 28,000. Intelligence Community News has more.
More GDIT news
Falls Church area-based General Dynamics Information Technology announced that it has expanded its commercial partnership with San Francisco-based GitLab, which has its Federal HQ in Tysons, through a new strategic collaboration agreement, reported Intelligence Community News. Under this two-year agreement, GDIT will leverage GitLab’s software development capabilities to help agencies accelerate their digital transformations. The agreement aligns with GDIT’s technology investment strategy launched last year, which outlined the expansion of partnerships with commercial technology companies as a key priority. “The ability to innovate and accelerate the delivery of new capabilities is crucial for mission success,” said Ben Gianni, GDIT senior vice president and chief technology officer. “We are excited to build on our partnership with GitLab and combine our expertise to rapidly provide advanced and secure software solutions for our government customers.”
Acquisition spree continuing
Herndon’s Beacon Roofing Supply has bought a Chicago-based Metal Supply & Fabrication, according to citybiz. This is Beacon’s 10th so far this year and at least its 20th since the start of 2023. It also continues the Fortune 500 company’s expansion in the metal building supplies business, following recent acquisitions of three metal roofing companies in Florida and New Jersey.
Making a splash
Cvent, the Tysons-based event technology company, has acquired New York-based Splash, a marketing technology company for events. “The technology-driven convergence of marketing and events is an exciting growth opportunity,” said Reggie Aggarwal, CEO and founder of Cvent. “Pairing Splash’s expertise in field marketing events with our robust event and marketing platform further strengthens our ability to empower marketers to create and execute on-brand, high-impact event programs that deliver real results.” Citybiz has more.
Dressing kings
The LA Kings have announced a new strategic, multi-year partnership with Herndon-based Iron Bow Technologies, which marks Iron Bow’s first official sports partnership in Los Angeles and underscores its commitment to the growth of professional hockey, according to nhl.com. Iron Bow has become the Official Away Jersey Patch Partner of the LA Kings, beginning with the upcoming 2024-25 NHL season. Iron Bow’s logo will appear on the front of all the Kings’ away jerseys.
About the Fairfax County
Economic Development Authority
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) promotes Fairfax County, Virginia, as a business and technology center. The FCEDA offers site location and business development assistance, and connections with county and state government agencies, to help companies locate and expand in Fairfax County.
Want to know more about the services of the FCEDA, or how economic development helps Fairfax County? Visit the FCEDA website or e-mail info@fceda.org.