IDEA NC
FoundationDurham · Pre-Seed–Late Stage · 2 people tracked
Investment thesis
NC IDEA is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship and equitable economic development across North Carolina. Since 2006 it has awarded grants to companies and partner organizations statewide, aiming to make the state the best place to start and grow a business. Its programs include MICRO and SEED grants for early-stage companies, ecosystem-building initiatives with statewide partners, an annual Ecosystem Summit, and the North Carolina Black Entrepreneurship Council which focuses on elevating Black entrepreneurship. The foundation emphasizes inclusive opportunity for all entrepreneurs as vital to economic prosperity, spanning rural and urban communities throughout North Carolina's regions.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 27, 2026.
Team · 2 people
from public directories
What they invest in
from 54 of 352 portfolio companiesHealthtech ×16AI & Machine Learning ×12SaaS ×10Biotech ×9Consumer ×8Digital Health ×8Medical Devices ×7AgTech ×6
HQs:United States×65
Who they back
founder profiles across 46 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×262 founders×143 founders×54+ founders×1
Where their founders studiedfrom 18 founders with education data
North Carolina State University ×4The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ×3Duke University ×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 20 founders with career history
Duke University ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
Investments · 352 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2025 · 12023 · 52022 · 12020 · 32019 · 22018 · 12017 · 22016 · 12014 · 12011 · 118 dated
Guerrilla RF designs and manufactures high-performance RFIC and MMIC components, including low noise amplifiers, gain blocks, power amplifiers, mixers and switches.
Deep TechHardwareSemiconductorsGreensboro, US
Ryan Pratt(Founder)inKellie Hyon-Ok Chong(Chief Business Officer)Mark Alan Mason(Chief Operating Officer)John Berg(Executive Officer)inDesiree Pratt(Executive Officer)Virginia R. Summerell(Director)
Acta provides software that puts pre-approved responses, department knowledge, and AI-powered parcel data into Outlook and the browser for local government staff, helping them respond to resident inquiries accurately and consistently.
AI & Machine LearningGovTechSaaS
Pavani Peri(Founder)in
Allstacks is an AI-agent platform that connects data from software development tools (Jira, GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins) to provide engineering teams and leaders with delivery metrics, risk alerts, and recommendations for planning, managing, and optimizing software creation.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareRaleigh, US
Jeremy Freeman(Founder)Hersh Tapadia(Founder)inDarrell J. Freeman, Jr.(Executive Officer, Director)Scot Sherwood(Director)
BoardAndrew Drylie(Director)inFiras Raouf(Director)in
Co-investorsAtlassian VenturesCompanyon VenturesCreativeCoFirst Rays Venture PartnersGutbrain VenturesHyperplane Venture Capital+7 more
Altis Biosystems builds RepliGut®, human intestinal tissue models grown from human intestinal stem cells that provide human-relevant preclinical data for drug absorption, metabolism, toxicity, and disease modeling.
BiotechDeep TechHealthtechMedical DevicesDurham, US
Christopher Sims(Executive Officer)Jimmy Smedley(Executive Officer)inSamuel Franklin(Director)Joseph McMahon(Director)Michael Biron(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardChristopher Perkins(Director)
Co-investorsAtlanta Technology AngelsCentral Texas Angel NetworkCheckmate Capital Group LLCJohnson Venture PartnersVentureSouthHatteras Venture Partners
Co-investorsR/GA Ventures
Durham, US
Anil Chawla(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardPaul Harney(Director)David E. Gardner(Director)
Armada IQ provides AI strategy consulting and implementation services, including proprietary AI system design, machine learning model deployment, data infrastructure architecture, and enterprise training for organizations seeking to develop and operationalize AI capabilities.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareCharlotte, US
Co-investorsTechstars
Arpio provides an automated disaster recovery platform purpose-built for AWS and Azure cloud applications.
Cloud ComputingCybersecurityData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSaaSDurham, US
Doug Neumann(Founder)inShaw Terwilliger(Founder)in
BoardEric Engineer(Director)in
Co-investorsCompanyon VenturesCreativeCoDraper AssociatesPaladin Capital GroupS3 VenturesY Combinator+2 more
Atlantic Fish develops bioengineering solutions, likely focusing on cellular agriculture or aquaculture applications based on team expertise in cell line development and bioprocess engineering.
