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 North Carolina

Payzer

Series D in 2021
Payzer is a North Carolina-based financial technology company that offers an all-in-one financial tool which helps contractors grow their businesses and exchange money with ease. Its mobile and cloud-based platform allows customers to accept credit and debit cards, and electronic checks in the field or at the home office with real-time tracking across their organizations. It also allows its users to provide instant financing up to $55,000 using a mobile phone, tablet, or personal computer as well as control purchases by giving employees Visa debit purchasing cards. Payzer was established in 2014.

Pet Screening

Series A in 2021
Pet Screening is a simple and secure place to store all the important information about pets. It provides greater diligence for pets and assistance animals and creates comprehensive pet records for lease files. It is a third-party service utilized by housing providers and property managers to screen household pets, validate reasonable accommodation requests for assistance animals, and confirm every resident understands their pet policies. Pet Screening was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Cornelius, North Carolina.

Rent Ready

Series A in 2021
They are a single-source vendor that delivers end-to-end apartment services (including Painting, Cleaning, Carpet Cleaning, Counter and Tub Refinishing, and Punch) with unbeatable customer service- which means with one call you can take a move-out and be ready for a move-in on your schedule, not your vendors.

Pet Screening

Seed Round in 2019
Pet Screening is a simple and secure place to store all the important information about pets. It provides greater diligence for pets and assistance animals and creates comprehensive pet records for lease files. It is a third-party service utilized by housing providers and property managers to screen household pets, validate reasonable accommodation requests for assistance animals, and confirm every resident understands their pet policies. Pet Screening was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Cornelius, North Carolina.

Payzer

Series C in 2018
Payzer is a North Carolina-based financial technology company that offers an all-in-one financial tool which helps contractors grow their businesses and exchange money with ease. Its mobile and cloud-based platform allows customers to accept credit and debit cards, and electronic checks in the field or at the home office with real-time tracking across their organizations. It also allows its users to provide instant financing up to $55,000 using a mobile phone, tablet, or personal computer as well as control purchases by giving employees Visa debit purchasing cards. Payzer was established in 2014.

Payzer

Series B in 2018
Payzer is a North Carolina-based financial technology company that offers an all-in-one financial tool which helps contractors grow their businesses and exchange money with ease. Its mobile and cloud-based platform allows customers to accept credit and debit cards, and electronic checks in the field or at the home office with real-time tracking across their organizations. It also allows its users to provide instant financing up to $55,000 using a mobile phone, tablet, or personal computer as well as control purchases by giving employees Visa debit purchasing cards. Payzer was established in 2014.

Adwerx

Series A in 2017
Adwerx, Inc. is a digital advertising company based in Durham, North Carolina, specializing in localized services for the real estate, mortgage, insurance, and wealth management sectors. Founded in 2013, Adwerx has established itself as a valuable resource for over 25% of the top brokerage firms and more than 15% of the leading mortgage originators in the United States. The company offers personalized and omnichannel brand marketing solutions that allow clients to deliver customized advertisements across various platforms, including streaming TV, popular websites, social media, and mobile applications. Through its digital marketing automation, Adwerx enhances brand visibility, increases productivity by 35%, and reduces turnover by 42%. The company's reach extends across the United States, Canada, and Australia, providing innovative advertising solutions tailored to the needs of its clients.

Payzer

Series B in 2016
Payzer is a North Carolina-based financial technology company that offers an all-in-one financial tool which helps contractors grow their businesses and exchange money with ease. Its mobile and cloud-based platform allows customers to accept credit and debit cards, and electronic checks in the field or at the home office with real-time tracking across their organizations. It also allows its users to provide instant financing up to $55,000 using a mobile phone, tablet, or personal computer as well as control purchases by giving employees Visa debit purchasing cards. Payzer was established in 2014.

