DC Money Moves: iTech AG lands its largest contract to date with CMS

iTech AG nabs $75 million from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

iTech AG, an Arlington, Virginia-based tech consulting firm, recently scored a $75 million blanket purchase agreement. The three-year deal is with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ).

This will be iTech AG’s largest contract to date, and the company will provide agile process support, release management, UX design and data management and security.

“CMS CCSQ is improving health outcomes and providing better medical care for citizens across the nation by implementing cohesive quality improvement practices,” said CEO Frank Antezana in a statement announcing the news. “iTech AG’s ServiceNow partnership, SAFe certification and people-first approach are ideal for this work at CMS, as well as for agencies focused on improving CX.”

Vali Cyber landed $15 million

Charlottesville, Virginia-based Vali Cyber just raised $15 million in a seed round. The company builds cybersecurity products for Linux systems.

Grotech Ventures and 412 Venture Fund co-led the round, with support from Riverfront Ventures, Florida Funders and more. According to Vali, this round highlights the need for specific security in Linux-powered devices. The company was founded by Anthony and Austin Gadient, a father-son team.

“Our team is excited to announce the closing of our seed round. This represents a significant milestone for Vali Cyber,” said Anthony Gadient, CEO of Vali Cyber. “The investment validates the ability of our team and our technology to disrupt the Linux security markets. It is the first step in our journey to make ZeroLock™ the trusted platform of choice for Linux systems, from the cloud to the edge. With the support of our investors and early adopter partners, we are well-positioned to drive this vision forward.”

DNSFilter adds another $15 million

DNSFilter, a DC-based cybersecurity company, added another $15 million to its Series A via an extension round.

The company raised an initial $30 million for its Series A in 2021 before adding another $10 million in a separate extension round last year. Insight Partners led this round and the initial round from 2021. With this round, the company plans to grow its headcount and boost research and development.

“I’m so proud and happy to work with everybody here and I enjoy every single day at DNSFilter. I can’t believe how far we’ve come,” said CEO Ken Carnesi in a written statement. “It’s a testament to how many smart people and driven people we have working here.”

More Money Moves

• DC startup Ounce raised $5.2 million in a seed round to expand operations and the reach of the business. The company helps folks enroll in health insurance and government assistance programs.
• Arlington’s Predict Health raised $4 million in a seed round. With the funds, the company will work to better open enrollment for Medicare, through AI.
• Rockville, Maryland-based Cellphire, a biotech company working in allogeneic cellular therapeutics, raised a reported $2 million, according to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings.
• Federated Wireless, also based in Arlington, and the University of Colorado Boulder were awarded a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation. Together, they’ll work to build new technologies for military and government comms in 5G networks.
• Germantown, Maryland’s Deka Biosciences closed a $20 million Series B2 round. MPM BioImpact led the round with additional investment from Leaps by Bayer, O-Bio, Viva BioInnovator, Alexandria Venture Investments, Amana Investments, Plains Ventures, ATEM Capital and Deka CEO John Mumm.
• After rebranding as Elutia, Aziyo Biologics reported a $10.5 million raise, according to SEC filings.
• Tysons, Virginia-based MicroStrategy acquired 5,445 bitcoins between August and September, at a cost of approximately $147.5 million. In 2020, the company spent $250 million on bitcoin, and it said it owned 129,699 bitcoins as of last year.
• DC’s Community Anchor Partnership celebrated its distribution of $250 million to minority-owned businesses since its creation in 2017.
• Maryland funding agency TEDCO invested $500,00 through its Seed Fund in Flexnode, a Bethesda-based digital infrastructure company.
• ElectroTempo, an Arlington EV tech company, raised an additional $1.475 million, according to public filings. The company announced a $4 million raise in August.
• AGED Diagnostics, a North Bethesda, Maryland-based company, also received $200,000 through the Seed Funds program. The company previously received $250,000 from TEDCO’s Builder Fund.

Government contracting

• Reston’s CACI International was awarded a five-year, $917 million ceiling contract for software and systems engineering in battlespace awareness for the Air Force’s Research Laboratory.
• McLean, Virginia’s Booz Allen Hamilton nabbed a seven-year, $630 million contract with the US Space Force. The company will help with engineering and integration for space-based missile warning, environment monitoring, surveillance, tracking and reconnaissance.

This editorial article is a part of Biotech Month of Technical.ly’s editorial calendar.