InvestMaryland Challenge: AirPatrol Corporation, Vasoptic Medical others advance

Three startups based in Columbia — AirPatrol Corporation, Vasoptic Medical and Cut2it — have advanced to the next round in the InvestMaryland Challenge. Of a total 259 startups to apply, those three are among 71 to advance to the second round.

The three:

• AirPatrol Corporation provides wireless network security by monitoring mobile devices and wireless networks.
• Vasoptic Medical is working on developing affordable diagnostic tests for patients.
• Cut2it is an iOS app that lets you snip sections of video clips and share just the parts you cut out.

Both Vasoptic Medical and Cut2it are residents of the Howard County Economic Development Authority’s Maryland Center of Entrepreneurship.
“The next round of scoring was for the 71 applicants to submit a business plan due Feb. 1. Finalists will be invited to present their ideas in face-to-face interviews with industry-specific judging panels later this month. This will be followed by announcement of the winners in March by Governor Martin O’Malley,” according to a press release from the Howard County Economic Development Authority.
As Technically Baltimore reported in September, the InvestMaryland Challenge is a national early-stage business competition that will award three grants of $100,000 each to three winners:

Three categories of companies are eligible to receive InvestMaryland money: IT hardware and software companies, life sciences companies and companies “focused on Maryland’s top industries, including energy, agriculture, aquaculture” and others.

Those first two categories were open only to startups located in Maryland.