Local fund of funds to put a national spotlight on venture capital in Houston

Houston Innovators Podcast Episode 66

Guillermo Borda and Sandy Guitar, managing directors at the HX Venture Fund, join the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss Venture Houston. Photos courtesy

The role of the HX Venture Fund is to pull out-of-Houston venture capital funds into the Houston innovation ecosystem — and the fund of funds is hoping to exactly that with an inaugural event next month.

Venture Houston, which is taking place online on February 4th and 5th, will bring together entrepreneurs, corporations, venture capital investors, and startup development organizations for a summit full of thought leadership — as well as a startup pitch competition with over $1.7 million on the line. (InnovationMap is the media partner for the event.)

HXVF Managing Directors Guillermo Borda and Sandy Guitar joined the Houston Innovators Podcast this week to discuss what they are most excited from the events.

"In this conference, we have representation from all stakeholders," Borda says, recognizing that HXVF has connected VCs with more than $4 billion of ready-to-deploy capital to Houston startups. "This conference is a way of engaging that further — we call that activation."

With the rollercoaster that 2020 was, Borda and Guitar recognize how timely a conference like this is. Guitar says on the show that with all the challenges that came with remote working, investors are all the more prepared for the future. Besides, she adds, a crisis is a perfect time for technology to rise to the top.

"COVID is real and the disruption is significant, but in the eyes of a venture capitalist, this is opportunity," Guitar says. "This is a groundbreaking time for VCs. ... The best VCs and the best entrepreneurs are leaning in on these opportunities."

With HXVF's ultimate goal to drive investment into Houston startups, Venture Houston will also feature a startup pitch competition that will have investment opportunities from the likes of Mercury Fund, The Artemis Fund, Montrose Lane, Fitz Gate Ventures, and more. Startups can apply to the contest online until Friday, January 15.

"We are asking as many Houston entrepreneurs who are considering raising capital now or any time in the next year to apply to this pitch competition," Guitar says. "The prizes we have are phenomenal and can really help get a young company started."

Guitar and Borda discuss more about the event and the future of venture capital in Houston on the show. Listen to the full interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.


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The HX Venture Fund has grown its portfolio of venture capital firms with its latest investments. Getty Images

Houston's fund of funds announces 2 new investments

money moves

The HX Venture Fund, which invests in out-of-town venture capital funds that have their eyes on Houston startups, has grown its portfolio.

The fund of funds now has a portfolio of 10 VCs from across the country, across industries, and across startup stages. According to a recent announcement, the HX Venture Fund has invested in New York-based Greycroft Venture Partners and Washington D.C.-based Revolution Ventures. The announcement also included Boston-based Material Impact and San Francisco-based venBio Global Strategic Fund, however those had been previously reported by InnovationMap.

"We are delighted to partner with the general partners of Greycroft Venture Partners, Material Impact, Revolution Ventures, and venBio Global Strategic Fund," says Sandy Guitar, managing director of HX Venture Fund, in the release. "With their proven expertise and exceptional track records, we are excited to integrate them into Houston networks and not only give them access to the Fund's innovative corporate limited partners, but also harness their knowledge to empower Houston entrepreneurs."

These four VC funds join six others that HXVF has invested in: Austin-based LiveOak Venture Partners and Next Coast Ventures, Washington D.C.-based Updata Partners, Chicago-based Baird Capital, and Boston-based .406 Ventures and OpenView Venture Partners.

"The receptivity of the HX Venture Fund model has exceeded all our expectations. Since early 2019, over 217 venture capital funds across the U.S. have expressed definitive interest in participating in our model," says Guillermo Borda, managing director of HX Venture Fund, in the release.

"It is especially noteworthy that collectively, the ten funds selected for HX Venture Fund's portfolio have $3.7 billion in committed capital in their funds to be invested with Houston on their investment radar," Borda adds. "This is at a time that provides compelling investment opportunities in the economic cycle. This is an exciting time for Houston entrepreneurs and our innovation ecosystem."

Guitar previously told InnovationMap that she's looking to curate a portfolio of VCs that is diverse in industries and stage. Additionally, before investing in a VC, the HX Venture Fund looks for an interest in investing into Houston startups. The hope is that, while not required, the HXVF portfolio funds invest in a Houston startup down the road. Earlier this year, Houston-based Liongard became the fund of funds' first example of that.

