Annapolis-Based CWIST Relocates to City Garage in Port Covington
Port Covington’s City Garage is gaining a new tenant as education technology (edtech) startup CWIST has relocated from Annapolis to South Baltimore. CWIST will join Sagamore Spirit and Tapologie at the Main Street section of City Garage, which also features an event space. The 133,000 sq. ft. City Garage opened in Fall 2015 and is also the home of The Foundery and the Under Armour Lighthouse.
CWIST provides a customizable online platform, as well as content and interactive challenges, for students to engage in hands-on learning and the “maker movement,” which often utilizes robotics, 3D printers, and other various technologies.
The move to Baltimore comes after a successful round of funding that resulted in $1.25 million from SFP Capital and Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank’s Sagamore Ventures.
“We have had tremendous success in the engaged education space,” said CWIST Founder, Chris Sleat, in a press release. “With this influx of capital, we are poised to support great maker companies as they help teachers engage students in ways they could only dream about before. We love the fact that we have been given the opportunity to move to Baltimore and the City Garage. This is a great spot for us to attract the education, creative, and tech talent we need for future growth.”
CWIST will use the investment to hire a Baltimore-based team to help it refine its existing processes and platform for its current partners. It will also bring in creative cinematography talent and someone to take the lead on sales. Sleat told SouthBMore.com CWIST currently has two employees and 11 contractors, but is looking to add another four to ten employees over the next year.
“We look for innovative companies that have potential and passion,” said Paul Serini, Chairman and CEO of SFP Capital. “CWIST’s mission, innovative education platform and its success in engaging educators in the maker space, was a perfect fit for us.”
“The community of innovators in the product space is currently experiencing rapid growth. CWIST’s ability to give this community a tool to truly differentiate their product is extraordinary,” said Demian Costa, managing partner of Sagamore Ventures. “City Garage will be greatly enhanced by their presence and we look forward to helping this company reach its potential.”
About the Author: Kevin Lynch
Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.
