(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Mayor Vincent C. Gray, Interim Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development M. Jeffrey Miller and DC Innovates today announced grants for eight tech startups through the Digital DC Tech Fund (DDCTF). DDCTF is a catalytic fund that provides grants of $25,000 to $200,000 along with a customized mentorship program for early- and growth-stage technology ventures in the District of Columbia.

“Each of these grantees represents a bright future for technology, innovation and economic growth in the District of Columbia,” Mayor Gray said. “Through the Digital DC Tech Fund, my administration is able to provide resources and opportunities that will allow grant recipients to grow their companies and continue to make the District a place where innovative companies can start, develop and thrive.”

The companies receiving grants are as follows:

• Aquicore offers software designed to centralize and analyze energy management across large corporate organizations.
• Azert are developers of “smart” wall sockets that embed Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and temperature sensors to be placed in restaurants, apartments and corporate buildings.
• EventKloud offers an easy-to-use interface that helps businesses promote events, engage users and track all event data from a single dashboard.
• FlexSpot is a free mobile application that optimizes off-street parking through sharing.
• Riide builds and sells electric bicycles or “ebikes.”
• Silica Labs develops software for wearable devices.
• Vinolovers is a personalized, subscription-based site for wine that enables global boutique wineries to ship directly to wine buyers based on customers’ preferences.
• MyMuzik offers a digital device which displays two full pages of sheet music on two large screens so that music is legible for performers.

“The District is a city built on ideas. We are thrilled to see that tradition of intellect and innovation extending into the private sector and look forward to continuing to find creative and productive ways to support the District’s tech economy,” said Deputy Mayor Miller.

The DDCTF provided up to $1 million in grants to early-stage tech entrepreneurs located on or moving to the Digital DC Tech Opportunity Corridor. The corridor is a designated area that has been identified as a focus for bolstering the District’s burgeoning technology sector. It spans nearly three miles, from the intersections of 7th Street and New York Avenue NW (at Mount Vernon Square) to Kansas and Georgia Avenues NW (in Petworth). The corridor also overlaps portions of two of the existing boundaries in the Great Streets program, a commercial revitalization initiative designed to transform emerging corridors into thriving and inviting neighborhoods. Companies are required to locate to the Tech Corridor within six months.

“We received more than 140 strong applications that reflected the creativity and diversity of D.C.’s burgeoning tech community,” said DC Innovates Investment Advisory Board Chairman Rey Ramsey. “It was a tough decision, but in the end, we selected a great set of companies that are poised for strong growth in the coming years.”

DC Innovates, an innovation-based economic development group, provided intermediary services to the District for the DDCTF, including the strategy for the program, management of the DDCTF application process, and facilitation of a customized mentorship program for grant awardees. The DC Innovates Investment Advisory Board reviewed the applications and selected the finalists. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development provided oversight of the program and approved the final selections.

Digital DC is a marketing and branding campaign and economic development initiative to promote the District of Columbia as the leading community in the innovation and high-tech economy. For more information about Digital DC, visit digitaldc.co.

Media Contacts:

• Chanda Washington, DMPED (202) 727-6365
• Rob Marus, EOM (202) 727-6853