RAMP Alumni Receive Grant Funding

ramp alumni

Companies in the Roanoke-Blacksburg technology sector are propelling the future of innovation, economic development, and jobs with a little help from a well-established grant program. 

RAMP alumni companies – and RBTC members – received grant funding from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC). Each company received a $75,000 award to support their commitment to innovation and their high potential for economic development and job creation. VIPC awarded funding through the Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) which was launched in 2020 to foster innovative and collaborative efforts in Virginia.

Grant recipients include:

  • ArchiveCore INC  is a cloud-based software that uses distributed ledger technology to simplify healthcare credentialing. ArchiveCore is currently conducting several tests. The results are outstanding and show a validated market need for this technology. ArchiveCore is based in Roanoke.
  • Autonomous Flight Technologies, Inc specializes in UAS flight and training, cinematography and photography, research and development, and SARS and Emergency Response. AFT is based in Roanoke.  
  • Chorda Pharma is an early-stage pharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of opioid-free drugs to manage pain. Their funding will support the testing, pilot manufacturing, and marketing of Capsadyn™, which offers relief for patients suffering from chronic pain. Chorda Pharma Chorda Pharma is based in Roanoke.
  • Corvus Labs applies the vast potential of machine intelligence to mission capable real-world products with a goal to augment and enhance human performance. Corvus Labs is based in Blacksburg.
  • Cyto Recovery develops advanced microfluidic technology to enable cell biologists and other life science researchers to rapidly sort, enrich, and recover rare, homogeneous, viable cell subpopulations from tissue, blood, and other biological samples. Thanks to their innovation, previously undetected rare cell populations can be recovered – a powerful tool for advancing our new understanding of the tumor microenvironment. Cyto Recovery is based in Blacksburg.
  • Ticket Spicket, an online ticketing platform in all 50 states, has seen tremendous growth recently and was the 2022 recipient of the Rising Star award at TechNite 2022. Their funding will allow them to build out their flex pay capability and advance their competitiveness.

The Roanoke-Blacksburg ecosystem for innovation is truly unique. RAMP enjoys a robust working relationship with VIPC, so when they learned of the CCF opportunity, RAMP immediately reached out to alumni and encouraged them to apply. What’s more, VIPC provided support throughout the entire application process by offering practice sessions ahead of submission. 

These award-winners forged a solid foundation thanks to RAMP’s accelerator program and their participation continues bearing fruit! With this funding, our alumni are strongly poised to become national leaders in science-and technology-based research, development, and commercialization. We want to extend a tremendous round of applause to our alumni for their achievements and to RAMP for their role in cultivating such exciting innovation in our region!

RAMP and RBTC are part of the Verge alliance, established to grow the region’s innovation economy, technology and life sciences sectors, and the supporting professional communities. It aligns the strengths and programming efforts of the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC) and the Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP). Verge serves GO Virginia Region 2 and works to form collaborations with government, business, academia, and other organizations to advance the region and grow a thriving innovation economy.

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