Virginia IPC

Virginia IPC Early commercialization support, mentoring & seed stage funding for VA entrepreneurs, innovations, ideas & economic development initiatives

Connecting innovators with opportunities. VIPC operates as the nonprofit corporation on behalf of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA). VIPA / VIPC is Virginia’s designated authority for leading innovation and economic development in the Commonwealth of Virginia through research, commercialization, and technology advancement; entrepreneurship, startup, and venture capital growth; a

nd regional ecosystem, tech hub, and industry sector expansion. As part of its operations, VIPC manages internal funds which make direct equity investments in technology and innovation-led early stage / growth startup companies and venture capital funds, provides research commercialization grants to universities and entrepreneurs, and offers resources and support for entrepreneurial ecosystems, innovation networks, and public-private partnerships at local, state, federal levels. VIPC’s programs include: Virginia Venture Partners (VVP) | Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) | Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Development | Regional Innovation Fund (RIF) | Smart Communities | The Virginia Smart Community Testbed | The Virginia Unmanned Systems Center | Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Alliance (VAAMA) | The Public Safety Innovation Center (PSIC) | Federal Funding Assistance Program (FFAP) for SBIR & STTR | University Partnerships | Startup Company Mentoring & Engagement.

Empowering week in Southwest Virginia with Team Commerce & Trade and VIPC!From the Governor Abigail Spanberger's Economi...
05/22/2026

Empowering week in Southwest Virginia with Team Commerce & Trade and VIPC!

From the Governor Abigail Spanberger's Economic Development Regional Input Session in Abingdon to the SWVA Economic Forum at The University of Virginia's College at Wise, we joined community leaders and economic development partners to listen and discuss opportunities for future growth and expanded collaboration.

Southwest Virginia showcases the strengths that fuel all entrepreneurs and innovators — hard work, resiliency, ingenuity — to name just a few.

Much appreciation for the wonderful hospitality of SWVA, the leadership and engagement of Secretary Carrie Chenery and Deputy Kristen Dahlman and collaboration across Commerce and Trade teams: Eric Lin, Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, Rita McClenney, Virginia is for Lovers, Jason El Koubi, Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Dr. Tamarah Holmes, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, Mike Skiffington, Department of Energy and Joe Benevento Virginia IPC.

05/20/2026

VIPC is hosting a full‑day, Department of Defense–focused SBIR/STTR proposal workshop designed to help innovators build competitive, compliant submissions for upcoming DOD opportunities.

This workshop will cover:

• SBIR/STTR program basics and the latest on the DOD landscape
• Differences across DOD components
• How to identify the right topic
• Why connecting with Technical Points of Contact early matters
• Using the DOD SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal
• Writing to meet reviewer expectations
• Common pitfalls—and how to avoid them

Event Details:
Date: Thursday, May 21, 2026
Location: Activation Capital/VA Bio+Tech Park
Address: 800 E. Leigh St., Richmond, VA 23219
Time: 8:30 AM–4 PM
Register today: https://bit.ly/4nZNkch

Please join us!

Wonderful to host and gather together this evening with University Senior Research Officers and VPR’s from all across Vi...
05/18/2026

Wonderful to host and gather together this evening with University Senior Research Officers and VPR’s from all across Virginia - Christopher Newport University, George Mason University, James Madison University, Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, Radford University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, Virginia Tech, William & Mary, University of Virginia- to break bread, expand relationships, and foster collaboration.

VIPC is a proud partner and committed to both growing and accelerating university research, innovation, and commercialization in Virginia.

Thank you, Dr. Nicole Guajardo, Dr. Andre Marshall, Dr. Anthony Tongen, Dr. Aixi Zhou, Dr. Kenneth Fridley, Dr. Jeanne Mekolichick, Dr. Srirama Rao, Dr. M. Omar Faison, Dr. Daniel Sui, Dr. Alyson Wilson, Dr. Lori McMahon and VIPC’s Doug Buerkle.

,

VIPC CEO Joe Benevento had the privilege alongside Richmond Times-Dispatch President Kelly Till to moderate an AI Innova...
05/13/2026

VIPC CEO Joe Benevento had the privilege alongside Richmond Times-Dispatch President Kelly Till to moderate an AI Innovation panel at the Big Dipper Innovation Summit featuring four distinguished Virginia leaders: Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao, George Mason University President Gregory Washington, University of Virginia President Scott Beardsley, and Virginia Tech President Tim Sands.

The discussion offered keen insights into how AI is influencing higher education, research commercialization, and workforce readiness — and bold vision for how Virginia leads the next generation of talent and innovation!

