Grotech Ventures

Grotech Ventures is a venture capital firm established in 1984, headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, with additional offices in Arlington, Virginia, and Denver, Colorado. The firm specializes in early-stage investments, focusing on high-growth technology sectors such as social and digital media, e-commerce, mobile and cloud software, enterprise software, big data analytics, security technologies, and healthcare IT. Grotech Ventures does not invest in life sciences, biotech sectors, or foreign entities. It primarily targets underserved venture markets across the United States, including areas like Charlotte, Northern Virginia, Atlanta, and the Rocky Mountain region. The firm typically makes initial investments ranging from $500,000 to $5 million and seeks to support portfolio companies through subsequent funding rounds. Grotech Ventures prefers to take a lead role in its investments and often secures a board seat, emphasizing a collaborative, long-term partnership with entrepreneurs to drive growth and innovation.

Frank Adams

Founder and Managing General Partner

Darren Appanah

vice_president

Charles P. Cullen

Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer & General Partner

Chuck Cullen

General Partner, COO and CFO

Lawson DeVries

Managing General Partner

Steve Fredrick

General Partner

Sharon Gogol

Vice President, Controller

Meghan Pfeifer

Director, Finance

Donald Rainey

General Partner

Douglas M. Schmidt

Partner

Julia Taxin

General Partner

Andrew Winslow

Vice President

Joseph Zell

General Partner and Venture Partner

Past deals in Maryland

Sunstone Credit

Seed Round in 2022
Sunstone Credit is on a mission to democratize access to solar for small and medium sized businesses (SMBs). Sitting at the intersection of climate, finance and technology, Sunstone has built a best-in-class technology platform and partnered with leading financial institutions and a national network of solar developers to provide SMB borrowers access to simple, affordable and easy-to-understand solar loan products with flexible terms and a streamlined application process. When SMB customers go solar using Sunstone’s products, they save money and reduce their carbon footprint, driving a clean, green future for all. Learn more at sunstonecredit.com.

Apkudo

Venture Round in 2022
Apkudo, Inc. specializes in developing solutions for operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to facilitate the launch and management of Android devices. Founded in 2010 and based in Baltimore, Maryland, the company offers a platform called Hive, which integrates internal systems and external partners into a secure environment for managing connected devices throughout the supply chain. Apkudo's technology leverages artificial intelligence and robotics to enhance diagnostics, automate processes, and facilitate real-time decision-making. By standardizing and optimizing the exchange of data among stakeholders—including manufacturers, mobile network operators, and logistics providers—Apkudo aims to improve device quality, enhance user satisfaction, and promote efficiencies across the device lifecycle, from pre-launch to end-of-life. This comprehensive approach helps companies make data-driven decisions, reduce costs, and minimize electronic waste.

Youreka Labs

Series A in 2021
Youreka Labs is a Salesforce-native application for simplifying smart mobile forms and procedures at scale.

Apkudo

Series B in 2020
Apkudo, Inc. specializes in developing solutions for operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to facilitate the launch and management of Android devices. Founded in 2010 and based in Baltimore, Maryland, the company offers a platform called Hive, which integrates internal systems and external partners into a secure environment for managing connected devices throughout the supply chain. Apkudo's technology leverages artificial intelligence and robotics to enhance diagnostics, automate processes, and facilitate real-time decision-making. By standardizing and optimizing the exchange of data among stakeholders—including manufacturers, mobile network operators, and logistics providers—Apkudo aims to improve device quality, enhance user satisfaction, and promote efficiencies across the device lifecycle, from pre-launch to end-of-life. This comprehensive approach helps companies make data-driven decisions, reduce costs, and minimize electronic waste.

Cerebro Capital

Seed Round in 2020
Cerebro Capital, Inc. is a technology company that provides a web-based portal tailored for middle-market companies seeking to access credit facilities for various purposes, including operations, growth, and acquisitions. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, the company aggregates data from over 80 lenders and employs analytics to facilitate optimal financing matches for its users. Its platform features user-friendly graphical interfaces that enhance data interpretation, allowing financial teams to effectively analyze and manage their corporate credit options. By focusing on security and industry expertise, Cerebro Capital aims to streamline the connection between middle-market businesses and commercial lenders, ultimately transforming the corporate borrowing landscape.