BiotechClimate TechFoodTechWashington, Dc, US
Doug Grant(CEO)Trevor Ham(Chief Science Officer)Frederick Douglas Grant(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsAlwyn CapitalSustainable Food Ventures
Automated Insights uses natural language generation to turn sports statistics from the Opta database into readable narratives such as game previews, live match insights, and player bios in multiple languages.
AI & Machine LearningMedia & EntertainmentSports TechDurham, US
Robert Allen(Executive Officer, Director)Adam Smith(Executive Officer)
BoardScott M. Frederick(Executive Officer, Director)Scot Wingo(Director)Randy Castleman(Director)Jim Dugan(Director)
Co-investorsBoxGroupOsage Venture PartnersSamsung Venture Investment Corporation
BatteryXchange operates a network of portable phone-charging kiosks placed in partner business locations, allowing mobile device users to borrow batteries and return them to any nearby kiosk.
Circular EconomyConsumerHardwareIoTCharlotte, US
Desmond A Wiggan(Executive Officer, Director)Aubrey Yeboah(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsNex Cubed
BearFiber develops proprietary methods to produce hemp fiber with cotton-like properties for use in apparel and consumer products.
AgTechCircular EconomyConsumerNew MaterialsWellness & Fitness
Capwave provides AI agents that coordinate the fundraising process for founders and investors.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaS
Charlotte Ketelaar(Co-founder)Reid Williams(Co-founder)
Co-investorsPrimordial VenturesPrimordial
Cell Microsystems develops automated instruments for cellular and molecular workflows used in life science research, including oncology, stem cell biology, and regenerative medicine.
BiotechDeep TechHardwareMedical DevicesDurham, US
Scott McGinnis(President)Nancy Allbritton(Director)Yuli Wang(Director)Matthew Megaro(Director)Gary Pace(Executive Officer, Director)Christopher Sims(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsTelegraph Hill Partners
Raleigh, US
Serge Mouthon(Executive Officer, Director)Caroline Carman(Director)Asa Harris(Director)Edward McCarthy(Director)Dominique Mouthon(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
Companah is a women-owned family business offering water cremation services for pets in North Carolina, treating animal aftercare with dignity and personalized attention comparable to their living care.
ConsumerWellness & FitnessNorth Carolina, US
Hal AtkinsShannon Atkins
Couplet Care designs the Couplet Care Bassinet, a hospital bassinet developed through human-centered research to let mothers see, reach, and interact with newborns from their hospital beds.
Digital HealthFemTechHealthtechMedical DevicesApex, US
Kristin Tully(Founder)inTy HaglerinStacie McEntyre(Chief Executive Officer)inDonald A. Holworth(Director)Jan L. Davis(Director)
Courtroom5 provides a litigation toolkit and guidance system for self-representing litigants (pro se parties) to navigate court procedures, interpret law, and prepare cases without hiring lawyers.
LegalTechDurham, US
Sonja Ebron(Executive Officer, Director)inDebra Slone(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsAd Astra VenturesTechstars
Dare Vegan Cheese produces plant-based cheese products sold direct to consumers via e-commerce.
ConsumerDirect to ConsumerFoodTechAsheville, US
Gwendolyn Dare Hageman(Founder)
Albany, US
Ariana Abramson(Executive Officer, Director)Ronda Pierce(Executive Officer, Director)
Wilmington, US
Daniel Summers(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Jeremy Sikorski(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BoardRandy Long(Director)Bo Bartholomew(Director)Brian Fox(Director)
Elite HRV provides a team dashboard for remote analysis of heart rate variability, sleep, exercise, and mood data to help coaches, sports teams, athletes, and wellness practitioners monitor client and team member wellbeing and optimize training and recovery.
ConsumerDigital HealthHealthtechSaaSWellness & FitnessAsheville, US
Jason Moore(Executive Officer, Director)Vince Salvo(Executive Officer)inJef Fry(Executive Officer)
BoardAlyssa Moore(Director)Peter Blacklow(Director)Meredith McPherron(Director)
Co-investorsHigh Country Impact FundBoston Seed CapitalDBDK VentureIdeaship
Flux Hybrids develops plug-in hybrid powertrain kits for vehicles, available as second-stage manufacturer upfits or aftermarket installations.
