In 2005, CIT celebrated 20 years of creating technology-based companies and strategies for innovation. From its original mission to enhance the research and technology transfer activities of Virginia universities, CIT has moved its focus toward the new technologies, entrepreneurs and technology companies that make innovation happen.

Today, CIT’s operating structure consists of service lines that enable it to respond quickly and efficiently to new opportunities with government and private sector clients. The service lines – CIT Entrepreneur, CIT R&D, CIT Broadband and CIT Connect – establish a clear identity that allows us to meet our goals and close innovation gaps.

CIT conducts world-class research and development programs that focus on translational technologies that deliver solutions to national challenges and provide the foundation for the creation of new industry clusters. To do this, CIT focuses on delivering strategic direction and highly specialized program management in areas that will yield significant economic impact and replace older economies. 

Creating entrepreneurial technology ventures requires CIT to leverage both federal and private investments. CIT’s GAP Fund was created in 2004 to help innovative technology start-up companies secure their first seed stage investment. Over the last year, CIT created 12 new companies with a direct investment of $1.2 million, which then leveraged another $4.6 million in private equity.

CIT’s broadband initiatives help jurisdictions develop strategies and locate funding to install broadband technologies into under served areas, especially those communities that are undergoing economic transformation. Last year, CIT’s broadband program leveraged a $100,000 investment by the Commonwealth into nearly $2.6 million to expand broadband deployment to nearly one million miles in the Commonwealth.

Sensing a new and growing market opportunity, CIT created CIT Connect, a new service line dedicated to helping large-scale federal and corporate consumers of technology identify and assimilate innovation created in private sector start-up companies.