Racktop Systems

Series A in 2019
RackTop was founded by intelligence community veterans who have been solving the most complex data and security problems for over two decades. Today, RackTop develops innovative software products that are revolutionizing the data storage industry by combining high-performance network attached storage with advanced security to solve the most difficult compliance and cyber security challenges facing the modern enterprise. RackTop’s products are unified under a single platform, offering reduced complexity, improved security, and significant cost savings over traditional solutions.

Yet Analytics, Inc.

Seed Round in 2017
Yet Analytics, Inc. is a data analytics company based in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 2014. The company offers a comprehensive platform that enables large organizations to collect and analyze data from various sources, including web, mobile, wearables, Internet of Things devices, sensors, and virtual and augmented reality systems. This platform focuses on identifying trends and behavioral patterns among employees, allowing businesses to leverage this information to enhance operational outcomes. Additionally, Yet Analytics provides a modular suite of interoperable software products that support the entire xAPI learning technology ecosystem, covering everything from data input to storage and output, and thus delivering a complete solution for modern learning and training analytics.

Healthcare Interactive

Series A in 2016
Healthcare Interactive is dedicated to the transformation of the administration and delivery of healthcare to improve health in our communities. We enable our client-partners to effectively leverage their data to identify the health risk and cost drivers of the populations they serve, develop specific programs to engage members and improve outcomes, and provide the administrative tools to deliver, manage, and measure the success of those programs.

Healthcare Interactive

Series A in 2015
Healthcare Interactive is dedicated to the transformation of the administration and delivery of healthcare to improve health in our communities. We enable our client-partners to effectively leverage their data to identify the health risk and cost drivers of the populations they serve, develop specific programs to engage members and improve outcomes, and provide the administrative tools to deliver, manage, and measure the success of those programs.

Ryft Systems Inc.

Venture Round in 2014
Ryft Systems, Inc., a big data analytics platform company, provides virtual and heterogeneous compute solutions that accelerate and streamline terabyte- to petabyte-scale data analytics ecosystems. The company offers a hosted or on premise compute accelerator that provides real time business insights into historical and streaming data; Ryft CLUSTER for petabyte-scale data analysis operations; Ryft ONE, a commercial 1U platform that provides business insights by simultaneously analyzing historical and streaming data; and enables data scientists and business analysts to extract intelligence from data in real time; and a real time fuzzy search and matching solution to find un-indexed data. It serves retail, finance, defense, and healthcare markets. Ryft Systems, Inc. was formerly known as Data Design Corporation. The company was founded in 2012 and is based in Rockville, Maryland.

iBiquity Digital Corporation

Private Equity Round in 2009
IBiquity Digital develops and licenses a digital HD Radio technology for AM and FM audio and data broadcasting in the United States and internationally. Its HD radio technology allows digital radio signals to ride the same airwaves as analog AM and FM radio broadcasts. The company provides a Gigaware Navigation Control HD Radio Receiver accessory and a Gigaware HD Radio application for iPhone and iPod touch users to receive HD Radio FM broadcasts. iBiquity Digital Corporation was formerly known as USA Digital Radio, Inc. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in Columbia, Maryland, with additional offices in Basking Ridge, New Jersey; and Pontiac, Michigan.
IBiquity Digital develops and licenses a digital HD Radio technology for AM and FM audio and data broadcasting in the United States and internationally. Its HD radio technology allows digital radio signals to ride the same airwaves as analog AM and FM radio broadcasts. The company provides a Gigaware Navigation Control HD Radio Receiver accessory and a Gigaware HD Radio application for iPhone and iPod touch users to receive HD Radio FM broadcasts. iBiquity Digital Corporation was formerly known as USA Digital Radio, Inc. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in Columbia, Maryland, with additional offices in Basking Ridge, New Jersey; and Pontiac, Michigan.
IBiquity Digital develops and licenses a digital HD Radio technology for AM and FM audio and data broadcasting in the United States and internationally. Its HD radio technology allows digital radio signals to ride the same airwaves as analog AM and FM radio broadcasts. The company provides a Gigaware Navigation Control HD Radio Receiver accessory and a Gigaware HD Radio application for iPhone and iPod touch users to receive HD Radio FM broadcasts. iBiquity Digital Corporation was formerly known as USA Digital Radio, Inc. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in Columbia, Maryland, with additional offices in Basking Ridge, New Jersey; and Pontiac, Michigan.