"The innovation and talent in Houston are best-in-class; we want to be investing there," says Tige Savage, managing partner at Revolution Ventures, in the release.

The HX Venture Fund reached a proof point of its model — one that arrived much earlier than expected. Getty Images

Houston's fund of funds expands its portfolio and team after reaching benchmark with local investment

money moves

When a Houston software startup closed a $17 million series B funding round, it was a big win for more than just the startup. Not only was the deal among the few Houston venture capital deals to happen amid the COVID-19 outbreak, but it represented a proof of concept for Houston's fund of funds.

The HX Venture Fund was founded in October of 2018 to encourage investment into local startups by raising corporate funds and investing into a portfolio of non-Houston venture capital funds that show an interest in Houston. HXVF hit a milestone last month when Liongard, a software-as-a-service company based in Houston, closed its fundraising round led by Updata Partners — one of HXVF's portfolio funds.

To date, the HXVF has reviewed over 150 venture capital funds and invested in eight: Austin-based LiveOak Venture Partners and Next Coast Ventures, Washington D.C.-based Updata Partners, Chicago-based Baird Capital, San Francisco-based VenBio, and Boston-based .406 Ventures, OpenView Venture Partners, and Material Impact Fund. Since each investment, those funds have invested in over 30 startups that are also included in the greater HXVF portfolio.

These HXVF portfolio funds represent various stages — from seed to growth stages, like Liongard — and across industries, from software and hardware to life sciences — "the whole gamut," says Sandy Guitar, managing director of HXVF.

"What that means now is there is over $2 billion of venture capital that actively has Houston on its radar right now," Guitar tells InnovationMap.

The Liongard investment represents a proof point for the fund of funds — one that comes earlier than expected. HXVF invested in Updata less than six months before Liongard closed its round with Updata's lead investment. Guitar says she expected to get to this milestone within 18 to 24 months of the fund of funds deploying capital — and it's happened in just nine months.

"You have this trickle down effect, where it can easily take two to three years to get your capital at work," Guitar says, explaining that HXVF first has to raise funds from its corporate partners, then vet and invest in the VCs, and, finally, wait to see how those funds invest.

Of course, the pandemic has not exactly helped the growth of Houston's startup and venture capital sectors. While COVID-19 has allowed growth in some sectors — telemedicine, for instance — it has limited the opportunities for startups to test the market.

"To build great startups, a startup has to do what I call 'run into walls.' They have to test the market, get it wrong, and pivot. The problem right now is there are no walls to run into," Guitar says. "You have to have an actively running economy and market for proof points of what's working and what's not working."

Meanwhile, Guitar observes, VC investors have limited their activity to their own networks due to the inability to meet face-to-face with unfamiliar startups. Comparing the VC-startup relationship to a marriage, you wouldn't meet and marry someone you've never met in person just like investors wouldn't fund an entrepreneur they have only ever met via Zoom.

"A lot of VCs are staying in their known networks in the short term," says Guitar, while, in the long term, VCs are going to rely on introductions to entrepreneurs from their network.

With this benchmark secured, HXVF is continuing to grow its portfolio — as well as its team. Recently, Guitar — who runs the fund with Guillermo Borda — brought on Houston native Aleece Hobson as venture partner.

"Aleece joining is a phenomenal step for us — a dedicated resource and venture partner on activation," says Guitar on the hire. "I think it speaks to the seriousness of purpose we have to make this not just an investment platform, but one that moves the needle on Houston."

Guitar says HXVF is also growing its limited partners with the addition of Rice University, which joins the likes of HEB, Shell, Chevron, and Houston Methodist — to name a few.

"We're going to be getting even closer to our limited partners' needs and introducing them to the 34 portfolio companies," Guitar says "and creating meaningful collisions between those two groups."

Aleece Hobson joined the HX Venture Fund as venture partner. Photo courtesy of HXVF

Pat Matthews of Active Capital visited Houston with a collaboration with the HX Venture Fund. Photo courtesy of Active Capital

Here's how a visiting venture capitalist explores Houston's startup ecosystem for the first time

a day in the life

When Houston Exponential established the HX Venture Fund, the goal was to bring out-of-town capital and investors into the city of Houston. The fund of funds invests in a portfolio of venture capital funds with the hope that those funds find a way back into the Houston startup ecosystem.

After a little over a year, HXVF has invested in five funds: Boston-based .406 Ventures, Austin-based Next Coast Ventures, Boston-based OpenView Venture Partners, Washington D.C.-based Updata Partners, and Austin-based LiveOak Venture Partners.

