Five Arlington County startups will receive investments from the $1 million Arlington Innovation Fund, which aims to retain and grow tech companies in the county.
Arlington Economic Development, which manages the fund, said it will award Catalyst Grants ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 to the five companies. The grants total $225,000.
The grants can be used to cover any business-related expense, including hiring new employees and expanding office space.
The companies must commit to keeping their headquarters in Arlington County for the next two years and participate in business assessment programs, among other requirements, or they will be required to pay back up to the grant award. To be eligible, they had to have raised a minimum of $25,000 in outside funding; have their primary source of revenue be from the sale, licensure or distribution of their proprietary technology; and have at least one full-time employee.
Michael Stiefvater, a director of the business investment group at AED, told me the organization received 22 applicants in the first solicitation.
"This is the first time we ran this specific program so we're happy with the deal flow that came through originally and we're very happy with the five startups we selected," he said during a phone interview. "We're continuing to promote the program and just try to uncover as many great startups that are in Arlington as possible."
The county will offer $425,000 in grants in the fund's second cohort. Applications are open through March 10.
Stiefvater said the county plans to use the remaining $350,000 of the fund, established from federal stimulus funding, to support other business development programs.
The five startups that received funding are:
- Dispatchr Technologies LLC: The cleantech will use the grant funding to build out its product capabilities ahead of a planned pilot launch. The firm builds software for cogeneration power plants — facilities that recycle exhaust to provide heating to nearby buildings — to help reduce energy costs and carbon emissions.
- Freely Payments LLC: The fintech is setting its sights on expanded product features. It works to equip suppliers and vendors with the ability to accept credit card payments without having to pay for processing costs via collaborations Freely has with Mastercard and others.
- GenLogs Corp.: The startup that uses artificial intelligence to optimize supply chains in the ground freight sector is looking to add to its workforce. The company is also looking to deploy more of its sensor technology along the U.S.-Mexico border to better understand supply and demand trends as part of this funding.
- Phalanx: The cybersecurity startup wants to use its grant award to forge marketing and strategic partnerships. It specializes in providing risk intelligence of sensitive documents created with products like Office 365 and Google Workspace.
- Seamless Transition: The startup, which makes a prosthetic knee medical device, is looking to use its award to pursue a patent for its novel product, which works to mimic natural human limb movements.
"We see the Catalyst Grant as one component that's really showing Arlington's commitment to building a leading innovation hub here in the region as well as nationally," Stiefvater said. "I think we're very proud of the program and hope that this first cohort as well as a second cohort will have some incredible successes come out of it."