VIPC is on the ground at AUVSI XPONENTIAL conference connecting with innovators and industry leaders shaping the next ge...
05/13/2026

VIPC is on the ground at AUVSI XPONENTIAL conference connecting with innovators and industry leaders shaping the next generation of autonomous and robotic systems across air, land, sea, and space.

From defense and maritime innovation to advanced aviation and robotics, Virginia continues to be a hub for breakthrough technologies.

A special thank you to our partners at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Virginia Department of Aviation, Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, and Dominion Energy for their collaboration and for helping us represent Virginia at the VIPC pavilion.

VIPC was excited to join Governor of Virginia's Economic Development Regional Input Session in the Shenandoah Valley at ...
05/12/2026

VIPC was excited to join Governor of Virginia's Economic Development Regional Input Session in the Shenandoah Valley at James Madison University helping drive and accelerate connections with ecosystem leaders across the region.

Thank you to Secretary Carrie Chenery, JMU President Dr. James Schmidt, and the Commerce and Trade team for a productive session to support the Shenandoah Valley region and strengthening Virginia’s economic growth and opportunities for all Virginians!

VIPC was proud to be in Roanoke to celebrate the opening of RoVa Labs, a new state-of-the-art 40,000 sq ft biotech incub...
05/08/2026

VIPC was proud to be in Roanoke to celebrate the opening of RoVa Labs, a new state-of-the-art 40,000 sq ft biotech incubator where startup entrepreneurs and researchers will now have local access to wet lab space, commercialization infrastructure, talent and capital connections to grow and scale in Virginia.

RoVa went from vision to reality because of collaboration with local and regional partners - Carilion Clinic, Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance, City of Roanoke, Virginia - Government, Virginia Tech, and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Virginia Western Community College - and leaders like Roanoke City Director of Economic Development Marc Nelson and RBIA President Erin Burcham.

Exciting to see the Roanoke Innovation Corridor rapidly grow as a regional tech hub part of Virginia's thriving statewide life sciences innovation ecosystem!

Virginia’s success is driven by strong collaboration across local, regional, and state partners. VIPC was thrilled to pa...
05/06/2026

Virginia’s success is driven by strong collaboration across local, regional, and state partners. VIPC was thrilled to participate in the Governor Abigail Spanberger’s Economic Development Regional Input Session at George Mason University today alongside a diverse group of community and industry leaders.

Thank you Secretary Carrie Chenery, GMU President Dr. Gregory Washington, Virginia Senators and Delegates, and the entire Commerce & Trade team for an insightful and productive morning focused on strengthening the Commonwealth’s economic future!

Join us on May 15 for Coffee with VIPC's Virginia Venture Partners for a Fireside Chat with Frank V. Taylor, VIPC Invest...
05/04/2026

Join us on May 15 for Coffee with VIPC's Virginia Venture Partners for a Fireside Chat with Frank V. Taylor, VIPC Investment Director, and Joseph Murray, Managing Partner, DoD Accelerator Fund.

DoD Accelerator Fund is a new venture capital fund focused on supporting defense focused early stage startups. Joe was previously CEO of Blue Force Technologies, a defense tech startup acquired by Andruil in 2023.

There will be an opportunity for breakout sessions to dive deeper into VIPC's funding opportunities and to ask questions following the presentation.

Click here to RSVP: https://bit.ly/4tjnEYN

Join us for Coffee with VIPC's Virginia Venture Partners -"Making Economic Hay in Virginia: Investing in Agriculture, Ag...
04/30/2026

Join us for Coffee with VIPC's Virginia Venture Partners -"Making Economic Hay in Virginia: Investing in Agriculture, Ag Tech and Adjacent Spaces."

Agriculture is Virginia's large private industry, supporting more than 381,800 jobs, with a total impact of over $105 billion when combined with forestry. The sector is driven by over 41,500 family-owned farms covering 7.7 million acres, focusing heavily on livestock (63% of cash receipts), particularly poultry, cattle, and dairy, alongside key crops like soybeans and corn.

Agricultural technology in Virginia drives a billion annual economic impact, focusing on innovation in controlled environment agriculture (hydroponics/aquaponics), AI for crop management, and drone technology for targeted spraying.

There will be an opportunity for breakout sessions to dive deeper into VIPC's funding opportunities and to ask questions following the presentation.

Click here to RSVP:https://bit.ly/4cMN9eY

Address

Richmond, VA
23219

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Virginia IPC posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Virginia IPC:

Shortcuts

Share

Category