2026 CCI+A (CATAPULT & ASCEND) Funds

For university faculty and Virginia-based startups who want to bring cybersecurity-related products and services to the market.

On this page:

• CATAPULT
• ASCEND
• Obligations
• Program Stages
• Timeline
• Application Process
• Application Requirements
• Awards
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) is dedicated to ensuring that groundbreaking cybersecurity research does not remain confined to the laboratory, but instead advances into real-world products, services, and solutions that strengthen our economy and society. Working closely with academic, government, and industry partners, CCI is committed to accelerating the commercialization journey – helping innovators navigate the complex road to market and explore the full range of options available, from licensing and partnerships to startup formation and direct product integration.

In 2026 CCI will launch the fifth cohort of the Commonwealth Cyber Incubator and Accelerator (CCI+A) program. This program is designed to provide researchers with the tools, mentorship, and funding needed to move discoveries beyond proof-of-concept and into viable market opportunities, and to provide companies with access to cutting-edge university research and resources to create market opportunities that benefit the commonwealth. Continuing this year, there will be two distinct funding mechanisms to access these resources.

CATAPULT

As in previous years, university-based faculty with technologies that show strong commercialization potential are encouraged to submit proposals through the Cyber Acceleration, Translation, and Advanced Prototyping for University-Linked Technology (CATAPULT) Fund. CATAPULT is a critical bridge in CCI’s innovation pipeline, supporting translational research projects early on to help them survive the pivotal “Valley of Death” phase of commercialization, as defined by the National Science Foundation. This stage is where promising innovations often stall – too advanced for basic research funding, yet not ready for private investment. CATAPULT funding helps teams mature their technologies, early on, positioning them for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards, Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) grants, or direct engagement with industry partners in a manner that will help them get the traction necessary to make it to commercial contracts and government programs of record.

Through this program, innovators will gain support to evaluate multiple commercialization pathways – whether through startup creation, licensing agreements, strategic collaborations, or integration into existing products – ensuring that each technology has a clear and actionable road to market.

The Fund is designed to support the continued development and market readiness of products with strong commercialization potential. Grant awardees will also participate in the CCI+A program, which focuses not on research but on market discovery and commercialization. Through CCI+A, startups gain structured opportunities to map customer ecosystems, validate market demand, and refine both product strategy and investor pitches under the guidance of experienced and seasoned business mentors.

ASCEND

In addition, CCI is proud to continue, for its second year, the Academic Support for Cybersecurity Entrepreneurship and Next-gen Development (ASCEND) program. ASCEND enables early-stage companies and startups to collaborate directly with academic subject matter experts, leveraging their specialized knowledge and expertise, including their cutting-edge university research, to address technical challenges encountered in industry. This partnership-driven funding mechanism helps startups accelerate product advancement, strengthen commercialization pathways, and position their solutions for successful adoption in the marketplace.

Obligations

If the IP is sourced from the faculty Principal Investigator (PI) then the faculty member must complete or already have completed an invention disclosure with the relevant tech transfer office at their home academic institution by the time the application to CATAPULT or ASCEND is submitted (March 2, 2026). If the IP is sourced from the startup or early-stage company, that team retains all rights to the IP, but the faculty PI is expected to be actively contributing their technical expertise to further product development in a meaningful way. Failure of the faculty PI to be engaged in product development and/or CCI+A activities is a condition for withdrawal of funding. Potential new IP resulting from this collaboration will align with institutional policies and should be discussed by the faculty PI with the industry partner. The partnership between a faculty PI and a startup or early-stage company with a footprint in the commonwealth should be meaningful and beneficial to both parties.

Both the CATAPULT and ASCEND Fund grants require recipients' participation in CCI+A to support development of a commercially-viable product. During the five-month CCI+A program (which will run from mid-May through mid-October 2026), teams will attend business development workshops, engage with prospective customers, partners, experienced tech mentors, serial entrepreneurs, investors, and others in the ecosystem to evaluate the commercial potential for turning their technologies into successful products, processes, and services (Please refer to the schedule of sessions below). Failure to fully and effectively participate in the CCI+A program, including the in-person attendance requirements for faculty PI and the industry conference noted below, will result in revocation of the CATAPULT or ASCEND grant.

