Fall 2024 MICRO Grant Recipients Selected from Diverse Applicant Pool; MICRO Grants Cross $2 Million Funding Mark
DURHAM, NC – October 24, 2024 – NC IDEA, a private foundation committed to supporting entrepreneurial ambition and economic empowerment in North Carolina, announced today that the organization has awarded $160,000 to sixteen North Carolina startups in its thirteenth NC IDEA MICRO grant cycle. Since the inaugural cycle in 2018, NC IDEA MICRO has awarded over $2 million to 209 young companies across the state.
Through small, project-based grants, NC IDEA MICRO awards $10,000 in funding to young companies looking to validate and advance their idea. In addition to the funding, grant recipients participate in an eight-week customer discovery and product launch program. The MICRO program was piloted in Spring 2018 as the Foundation made a commitment that no less than half of NC IDEA programmatic and funding resources would be in service to under-represented communities. Without compromising its established evaluation criteria, the MICRO grant leveraged the proven model and playbook of the Foundation’s long-standing $50K SEED grant program to serve more North Carolina startups and significantly increased access to resources, funding, and opportunities for diverse entrepreneurial communities across the state.
“Our newest 16 grant recipients, 80% representing under-served communities, speak directly to the economic potential of our state,” said Thom Ruhe, President and CEO of NC IDEA. “We have achieved our $2 million funding milestone thanks to the great work of our ECOSYSTEM partners to level the playing field for all promising startups,” Ruhe added.
These sixteen NC IDEA MICRO grant recipients were chosen after a three-month competitive application and selection process that drew 166 applications from across the state:
- Argoneta – Durham, NC
- Blean – Raleigh, NC
- Capwave AI – Charlotte, NC
- Carolina Instruments LLC – Chapel Hill, NC
- CircuitSays – Nashville, NC
- CivicReach.AI – Raleigh, NC
- Core AI Corporation – Cary, NC
- Medicporter LLC – Durham, NC
- MithrilAI Corp – Cary, NC
- OpenSprouts LLC – Rolesville, NC
- Pump for Joy – Davidson, NC
- Scale Social AI – Raleigh, NC
- Selah Innovations – Raleigh, NC
- Soteria Formulations Inc – Raleigh, NC
- Spice Witch – Asheville, NC
- Team Genius Squad – Durham, NC
These newest MICRO grant recipients will be publicly recognized at NC IDEA’s 2024 Ecosystem Summit in Charlotte-Concord on November 19-20, 2024. Grant recipients from NC IDEA’s $50K SEED grant program will also be announced live at the event.
About NC IDEA FOUNDATION
NC IDEA is an independent private foundation committed to equitably empowering North Carolinians to achieve their entrepreneurial potential. Through our powerful combination of competitive grants and programs and a network of strategic partners, we help entrepreneurs when they need it most. NC IDEA’s resources are highly competitive, enabling the Foundation to support North Carolina’s most ambitious entrepreneurs. We believe entrepreneurs transform communities and view our work as a catalyst for positive change. Learn more at www.ncidea.org.