Advanced ManufacturingCleantechMobility & TransportationTroutman, US
Cody Biedermann(Cofounder)inClay Dowdey(Cofounder)Micah Ulrich(Cofounder)inWilliam Swartz(Director)
Co-investorsTechstarsWolfpack Investor Network
Fokuslabs develops Revibe, a wearable platform built on Samsung hardware that delivers personalized vibration and text reminders to enhance focus and attention.
AI & Machine LearningHealthtechIoT
Co-investorsThe Launch Place
Cary, US
Michael Escuti(Director)Dennis J. Kekas(Executive Officer, Director)Erin K. Clark(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardSanjay Mundra(Director)Yoshitaka Sato(Director)Dennis H. Kekas(Director)
Winston-Salem, US
Iltifat Husain(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)David Gardner(Director)Vinay Tannan(Executive Officer)Simon Mahler(Executive Officer)Scott Gilmore(Executive Officer)
Just Her Rideshare operates a pre-scheduled transportation coordination platform connecting women riders with independent women drivers.
B2B MarketplacesMarketplacesMobility & TransportationCharlotte, US
Kimberly Evans(Founder)
KelaHealth develops data-driven solutions that apply insights from millions of patient records to personalize and improve medical decision-making.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDigital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesSan Francisco, US
Bora Chang(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardDennis McWilliams(Director)
Co-investorsBlue Hour VenturesIntuitive VenturesNueterra CapitalTechstars
HealthtechChapel Hill, US
OAKKAR OAKKAR(Executive Officer, Director)inSTEPHEN DEAN(Executive Officer)Jimmy Kaanapu(Founder)inJIMMY KAANAPU(Executive Officer)in
BoardBRUCE THOMPSON(Director)
Co-investorsRiverside Acceleration CapitalSaaS Capital
Raleigh, US
Matthew Schembari(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Nathan Fairbanks(Executive Officer, Promoter)Marcus Hutcheson(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Glenn Rane(Executive Officer, Promoter)Daniel Hertzka(Executive Officer, Promoter)
BoardSam Englebardt(Director)
Liine is a marketing data and lead management platform designed for healthcare practices and clinics.
AI & Machine LearningHealthtechMarketing TechSaaSRaleigh, US
Bradley R. Blaser(Executive Officer, Director)Charles Winn IV(Executive Officer, Director)Eric Blaser(Executive Officer)Charles Winn(President and Representative)Andrew Johnson(Executive Officer)
BoardArun Mohan(Director)
Co-investorsEastside Partners
Lucerna Dynamics provides software that identifies injection errors in nuclear medicine procedures, evaluates their impact, and helps reduce error frequency for healthcare teams.
BiotechDigital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesCary, US
RONALD LATTANZE(CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)JOSH KNOWLAND(CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER)CHARLES SCARANTINO, M.D.(CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER)WILLIAM GORGE(SECRETARY AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER)
BoardANNE SMALLING(Director)
Co-investorsElevate Innovation Partners
Tatiana Birgisson(Founder)
Browse all 352 investments with full details →
▶152 more tracked companies
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Exits · 2
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioGuerrilla RFOTC: GUERArcametrics Systems Incacq. by Media Math
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
Altis Biosystems · tweenertimes.com · Aug 27, 2026
TransLoc · transloc.com · Aug 17, 2026
Guerrilla RF · stocktitan.net · Aug 13, 2026
Arpio · fundraiseinsider.com · Jun 7, 2026
Capwave · capwave.ai · May 21, 2026
Phinite · ainvest.com · Dec 29, 2025
Verinetics · trysignalbase.com · Apr 10, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has IDEA NC made?
- IDEA NC has 354 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO, including 1 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does IDEA NC invest at?
- IDEA NC invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Late Stage stages.
- What is IDEA NC's typical check size?
- IDEA NC typically writes checks of $250K – $2M.
- What sectors does IDEA NC focus on?
- IDEA NC focuses on Biotech, Consumer, Data & Infrastructure, Enterprise Software, Hardware, Healthtech, Impact & Social Good, Media & Entertainment, Medical Devices, New Materials, SaaS, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is IDEA NC located?
- IDEA NC is headquartered in Durham, US.
- Who does IDEA NC co-invest with?
- IDEA NC most often shares deals with Techstars, High Country Impact Fund, Companyon Ventures, among 63 tracked co-investors.
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