With this in mind, and based on feedback from previous teams, we are requiring that teams register and send at least one team member to attend Gartner’s Security and Risk Management Summit, to be held June 1–3, 2026 in National Harbor, MD – or another industry-focused conference (subject to administrative approval) being held in June 2026. Please include any travel and conference fees in your budget. Attendance at such a conference will enable access to hundreds of ecosystem members for cybersecurity-related technologies and facilitate and streamline the opportunities to complete the required customer discovery and ecosystem interviews.

The CATAPULT and ASCEND Funds will support no more than a total of eight projects, up to $75,000/each.

Program Stages

In the first portion of the program, teams will participate in the June cohort of NSF’s Innovation Corps Regional (I-Corps) program. After completing the I-Corps component, teams will start the second phase of the program with a series of business-focused workshops to continue building their business models, legal workshops, roundtables, and panel discussions specifically designed for the cohort with members of the DMV’s cybersecurity ecosystem. In phase 3, teams will focus on building their pitches and continue to refine their business models under the guidance of business mentors and investors.

The CCI+A program will culminate with a pitch presentation to cybersecurity investors and industry experts held on Oct. 15, 2026.

Teams that are considered ready will win the opportunity to pitch to investors at the annual regional tech Accelerate Investor Conference, held in early November in Arlington.

Please note that faculty PI, and entrepreneurial lead (if not the PI), attendance is required for ALL three in-person events (to be held on May 20, Sep. 16, and Oct. 15, 2026). If teaching or other commitments do not allow the PI to attend the in-person events, then please do not apply for this funding opportunity. To give an idea of the cadence and time commitment required through this program, the planned 2026 program schedule can be found below.

Timeline

Application Process

Eligibility

To be eligible for CATAPULT or ASCEND Fund support, applications must be submitted by a Virginia-based innovation team (e.g., faculty at a Virginia public institution of higher education and other team members such as Graduate Research Assistants (GRA) or partner faculty, or a team comprising a faculty member at a Virginia public institution of higher education (to serve as Principal Investigator (PI) on the grant) and team members from a Virginia early-stage startup. A faculty member from a Virginia public institution of higher education must serve as the PI; however, as described above, the rest of the innovation team may be students, other faculty, or members of a Virginia-based startup. Researchers and faculty members at public institutions of higher education in Virginia who are deemed eligible by their home institution to serve as a Principal Investigator (PI) on an external grant are eligible to apply as PI.

Limit on Number of Applications per Institution

There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Applications per Pl

An eligible researcher serving as PI may participate in only one (1) proposal submission.

Information Session

Interested PIs are required to attend one virtual 30-minute information session in advance of submitting their application. The purpose of the information session is to outline the expectations of participation in this unique program and address any questions. Attendance at one of these sessions is mandatory. Applicants whose PI fails to attend one information session will forfeit consideration of their application. Information sessions will be held for 30 minutes on:

• Feb. 4, 2026 – 12 p.m. EST
• Feb. 12, 2026 – 2 p.m. EST
• Feb. 20, 2026 – 11 a.m. EST
• Feb. 27, 2026 – 1 p.m. EST

The information sessions can accessed at the following link: https://gmu.zoom.us/j/3940001263?omn=92983524263 (Meeting ID: 394 000 1263)

Please be sure to update Zoom in advance of the session start time. For any issues with the Zoom link, please email novacci@gmu.edu.

Expression of Intent

Principal investigators (PIs) intending to submit a proposal must send a brief email Expression of Intent to submit a proposal to novacci@gmu.edu by Feb. 5, 2026. (This is the preferred date, but emails will be accepted on rolling basis until the proposal due date). This email expression of intent should contain:

• The name, affiliation, and contact information (name, phone, email) of the Pl, the title of the innovation team, a title of the project concept, and a brief description of the Intellectual Property, technology, or product output expected to be used as the basis of the planned proposal (50-100 words).
• The name, phone numbers, and email addresses of each current team member. Additional team members may be added after submission of Expression of Intent.

Application Requirements

Applications should use 12-point font and 1-inch margins. Applications submitted must include the following sections:

Title page (1 page)

Title of the proposed project, and the name, affiliation, and contact information for the Principal Investigator (Pl) (i.e., a faculty member of a Virginia Public Research Institution) and each team member.

