From Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

CCF grants support startups, critical early technology testing and market validation efforts

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES, July 20, 2023 The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) today announced that Pixelar Solutions, Inc. (Pixelar) has been awarded a Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) grant for $75,000. VIPC’s CCF programs have distributed more than $51 million to Virginia-based startups, entrepreneurs and university-based inventors since 2012.

Based in Newport News, Va., Pixelar is a technology-enabled imagery and geospatial services company that is on a mission to transform data from pixels into decision-ready information for customers in agriculture, forestry, and adjacent industries. In partnership with Old Dominion University’s Virginia Institute for Spaceflight & Autonomy (VISA), the Virginia Small Satellite Data Consortium (VSDC) and Virginia Tech’s Agricultural Research and Extension Centers (AREC), Pixelar will use this CCF grant to research, develop and field test a novel method to detect crop stress with satellite imagery in order to generate better crop scouting support services through a web and mobile application designed for farmers, agronomists, and other farm advisors or crop insurers.

“We are thrilled to receive a CCF grant from VIPC,” said Dennis Perreault, CEO and co-founder of Pixelar. “This funding will help us finish our application prototype and validate how we transform remote sensing imagery and geospatial data into a value-added tool that is smart, simple, and social. We are extremely grateful to VIPC for supporting our commercialization efforts.”

“We are pleased to award a CCF grant to Pixelar Solutions,” said Jeanette Townsend, VIPC’s Director for Private Sector Grants. “VIPC’s CCF grant program plays an important role in getting funding to Virginia-based pre-seed and seed-stage startups when they need it most. Our goal is to help Virginia companies grow and lead the nation in innovation, opportunity and job creation. With its innovative approach to using geospatial data to deliver actionable recommendations, Pixelar Solutions is meeting important needs in the agriculture and forestry markets.”

CCF accepts applications and awards funding on a rolling basis to Virginia’s small businesses and university-based innovators. This competitive grant program seeks to fund high-potential Virginia-based for-profit technology companies at the early stage of commercialization. The grants support early technology and market validation efforts such as the development of prototypes or a minimum viable product (MVP), customer pilots, intellectual property protection, and more. For more information on funding opportunities and eligibility requirements, or to apply, visit the CCF pages at www.VirginiaIPC.org.

About the Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF)
VIPC’s Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) was launched on July 1, 2020 to foster innovative and collaborative efforts in Virginia. Combining two legacy state programs, the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) and the Virginia Research Innovation Fund (VRIF), CCF seeks technologies with a high potential for economic development and job creation and that position the Commonwealth as a national leader in science- and technology-based research, development, and commercialization.

About Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC)
VIPC: 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 Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Angela Costello, Vice President of Communications
Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC)
angela.costello@VirginiaIPC.org