Passport

Series B in 2016
Passport is a cloud tech startup that delivers intelligent data to its customers. Passport transforms mobility management with a single platform to help create an open parking ecosystem. The company's goal is to help cities bring payments into apps users already have on hand while providing management and reporting tools, creating an easy-to-manage and efficient mobility operation for the future. Passport is backed by a group of investors, including Bain Capital Ventures, Grotech Ventures, MK Capital, and Relevance Capital. It was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Payzer

Series A in 2015
Payzer is a North Carolina-based financial technology company that offers an all-in-one financial tool which helps contractors grow their businesses and exchange money with ease. Its mobile and cloud-based platform allows customers to accept credit and debit cards, and electronic checks in the field or at the home office with real-time tracking across their organizations. It also allows its users to provide instant financing up to $55,000 using a mobile phone, tablet, or personal computer as well as control purchases by giving employees Visa debit purchasing cards. Payzer was established in 2014.

Passport

Series A in 2013
Passport is a cloud tech startup that delivers intelligent data to its customers. Passport transforms mobility management with a single platform to help create an open parking ecosystem. The company's goal is to help cities bring payments into apps users already have on hand while providing management and reporting tools, creating an easy-to-manage and efficient mobility operation for the future. Passport is backed by a group of investors, including Bain Capital Ventures, Grotech Ventures, MK Capital, and Relevance Capital. It was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

6fusion

Series B in 2011
6fusion operates a cloud management platform that transforms public and private cloud resources into a pay-per-use utility model. Utilizing its proprietary Workload Allocation Cube, the company establishes a standardized method for measuring supply and demand of computing resources. This platform serves IT service providers, enterprises, independent software vendors, and infrastructure owners/operators by simplifying Infrastructure-as-a-Service management through a single console. It offers insights into consumption, performance benchmarking, and cost allocation, all while avoiding vendor lock-in. Additionally, 6fusion employs financial intelligence analytics to enhance the economic measurement of IT infrastructure operations, helping organizations analyze utilization rates, consumption patterns, and cost efficiencies effectively.

Ziptronix

Venture Round in 2009
Ziptronix, Inc. designs, develops, and markets semiconductor integration technologies to the electronics industry. The company offers chip stacking, three dimensional integrated circuits, and silicon substrate applications.

Ziptronix

Venture Round in 2008
Ziptronix, Inc. designs, develops, and markets semiconductor integration technologies to the electronics industry. The company offers chip stacking, three dimensional integrated circuits, and silicon substrate applications.

Ziptronix

Series D in 2007
Ziptronix, Inc. designs, develops, and markets semiconductor integration technologies to the electronics industry. The company offers chip stacking, three dimensional integrated circuits, and silicon substrate applications.

Hatteras Networks

Venture Round in 2006
Hatteras Networks, Inc. develops equipment to enable carriers and service providers to deliver high-bandwidth business services to business locations. It delivers broadband Ethernet solutions over existing copper facilities to enable service providers to deliver metro Ethernet services and address for high bandwidth mobile wireless and DSLAM backhaul transport. Hatteras Networks, Inc. was formerly known as Luminance Networks, Inc. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.

Ziptronix

Series C in 2005
Ziptronix, Inc. designs, develops, and markets semiconductor integration technologies to the electronics industry. The company offers chip stacking, three dimensional integrated circuits, and silicon substrate applications.

Hatteras Networks

Series D in 2005
Hatteras Networks, Inc. develops equipment to enable carriers and service providers to deliver high-bandwidth business services to business locations. It delivers broadband Ethernet solutions over existing copper facilities to enable service providers to deliver metro Ethernet services and address for high bandwidth mobile wireless and DSLAM backhaul transport. Hatteras Networks, Inc. was formerly known as Luminance Networks, Inc. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.

Hatteras Networks

Series C in 2002
Hatteras Networks, Inc. develops equipment to enable carriers and service providers to deliver high-bandwidth business services to business locations. It delivers broadband Ethernet solutions over existing copper facilities to enable service providers to deliver metro Ethernet services and address for high bandwidth mobile wireless and DSLAM backhaul transport. Hatteras Networks, Inc. was formerly known as Luminance Networks, Inc. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.