The Herndon, Virginia-based Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced that its early-stage investment fund, CIT GAP Funds, took part in leading a $3 million seed round in Bristol, Virginia-based Micronic Technologies, a developer of sustainable water purification technology.
This investment was co-led by CIT GAP Funds and The Pearl Fund, an Opportunity Zone venture capital fund that invests in early-stage startups and founders, with participation from CAV Angels. Micronic Technologies is a women-led, early-stage company that is located in a Southwest Virginia Opportunity Zone, which is part of a federal program that provides tax incentives for investments in new businesses and commercial projects in low-income communities.
“Micronic Technologies is exactly the kind of Opportunity Zone investment we target,” said The Pearl Fund Managing Partner Brian Phillips in a statement. “Woman-led and located in an area often overlooked by the majority of VCs, Micronic Technologies has exceptional potential for investor return and will have a significantly positive impact on the environment.”
This is the second investment Micronic Technologies has secured from CIT following its first from the organization’s Virginia Founders Fund in January 2019. The Virginia Fund launched in 2018 and focuses on supporting companies with women, minority or veteran founders, or other entrepreneurs located in regions outside of Northern Virginia.
CIT GAP Funds, which has been named Virginia’s most active investor by CB Insights for the past six years, focuses on investing in tech, life science and cleantech startups. Micronic Technologies’ patented solution treats different use cases for clean water more efficiently and at a lower cost.
“Micronic Technologies is determined to make a lasting impact on the world by creating a technology that not only cleans water from any source, but also enables water to be treated on the spot,” said Micronic Technologies cofounder and CEO Karen Sorber. “As a result [of this investment], we also hope to help the region by creating new high-paying manufacturing jobs in Southwest Virginia.”
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