The fund of funds is also regularly hosting those five funds — as well as a mix of potential portfolio fund members — in Houston for what the HXVF calls "immersion days" where the venture capitalists can meet local startups, innovation leaders, and even fellow investors that they could eventually co-invest with.

"The goals of these days are to have venture capitalists travel to Houston, meet with our entrepreneurs (and the startup development organizations like Station, Cannon and WeWork that support them), and provide both capital and expertise in company building to the tech companies," says Sandy Guitar Wallis, managing partner at HXVF. "The venture capitalists also meet with HX Venture Fund corporate LPs, who can be customers or acquirers of their portfolio companies."

Just this month alone, HXVF is hosting four funds — two from their portfolio and two that they haven't yet invested in. San Antonio-based Active Capital, which has raised a $21 million fund, is among the visiting VCs this month. The fund's founder, Pat Matthews, an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist, has shared his busiest day — February 5 — as well as his perspective on Houston innovation with InnovationMap.

A morning too busy for breakfast

After waking up at the Hotel Derek, Matthews starts his second day in Houston by taking a Lyft to the Greater Houston Partnership for what he believes to be a breakfast meeting with Wallis and Guillermo Borda of HXVF, but the group has too much to discuss that a meal falls by the wayside.

Before this trip, Matthews hasn't visited Houston in a professional capacity. While Active Capital is based just down I10 in San Antonio, the firm's investments are split almost in half by deals done in Texas versus the rest of the world. Active Capital focuses on B2B SaaS investments — usually leading — in seed or series A rounds.

Matthews has called Texas home for around a decade. He founded an email marketing startup in Virginia, which was acquired by San Antonio-based Rackspace. He relocated to join Rackspace and worked on growing the organization for six years before creating Active Capital.

Following the meeting — still unfed, Matthews meets up with Serafina Lalany from Houston Exponential to carpool to The Cannon on the west side of town.

Loading up on carbs and fireside chats

Matthews forgoes his usual carb aversion to eat slices of Domino's pizza at The Cannon before beginning his first of three fireside chats with Houston innovators. Patrick Schneidau, CEO of Truss, leads the conversation at The Cannon. (Schneidau is a board member of InnovationMap's.) After the chat, Matthews has a meeting with a startup before heading back into town.

With one fireside chat down, Matthews heads into his second one of the day at Station Houston with Joe Alapat, founder of Liongard. Matthews observes that each of the entrepreneurs who interviewed him had great questions, and seemed to be far along with their companies. Meanwhile, any of the people he met before or after the chat seemed to be at a much earlier stage in their startup journey.

The last fireside chat was hosted by Rakesh Agrawal of Snapstream at WeWork's Jones Building location. Matthews and Agrawal attempted to set up a Facebook livestream for the conversation, but an issue with the technology wouldn't allow for the stream.

An evening of good food and great mentorship

With meetings and fireside chats done, Matthews heads straight to a dinner with Blair Garrou, founder and managing director of Mercury Fund. The two venture capitalists dine at Eunice and split several appetizers and a bottle of wine while discussing their own recent investments and interests. Matthews, who met Garrou in 2014, thinks of him as a great mentor in venture capital.

Matthews headed back to the hotel after dinner and crashes hard after the long day. He would head back to San Antonio on a Vonlane bus — he gets a lot of work done on his trips — the next day.

What's next for Active Capital and Houston?

Matthews says he left Houston with an overall positive opinion of the city, and says it's similar to other Texas cities, aside from Austin, in its startup presence and capacity. While he assumed he'd meet energy and space startups, he realized Houston had a lot more going on than that.

"It definitely seemed like there was a lot of passion and a lot of hustle," Matthews says. "And it seems like the city is really working to support and cultivate that and keep it in Houston. I was inspired."

Throughout the visit, Matthews handed out his business card and some conversations have developed from those connections, he says. Another representative from Active Capital who is focused on sourcing deals with startups will visit next, and Matthews says he also thinks that he'll return to Houston to continue conversations he's been having, including some with other investors.

"I could definitely see doing deals in Houston," Matthews tells InnovationMap.

