CCI+A (CATAPULT & ASCEND) Funds Grant

CCI+A (CATAPULT & ASCEND) Funds Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Commonwealth Cyber Initiative
Amount: US $75,000
Last Updated: December 17, 2025

Summary

The CCI+A (CATAPULT & ASCEND) Funds provide support for Virginia-based university faculty and startups aiming to commercialize cybersecurity innovations. Applicants must attend mandatory information sessions and submit an Expression of Intent. The program includes mentorship and funding opportunities, helping innovators navigate the commercialization landscape. With a focus on developing viable market solutions, the initiative fosters collaboration between academia and industry, ensuring that groundbreaking research translates into impactful products that benefit the economy and society.

Overview

Note: 1) Information Session (before submitting an application): Interested PIs are required to attend one virtual 30-minute information session in advance of submitting their application.Attendance at one of these sessions is mandatory: Feb. 4, 2026 – 12 p.m. EST; Feb. 12, 2026 – 2 p.m. EST; Feb. 20, 2026 – 11 a.m. EST; Feb. 27, 2026 – 1 p.m. EST 2) Expression of Intent: Principal investigators (PIs) intending to submit a proposal must send a brief email Expression of Intent to submit a proposal by. The due date for submission of Expression of Intent (indicated above as Letter of Inquiry) is Feb. 5, 2026. (This is the preferred date, but emails will be accepted on rolling basis until the Full Proposal due date). 3) Please note that faculty PI, and entrepreneurial lead (if not the PI), attendance is required for ALL three in-person events of the CCI+A program (to be held on May 20, Sep. 16, and Oct. 15, 2026). If teaching or other commitments do not allow the PI to attend the in-person events, then please do not apply for this funding opportunity. About Commonwealth Cyber Initiative The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) is Virginia’s main access point for cybersecurity research, innovation, workforce development, and news. In this community, researchers find funding and collaboration, students discover diverse career possibilities, and new innovations come to life. CCI+A (CATAPULT & ASCEND) Funds For university faculty and Virginia-based startups who want to bring cybersecurity-related products and services to the market. The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) is dedicated to ensuring that groundbreaking cybersecurity research does not remain confined to the laboratory, but instead advances into real-world products, services, and solutions that strengthen our economy and society. Working closely with academic, government, and industry partners, CCI is committed to accelerating the commercialization journey – helping innovators navigate the complex road to market and explore the full range of options available, from licensing and partnerships to startup formation and direct product integration. In 2026 CCI will launch the fifth cohort of the Commonwealth Cyber Incubator and Accelerator (CCI+A) program. This program is designed to provide researchers with the tools, mentorship, and funding needed to move discoveries beyond proof-of-concept and into viable market opportunities, and to provide companies with access to cutting-edge university research and resources to create market opportunities that benefit the commonwealth. Continuing this year, there will be two distinct funding mechanisms to access these resources. CATAPULT As in previous years, university-based faculty with technologies that show strong commercialization potential are encouraged to submit proposals through the Cyber Acceleration, Translation, and Advanced Prototyping for University-Linked Technology (CATAPULT) Fund. CATAPULT is a critical bridge in CCI’s innovation pipeline, supporting translational research projects early on to help them survive the pivotal “Valley of Death” phase of commercialization, as defined by the National Science Foundation. This stage is where promising innovations often stall – too advanced for basic research funding, yet not ready for private investment. CATAPULT funding helps teams mature their technologies, early on, positioning them for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards, Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) grants, or direct engagement with industry partners in a manner that will help them get the traction necessary to make it to commercial contracts and government programs of record. Through this program, innovators will gain support to evaluate multiple commercialization pathways – whether through startup creation, licensing agreements, strategic collaborations, or integration into existing products – ensuring that each technology has a clear and actionable road to market. The Fund is designed to support the continued development and market readiness of products with strong commercialization potential. Grant awardees will also participate in the CCI+A program, which focuses not on research but on market discovery and commercialization. Through CCI+A, startups gain structured opportunities to map customer ecosystems, validate market demand, and refine both product strategy and investor pitches under the guidance of experienced and seasoned business mentors. ASCEND In addition, CCI is proud to continue, for its second year, the Academic Support for Cybersecurity Entrepreneurship and Next-gen Development (ASCEND) program. ASCEND enables early-stage companies and startups to collaborate directly with academic subject matter experts, leveraging their specialized knowledge and expertise, including their cutting-edge university research, to address technical challenges encountered in industry. This partnership-driven funding mechanism helps startups accelerate product advancement, strengthen commercialization pathways, and position their solutions for successful adoption in the marketplace. Obligations Both the CATAPULT and ASCEND Fund grants require recipients' participation in CCI+A to support development of a commercially-viable product. During the five-month CCI+A program (which will run from mid-May through mid-October 2026), teams will attend business development workshops, engage with prospective customers, partners, experienced tech mentors, serial entrepreneurs, investors, and others in the ecosystem to evaluate the commercial potential for turning their technologies into successful products, processes, and services The CATAPULT and ASCEND Funds will support no more than a total of eight projects, up to $75,000/each.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. To be eligible for CATAPULT or ASCEND Fund support, applications must be submitted by a Virginia-based innovation team (e.g., faculty at a Virginia public institution of higher education and other team members such as Graduate Research Assistants (GRA) or partner faculty, or a team comprising a faculty member at a Virginia public institution of higher education (to serve as Principal Investigator (PI) on the grant) and team members from a Virginia early-stage startup. A faculty member from a Virginia public institution of higher education must serve as the PI; however, as described above, the rest of the innovation team may be students, other faculty, or members of a Virginia-based startup. Researchers and faculty members at public institutions of higher education in Virginia who are deemed eligible by their home institution to serve as a Principal Investigator (PI) on an external grant are eligible to apply as PI.An eligible researcher serving as PI may participate in only one (1) proposal submission.