Summary (limit 1 page)

Provide a brief, high-level description of the IP or research concepts to be applied and the project’s purpose. Describe the market need or problem to be solved, the shortcoming of current solutions, expected outcomes of the proposed project, and how these outcomes will add value to the technology and to business outcomes. Identify the next steps toward commercialization if this phase is successful and potential sources for additional funding.

Commercialization Potential (limit 1 page)

Proposals should clearly articulate the commercialization strategy for the cyber innovation, including an assessment of its primary commercial applications and/or potential paid government uses. Applicants are expected to define the target market size and highlight the competitive advantages of their technology compared to existing solutions. The narrative should emphasize how the innovation will deliver measurable business outcomes for customers – such as improved efficiency, reduced risk, and/or enhanced security performance – and outline the company’s plan to engage funders, investors, and early adopters. Proposals should also identify potential commercialization partners, whether through licensing agreements, strategic collaborations, or integration into establish product lines, and describe how the startup will effectively cultivate and manage these relationships to accelerate the road to market.

Additionally, proposals should describe the status of the IP or research concepts being utilized and, if the IP is to be licensed or acquired, provide a plan for doing so, and explain how the content of the CCI+A program will benefit you.

Project Plan (limit 2 pages)

Describe in detail the proposed work plan to take the technology from research to market, including the overall strategy, key milestones, and the expected product outcomes. Provide citations to existing research and applications already tested and validated. Include a timetable with detailed milestones (including the key milestones noted above) that can be used to evaluate progress throughout the project towards commercialization, as well as anticipated results for each milestone, along with an explanation of how meeting each milestone will move the project toward commercialization. In setting out the project plan, please emphasize any novel aspects associated with the project and be sure to identify and flag key risks associated with the project. Provide specific references to any key literature. Please list any industry conferences (in addition to the Gartner’s Security and Risk Management Summit or other approved conference) you plan on attending where you can interview potential customers. Attending additional conferences is not required but is key to understanding the market, and can be beneficial to achieving the CFP’s requirement of reaching 40 ecosystem (“customer”) interviews.

Budget (limit 1 page)

Provide a detailed budget for the work proposed. No indirect costs may be charged. All resources will be awarded to the faculty Pl, who may then make sub-awards to partners, Virginia-based startups, etc., as applicable. Evaluate your travel and other expenses related to your market research, including mileage and accommodation as well as participation for at least one day at Gartner’s Security and Risk Management Summit or other approved conference. Budgets should be submitted to the Office of Sponsored Programs at the PI’s home institution and approved by their academic institution according to the institution’s policies and procedures in advance of submission of this application.

Proposals will be reviewed by a group of corporate executives and innovation investment experts working with the NoVa Node of the CCI to evaluate the commercial potential of the related cybersecurity innovations. The review committee will review proposals against appropriate criteria and recommend awardees to the CCl+A leadership team.

Before final selection, the recommended awardees will be required to participate in a 30-minute interview/discussion with a 3-person panel to ensure understanding of the dynamics of the program.

Awards

Total Amount of Funding for this Program

$600,000

Maximum Award Amount

$75,000 per proposal

Award Conditions

Successful applicant teams are expected to fully comply with CCI+A programming requirements – including attendance at the Gartner’s 2026 Security and Risk Management Summit (or another approved comparable conference), appropriate team member(s) attendance at all virtual workshops (outlined below), and faculty PI attendance at all in-person programming. Additionally, successful applicant teams are expected to participate fully in the activities of CCI, including providing materials needed for reports, participating in CCI meetings, and responding to data collection requests by the CCI. All publications and presentations resulting from the grant should acknowledge support from the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI). Failure to meet any of these conditions will result in disenrollment from the program and, as noted above, revocation of the grant awarded.

Funds will be released in three installments. After the initial award of $25,000, two installments of $25,000 each will be predicated upon (1) the completion of 20+ customer interviews during the I-Corps program and (2) the completion of an additional 20+ customer interviews between the end of the I-Corps program and the final pitch event. During the course of customer interviews, teams may pivot from the product initially proposed. This is to be expected. However, any shift should retain a meaningful cybersecurity component. Failure to maintain a cyber-focused product may result in removal from the program and withholding of additional funding.

Overall, requirements include participation in as many virtual sessions as possible by at least one team member, the completion of the customer interviews, and PI participation in all in-person meetings/events (see schedule for dates). The successful commercialization of a team’s IP will correlate with the team’s deep engagement in all aspects of the program.

Frequently Asked Questions

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