LiveOak Venture Partners, an Austin-based firm, is the first recipient of Houston Exponential's fund of funds. Courtesy of LiveOak

Houston venture fund of funds doles out $5 million in Austin firm in its first investment

money moves

After closing its initial round of funding last year, Houston Exponential's fund of funds, called the HX Venture Fund, has closed its first investment on March 29. Austin-based LiveOak Venture Partners received a $5 million investment from the fund.

The HX Venture Fund raised $30 million after launching in October of last year. The fund's goal is to invest in out-of-Houston venture funds in the hopes that they reinvest that money into Houston startups.

"We invested in LiveOak Venture II because of the firm's compelling investment track record, expertise and vigor of the general partners, their extensive network of relationships with proven entrepreneurs, and their focus on capital efficient early stage technology companies in Texas," says Guillermo Borda, managing partner at HX Venture Fund, in a release. "LiveOak's team is committed to making a significant impact in the Houston startup ecosystem."

The HX investment is a part of LiveOak's Fund II, which was oversubscribed and closed at $105 million, the company announced today. According to a release from LiveOak, Fund II is a continuation to the firm's dedication to Texas entrepreneurship. The fund will focus on funding within the state's four largest tech hubs — Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio — and have initial investments ranging from $2 million to $4 million, the release states.

The firm's portfolio focuses on seed and series A funding, and most of its investments are Austin-based, with the exception of three Dallas companies. LiveOak invested in Houston-founded CS Disco, an AI-enabled tool for legal business, but the company has since moved to Austin, according to a public relations representative. LiveOak also invested in San Antonio-founded Infocyte, but the company also relocated to Austin.

Houston has been a strategic market for LiveOak, says managing partner, Krishna Srinivasan, in the release, citing the city's recent entrepreneurial activity.

"We are excited to partner with HX Venture Fund and its strategic investment partners, comprising multiple leading Houston based corporations, to catalyze and grow this activity," says Srinivasan, in the release. "Given LiveOak's investment strategy of being the leading source of capital for entrepreneurs across Texas, we view this investment as highly synergistic with our efforts to enable world-class, category dominating companies coming out of Houston."

HX modeled its fund after the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund in Michigan, from which 10 outside venture capital firms benefitted. Renaissance Fund reported positive results from the fund of funds and Chris Rizik, CEO and fund manager of Renaissance, serves as a member of the investment committee.

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15+ startups fueling Houston's $1 billion funding haul for Q1-Q2 2026

cha-ching

Houston startups started 2026 strong, bringing in nearly $1 billion in venture capital in the first half of the year, Pitchbook data shows.

Here are 17 Houston companies that secured funding since January, according to reporting by InnovationMap and our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Did we miss a funding round? Let us know by emailing innoeditor@innovationmap.com.

Sage Geosystems

Sage Geosystems raised a $97 million Series B. Photo via sagegeosystems.com.

Houston-based geothermal energy startup Sage Geosystems closed its Series B fundraising round in January and plans to use the money to launch its first commercial next-generation geothermal power generation facility.

Ormat Technologies and Carbon Direct Capital co-led the $97 million round, according to a press release from Sage. Existing investors Exa, Nabors, alfa8, Arch Meredith, Abilene Partners, Cubit Capital and Ignis H2 Energy also participated, as well as new investors SiteGround Capital and The UC Berkeley Foundation’s Climate Solutions Fund.

The new geothermal power generation facility will be located at one of Ormat Technologies' existing power plants. The Nevada-based company has geothermal power projects in the U.S. and numerous other countries around the world. The facility will use Sage’s proprietary pressure geothermal technology, which extracts geothermal heat energy from hot dry rock, an abundant geothermal resource. Continue reading.

TrueLeap Inc.

Sandip Bordoloi and Sunny Zhang, founders of True Leap Inc. Photo via trueleapinc.com.

Houston-based edtech company TrueLeap Inc. closed an oversubscribed seed round in January.

The $3.3 million round was led by Joe Swinbank Family Limited Partnership, a venture capital firm based in Houston. Gamper Ventures, another Houston firm, also participated with additional strategic partners.

TrueLeap reports that the funding will support the large-scale rollout of its "edge AI, integrated learning systems and last-mile broadband across underserved communities." Continue reading.

Wellysis

Wellysis is known for its continuous ECG/EKG monitor with AI reporting, known as the S-Patch. Photo via wellysis.com.

Wellysis, a Seoul, South Korea-headquartered wearable biosensing company with its U.S. subsidiary based in Houston, closed a $13.5 million pre-IPO funding round in February and plans to expand its Texas operations.

