VIPC Approved Logos
Programs include: Virginia Venture Partners (VVP) | VVP Fund of Funds (SSBCI) | Virginia Founders Fund (VFF) | Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) | Petersburg Founders Fund (PFF) | Smart Communities | The Virginia Smart Community Testbed | The Virginia Unmanned Systems Center | Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Alliance (VAAMA) | The Public Safety Innovation Center | Entrepreneurial Ecosystems | Regional Innovation Fund (RIF) | Federal Funding Assistance Program (FFAP) for SBIR & STTR | University Partnerships | Startup Company Mentoring & Engagement.
VIPC Approved Logos
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VIPCis the nonprofit operations arm of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA)
VIPC Approved Logos
For logos and images on this page – please right click on the image you would like to use and select “Save image as” or “Copy image” from the available menu.
VIPCis the nonprofit operations arm of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA)
VIPC Team Publicity Photos
Biographies and additional photos are available in the About section.
Robert Brooke
Robert Brooke
Alex Euler
Dave lhrie
Dave lhrie
Chuck Kirby
Sean Mallon
Marco Rubin
Marco Rubin
Bob Stolle
Bob Stolle
Bob Stolle
Tracy Tynan
Tom Weithman
Tom Weithman
VIPC GAP Team
-VIPC About Templates-
The Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA) was established in 2020 to support the life cycle of innovation, from translational research; to entrepreneurship; to pre-seed and seed-stage funding; as well as acceleration, growth, and commercialization, resulting in the creation of new jobs and company formation. The Authority provides a collaborative, consistent, and consolidated approach that will assist the Commonwealth in identifying its entrepreneurial strengths, including the identification of talents and resources that make the Commonwealth a unique place to grow and attract technology-based businesses. The VIPA, with VIPC as its operating arm, brings together components of existing and new program activities in an approach through which the whole is greater than the sum of the individual programs. VIPA’s design includes governance and management capabilities to ensure that programs generate transformative and measurable results. For more information, please visit www.virgininaipc.org/vipa.
Connecting innovators with opportunities. As the nonprofit operations arm of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA), VIPC is the commercialization and seed stage economic development driver in the Commonwealth that leads funding, infrastructure, and policy initiatives to support Virginia’s innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, and market development strategies. VIPC collaborates with local, regional, state, and federal partners to support the expansion and diversification of Virginia’s economy.
Programs include: Virginia Venture Partners (VVP) | VVP Fund of Funds (SSBCI) | Virginia Founders Fund (VFF) | Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) | Petersburg Founders Fund (PFF) | Smart Communities | The Virginia Smart Community Testbed | The Virginia Unmanned Systems Center | Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Alliance (VAAMA) | The Public Safety Innovation Center | Entrepreneurial Ecosystems | Regional Innovation Fund (RIF) | Federal Funding Assistance Program (FFAP) for SBIR & STTR | University Partnerships | Startup Company Mentoring & Engagement. For more information, please visit www.virginiaipc.org/. Follow VIPC on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
VIPC Media Contacts
Angela Costello, VP of Communications & Marketing
angela.costello@VirginaVIPC.org
Virginia Venture Partners is the equity investment program of VIPC that makes seed-stage equity investments in Virginia-based technology, clean energy, and life science companies with a high potential for achieving rapid growth and generating a significant economic return for entrepreneurs, co-investors, and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Since its inception in 2005, Virginia Venture Partners has deployed $51.7 million in capital across more than 305 portfolio companies, including 17 companies in designated Opportunity Zones. Virginia Venture Partners’ investment decisions are guided by the Virginia Venture Partners Investment Advisory Board (IAB). This independent, third-party panel has drawn from the expertise of leading regional entrepreneurs, angel, and strategic investors, and venture capital firms such as New Enterprise Associates, Grotech Ventures, Harbert Venture Partners HIG Ventures, Edison Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Intersouth Partners, SJF Ventures, Carilion Health Systems, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, and Alpha Natural Resources. For more information, please visit the VVP pages from www.VirginiaIPC.org.
Support for Virginia’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystems | VIPC’s Division of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (EED) was established in July 2020 to support and promote technology-focused entrepreneurial ecosystems throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. We work closely with startup accelerators and incubators, training providers, technology councils, chambers of commerce, investor groups, and other Virginia-based organizations that work with entrepreneurs through the early stages of business formation and growth. EED launched the Regional Innovation Fund (RIF) in March 2021, and more details on this programs appear below. EED actively promotes VIPC’s portfolio of entrepreneurship support programs, including SBIR/STTR training, Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF), Virginia Founders Fund (VFF) and the GAP Funds.
Launched in 2018, the Virginia Founders Fund (VFF) is focused on providing venture capital for Virginia’s traditionally underrepresented entrepreneurs. Proceeds from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) successful GAP Funds investment program are being reinvested into the Virginia economy through the VFF, which specifically supports female, minority or veteran founders, or other entrepreneurs located in regions outside of Northern Virginia who are emerging into sectors such as software, hardware, life science, cleantech, and technology-enabled services. The VFF works with regional startup initiatives, early-stage funds, and accelerator programs across the Commonwealth to identify strategic opportunities for investment and potential co-investment to leverage additional capital.
VIPC’s Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) accepts applications and awards funding on a rolling basis to Virginia’s small businesses and university-based innovators. For Virginia’s private sector community, the competitive grant program seeks high-potential Virginia-based for-profit technology companies at the early stage of commercialization and provides grants up to $100,000. The grants support early technology and market validation efforts such as the development of prototypes or minimum viable products (MVPs), customer pilots, and intellectual property protection. For more information on funding opportunities and eligibility requirements, or to apply, visit the CCF pages from www.VirginiaIPC.org.
Launched in 2017, the Virginia Unmanned Systems Center serves as a unifying voice and primary source for information and assistance related to the unmanned systems landscape in Virginia and is charged with building on the rich assets and business climate to make Virginia “THE” state for unmanned systems. The Center is responsible for developing an entrepreneurial culture regarding Autonomous Systems across Virginia, encouraging economic growth across the Commonwealth via Autonomous emergent business activities, and continuing to increase the Commonwealth’s position as a leader of the Autonomous Systems community. For more information about the Virginia Unmanned Systems Center at VIPC, please visit https://www.vus.virginia.gov/.
VIPC is the lead organization in Virginia for SBIR/STTR support. VIPC’s Federal Funding Assistance Program works to support Virginia’s early stage technology firms in their efforts to learn about and apply for federal SBIR and STTR awards. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants provide $150K to $1.5M to high risk, high payoff R&D that supports the missions of the 11 participating federal agencies. Virginia ranks 3rd in the US in awards with over $130+M in SBIR/STTR funding in 2017. VIPC’s Federal Funding Assistance Program works with over 250 start-ups, university researchers, and young technology firms each year to educate, mentor, train and support SBIR/STTR applications.
Launched in 2017, the Virginia Smart Communities Initiative provides national thought leadership, vision, and implementation of Smart Communities as a model for localities across the Commonwealth and beyond. VIPC defines Smart Communities as “places where the public, private, & non-profit sectors cooperate to leverage technology and data that improve quality of life and enhance economic development.” VIPC uses a model of “Community-Driven Innovation” that harnesses a range of leading-edge technologies to advance the public interest and address the unique needs of localities. For more information about the Virginia Smart Communities Initiative at VIPC, please visit https://virginiaipc.org/smart