CCI Awards $975,000 to Advance Cybersecurity Innovation
Newly funded CATAPULT and ASCEND teams gathered in May to meet program alums and learn about the next steps in the five-month program.
The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) has awarded $975,000 to 13 cybersecurity innovation projects through its 2026 CATAPULT and ASCEND funds, continuing its investment in technologies and ideas with the potential to address critical cybersecurity challenges and create real-world impact.
Led by CCI's Northern Virginia Node in partnership with the CCI Hub, the program supports researchers as they advance promising cybersecurity innovations toward commercialization and deployment.
"Our priority is to translate the great research that happens in CCI into products and services that improve people’s lives,” said Luiz DaSilva, CCI executive director. “These programs connect the researchers who built something real with the people who know how to get it to market."
Supporting Technologies with Real-World Potential
The funded projects span a range of cybersecurity priorities, including telecommunications and 5G infrastructure security, healthcare data protection, artificial intelligence and enterprise environments, critical infrastructure resilience, and security for smart manufacturing, logistics, and mobility systems.
Researchers from Christopher Newport University, George Mason University, Old Dominion University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia Tech are leading the projects, reflecting the breadth of cybersecurity expertise across Virginia's research institutions.
Bridging the Gap Between Research and Commercialization
The CATAPULT and ASCEND programs are designed to help bridge the gap between research and market adoption by supporting technologies with strong potential for commercial, societal, and national security impact.
"The greatest challenge in commercializing research is rarely the technology itself. It's building the pathway to commercial viability," said Liza Wilson Durant, director of the CCI Northern Virginia Node. "Too many promising innovations fail to reach the market because inventors lack the market knowledge, investor networks, and business expertise needed to turn breakthrough discoveries into successful products. This program helps close that gap and accelerate the transition from research to real-world impact."
Building Virginia's Cybersecurity Ecosystem
The newly funded teams represent a growing pipeline of cybersecurity innovators working to translate research into practical solutions that can strengthen cybersecurity across industries and sectors. As the projects progress, they will contribute to CCI's broader goal of advancing innovation, supporting entrepreneurship, and strengthening Virginia's cybersecurity ecosystem.
CCI will continue to share updates on the funded teams as they advance their technologies, validate new approaches, and pursue opportunities in the marketplace.
Learn More
View the full list of funded projects: CCI 2026 Accelerator Funded Projects.