Fall 2025 MICRO Grant Recipients Selected from Competitive Applicant Pool
DURHAM, NC – October 23, 2025 – 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 fifteenth NC IDEA MICRO grant cycle. Since the inaugural cycle in 2018, NC IDEA MICRO has awarded nearly $2.4 million to 240 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-served 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. This approach enabled the Foundation to serve more North Carolina startups and significantly increase access to resources, funding, and opportunities for diverse entrepreneurial communities across the state.
“Our newest MICRO grant recipients are a testament to the power of leveraging supporting communities and effectively tapping into local networks,” said Amy Bastian, Vice President of Grants & Programs of NC IDEA. “This cycle underscores the crucial role of our ECOSYSTEM partners and the broader ecosystem in providing the resources and opportunities to help startups thrive. We are proud to now play a pivotal role in the entrepreneurial journey of these sixteen startups,” Bastian added.
These sixteen NC IDEA MICRO grant recipients were chosen after a three-month competitive application and selection process that drew one of the largest application pools to date, with 285 applications from across the state:
- Afuse – Raleigh, NC
- Asobo Education – Southport, NC
- Deliveri – Cary, NC
- Doculingo – Raleigh, NC
- Full Moon Tea Company – Black Mountain, NC
- LS Adaptive – Charlotte, NC
- Majentics – Durham, NC
- RO-bot – Chapel Hill, NC
- RYSE Kids – Charlotte, NC
- Shuttlebee Solutions Holding, Inc. – Asheville, NC
- STEM PLUG – Chapel Hill, NC
- Teen Health Research – Raleigh, NC
- The Gamrly Company – Charlotte, NC
- The Horse Concierge – Raeford, NC
- Trialogix – Cary, NC
- Verdia Diagnostics – Raleigh, NC
These newest MICRO grant recipients will be publicly recognized at NC IDEA’s 2025 Ecosystem Summit, taking place on November 17-18, 2025, at the Sheraton Imperial in RTP, NC. Grant recipients from NC IDEA’s $50K SEED grant program will also be announced live at the event.
About NC IDEA FOUNDATION
Celebrating its 20th year, 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.