Established in 2006, NC IDEA‘s primary focus was making seed grants directly to young technology companies. In July 2015, we converted to a private foundation and expanded our ambition to support the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem and economic potential of entrepreneurs in North Carolina.
NC IDEA hosts first-ever statewide Ecosystem Summit.
NC IDEA surpasses $10 million in grants awarded across all Foundation programs.
NC IDEA completes 25th NC IDEA SEED grant cycle.
NC IDEA pilots NC IDEA MICRO and awards $150,000 to 15 startups.
NC IDEA commits to statewide rollout of the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program with the ambitious goal to educate 100,000 North Carolinians with an entrepreneurial mindset.
NC IDEA surpasses $5 million in grants awarded directly to companies through NC IDEA SEED.
NC IDEA awards first NC IDEA ENGAGE grant.
NC IDEA launches NC IDEA ECOSYSTEM, granting $1.35 million to 11 organizations across North Carolina
NC IDEA SOAR, a program that began as SoarTriangle in 2014, is integrated into the Foundation.
NC IDEA awards its 100th NC IDEA SEED grant.
Thom Ruhe joins NC IDEA as CEO and President.
NC IDEA converts to a private foundation.
Groundwork Labs, now known as NC IDEA LABS is integrated into the Foundation.
Groundwork Labs, now known as NC IDEA LABS is launched with funding from NC IDEA.
NC IDEA provides funding to Joystick Labs, a video game accelerator program.
NC IDEA awards its first seven seed grants directly to CardioVascular Resonances, DeltaSphere, Illuminus, ImagineOptix, InsituTec, TransLoc and ZumaTek.
NC IDEA is born. David Rizzo creates NC IDEA from MCNC.
