Montgomery County Government and the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation have announced the selection of 55 early-stage companies to receive grants through the County’s Technology Innovation and Founders Funds program, a competitive initiative designed to support technology commercialization and help local startups grow.
Launched last year, the program is administered through a partnership between the Office of the County Executive, MCEDC, and the Montgomery County Department of Finance. It focuses on supporting companies developing proprietary technology, as well as technology entrepreneurs from historically underrepresented backgrounds. The selected businesses were chosen from a pool of 148 applicants through a competitive review process that included industry representatives, members of the MCEDC Board of Directors, and FedTech, a third-party technology commercialization firm.
County Executive Marc Elrich said the awards reflect the County’s broader economic vision of investing early in small companies with strong ideas and removing barriers that can limit growth. He noted that the selected companies span sectors ranging from biotechnology and life sciences to advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and clean energy.
The awarded companies are located throughout Montgomery County and will receive funding in two phases, with an initial disbursement already issued and a second payment tied to the completion of commercialization milestones.
Through the Montgomery County Technology Innovation Fund, biotech and life sciences companies are receiving a combined $2,182,500, while $1,148,000 is being awarded to companies in other sectors, including advanced manufacturing, AI, space communications, energy, and environmental technologies. An additional $400,000 is being distributed through the County’s Founders Fund, with most recipients working in the technology sector.
Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees make up roughly 95 percent of Montgomery County’s business ecosystem, according to the County, and are considered the backbone of the local economy.
MCEDC President and CEO Jared Smith said the awards demonstrate the County’s commitment to supporting a strong, diverse, and inclusive innovation ecosystem by ensuring entrepreneurs have access to critical resources as they grow.
The funded projects range from off-the-shelf CAR T cell therapies targeting solid tumors and nanophotonic imaging platforms for in vivo diagnostics, to advanced microelectronics for spacecraft instrumentation, high-energy-density capacitors for defense and space, and sustainable biofungicides derived from natural products.
Below is the full list of awardees.
Montgomery County Technology Innovation Fund recipients include: AkriVita (Rockville), Active Genomes Expressed Diagnostics (Rockville), AllSci (North Bethesda), AMPSEQ LLC (Gaithersburg), Barrow Green (Bethesda), Caleo Biotechnologies (Germantown), Cellepus Therapeutics (Rockville), Digital Biosciences (Germantown), EasyScaleCloud (Rockville), Error Corporation (Bethesda), Escalate (Silver Spring), Experio Labs (Bethesda), Ezval Inc. (Rockville), Floraponics LLC (Poolesville), GaiaXus (Germantown), Gutz Analytics LLC (Rockville), HBVtech (Bethesda), Healable (Rockville), Insilica.Co (Bethesda), Khanjur R&D (Silver Spring), La Brea Technologies (Bethesda), LEGIT LensGuide Imaging Technology (Rockville), Liatris (Rockville), LoBio Inc. (Rockville), Lumo Imaging (Rockville), Magic Shell Software (Rockville), Main Engineering (Silver Spring), MeTime Healing & Wellness (Gaithersburg), Mycologics (North Potomac), Neuroene Therapeutics (Kensington), Nostopharma (Potomac), Optimabiome LLC (Germantown), Outcomes Excellence (Silver Spring), Pediametrix Inc. (Rockville), PerSoN Clinic (Rockville), Pirl Technology (Rockville), Prophiotrics LLC (Rockville), Ryan’s Place (Gaithersburg), Shastrah.AI (Bethesda), SolutionsMET (Bethesda), Sotirion Biosciences (Germantown), SpinQi LLC (Rockville), U Startups (Bethesda), VascRisk LLC (Rockville), Vortex Space Systems (Germantown), Whoosh HPC Lab (Kensington), and Workflow HOA LLC (North Bethesda).
Montgomery County Founders Fund recipients include: Atlatl Obsidian Point Solutions operating as Peridom Insights (Silver Spring), Ant Technology (Rockville), HARPCAN CoTripper (Silver Spring), OurCoach Center for Advancing Leadership and Human Potential (Potomac), Good Idea Solar (Bethesda), Wintreatments Holdings LLC (Rockville), QualityMetrics (Silver Spring), and SpringGem Weather Information (North Potomac).
County officials said the awards are intended to help these companies move from concept to market, strengthening the local workforce and supporting the long-term growth of Montgomery County’s economy.