RewardsPlus

Venture Round in 2005
RewardsPlus is a provider of benefits management technology. RewardsPlus' Benfinity system is a suite of Web-based applications and professional services designed to simplify and automate employee benefits communication, self-service enrollment and ongoing post-enrollment administration. Serving many nationally recognized corporations such as Unilever, AT&T, and National City Corporation.
Bluefire Security develops security software for wireless and mobile handheld devices.

BroadSoft

Series C in 2004
BroadSoft, Inc. is a prominent provider of software and services that empower telecommunications service providers to offer hosted cloud-based unified communications (UC) to enterprise customers across various regions, including North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company's main products include UC-One, which integrates various communication and collaboration tools such as phone services, messaging, and video conferencing; Team-One, a solution for project management and collaboration; BroadSoft Hub, which connects real-time communications with cloud applications; and CC-One, a contact center solution for multi-channel customer interactions. BroadSoft's offerings are delivered through its BroadWorks application server and BroadCloud platform. The company also provides professional support services, including installation, project management, and training. Catering to over 500 telecommunications service provider customers, BroadSoft operates in more than 70 countries and serves many of the largest telecommunications carriers globally. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, BroadSoft became a subsidiary of Cisco Systems in 2018.

Chicken Out Rotisserie

Venture Round in 2002
Treating your family, your guests, and yourself to flavorful, high-quality, inexpensive meals has never been more convenient. At Chicken Out, they provide award-winning, always fresh, 100% all-natural chicken, served in a variety of scrumptious dishes, from platters to salads, from breasts to filets, and from sandwiches to soups to rotisserie on the bone. They marinate their chickens in a special blend of natural herbs and spices, slow rotisserie roast them to perfection, and serve them fresh and juicy. To make your mealtime planning as simple as possible, Chicken Out provides many options for ordering. You can order online and pick up your meal at one of their local restaurants. Or, join us for in-house dining. Chicken Out also provides on-demand catering services. Call us, or email us, and they’ll provide a catered meal for a large group within two hours. And if you need the meal sooner, call us for immediate assistance.

BroadSoft

Series C in 2002
BroadSoft, Inc. is a prominent provider of software and services that empower telecommunications service providers to offer hosted cloud-based unified communications (UC) to enterprise customers across various regions, including North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company's main products include UC-One, which integrates various communication and collaboration tools such as phone services, messaging, and video conferencing; Team-One, a solution for project management and collaboration; BroadSoft Hub, which connects real-time communications with cloud applications; and CC-One, a contact center solution for multi-channel customer interactions. BroadSoft's offerings are delivered through its BroadWorks application server and BroadCloud platform. The company also provides professional support services, including installation, project management, and training. Catering to over 500 telecommunications service provider customers, BroadSoft operates in more than 70 countries and serves many of the largest telecommunications carriers globally. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, BroadSoft became a subsidiary of Cisco Systems in 2018.

USA Digital Radio

Private Equity Round in 2000
USA Digital Radio is a developer of digital audio broadcast technology or iDABTM.

RewardsPlus

Series D in 2000
RewardsPlus is a provider of benefits management technology. RewardsPlus' Benfinity system is a suite of Web-based applications and professional services designed to simplify and automate employee benefits communication, self-service enrollment and ongoing post-enrollment administration. Serving many nationally recognized corporations such as Unilever, AT&T, and National City Corporation.

USInternetworking, Inc.

Venture Round in 1998
USinternetworking, an applications services provider, manages companies' software via the internet. It provides hosted applications via the internet for large companies looking for managed software services. It offers applications from vendors in the areas of enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management (Oracle), spend management (Ariba), messaging and collaboration (Microsoft), and custom developed e-commerce systems. USinternetworking's customers included the State of Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Sunburst Hospitality, and Yankee Candle. The company was acquired by US telecom service giant AT&T in 2006.