These 5 Anne Arundel County cybersecurity companies got ‘Next Stage’ funding

A handful of cybersecurity companies received funding from the Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corporation through a program looking to support businesses looking to scale.
AAEDC launched the Next Stage Fund last year with $1 million committed. More than half of that total has now been awarded to companies. It was part of a broader program to support early-stage companies called the Defense Tech Toolbox that debuted following the closure of the County’s incubator. The presence of Fort Meade is a major contributor to the area’s concentration of cyber companies, making it an area of focus for economic development efforts.
“We created this program to assist companies at the mezzanine stage of growth; a business that has launched and invested in themselves in the early stage and has had initial success but needs support to scale up,” said Julie Massog, CEO of AAEDC, in a statement.
The funding comes in the form of zero-percent loans, ranging from $50,000-$250,000. The Toolbox program also offers workforce training, links to business experts and travel awards.
Here’s who received funding:
Penacity, a Pasadena-based company focusing on threat analysis and penetration testing, received $50,000.
Applied Information Technology, an Annapolis Junction–based firm founded by Gwen Greene specializing in network and information security. The $50,000 loan will assist with bringing on additional team members.
Netrias, an Annapolis-based company supporting projects at DARPA that apply machine learning to cyber and life sciences, received $150,000.
Xona Systems, an Annapolis-based company that provides a secure way to access control systems for critical infrastructure remotely. Run by former FireEye business development lead Bill Moore, the company is looking to use the $50,000 to continue developing its product ahead of a wider marketing effort.
XentIT, a Crofton-based cyber firm specializing in managed cybersecurity services and compliance, received $250,000.