The round was led by Korea Investment Partners, Kyobo Life Insurance, Kyobo Securities, Kolon Investment and a co-general partner fund backed by SBI Investment and Samsung Securities, according to a news release.

Wellysis reports that the latest round brings its total capital raised to about $30 million. The company is working toward a Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations listing in Q4 2026 or Q1 2027.

Wellysis is known for its continuous ECG/EKG monitor with AI reporting. Its lightweight and waterproof S-Patch cardiac monitor is designed for extended testing periods of up to 14 days on a single battery charge. Continue reading.

DexMat

DexMat plans to use its seed funding to commercially scale Galvorn, its carbon-based conductive fiber. Photo courtesy DexMat

Houston-based material science and climatech startup DexMat closed a $5 million seed round in February.

The round was led by non sibi ventures, with participation from Governance Partners, Tailwind Futures, BetterWay, Capital Factory and other investors. The company additionally announced that it has secured $3 million of non-dilutive funding.

DexMat plans to use the recent round to commercially scale Galvorn, its carbon-based conductive fiber. The high-performance copper alternative, originally developed at Rice University, is made from carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers, which are less energy- and CO2-intensive to produce. Continue reading.

Coya Therapeutics

Houston biotech co. raises $11M to advance ALS drug development

Coya Therapeutics plans to scale up manufacturing and prepare for the commercialization of COYA 302, its ALS therapy drug. Photo via Getty Images

Houston-based clinical-stage biotechnology company Coya Therapeutics (NASDAQ: COYA) closed a $11.1 million in a private investment round in February.

India-based pharmaceuticals company Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Inc. led the round with a $10 million investment, according to a news release. New York-based investment firm Greenlight Capital, Coya’s largest institutional shareholder, contributed $1.1 million.

Coya reports that it plans to use the proceeds to scale up manufacturing of low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2), which is a component of its COYA 302 and will support the commercial readiness of the drug. COYA 302 enhances anti-inflammatory T cell function and suppresses harmful immune activity for treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Continue reading.

Utility Global

Utility Global’s H2Gen technology aims to decarbonize the heavy industrial sector. Photo courtesy of Utility Global

Houston-based Utility Global raised $100 million in an ongoing Series D round to globally deploy its decarbonization technology at an industrial scale, the company reported in February.

The round was led by Ara Partners and APG Asset, according to a news release. Utility plans to use the funding to expand manufacturing, grow its teams and support its commercial developments and partnerships.

Utility Global's H2Gen technology produces low-cost, clean hydrogen from water and industrial off-gases without requiring electricity. It's designed to integrate into existing industrial infrastructure in hard-to-abate assets in the steel, refining, petrochemical, chemical, low-carbon fuels, and upstream oil and gas sectors. Continue reading.

Cart.com

Cart.com raised $180 million to scale its logistics network, expand AI capabilities and develop workflow automation tools. Photo courtesy of Cart.com

Houston-based commerce and logistics platform Cart.com raised $180 million in growth capital from private equity firm Springcoast Partners, pushing the startup past the $1 billion funding mark since its founding in 2020, the company reported in March.

Cart.com says it will use the capital to scale its logistics network, expand AI capabilities and develop workflow automation tools. Continue reading.

Artemis

Houston-based Artemis, formerly Monalee, closed its latest funding round in March. Rendering courtesy Artemis.

Houston tech startup Artemis raised $6 million from 10 investors, it reported in March. The company offers an AI-supported platform that enables solar, battery storage and home improvement contractors to design, sell and finance energy projects.

Long Journey and Copec WIND Ventures co-led the round, with participation from angel investor Scott Banister, Coalition Operators, FJ Labs, Ludlow Ventures, Palm Tree Crew, Plug and Play Ventures, Shrug Capital and Tribeca Ventures.

To help propel growth, the company secured $10 million in financing last year (under its previous name, Monalee) from venture debt and growth credit provider Applied Real Intelligence. As Monalee, the company raised $16 million in venture capital. Continue reading.

Helix Earth

Helix Earth's technology is estimated to save up to half of the net energy used in commercial air conditioning, reducing both emissions and costs for operators. Photo via Getty Images

Houston-based Helix Earth Technologies closed a $12 million Seed 2 funding round to scale manufacturing of its energy-efficient commercial HVAC add-on technology in April.

Veriten, a Houston-based energy investment firm, led the round. Rua Ventures, Carnrite Ventures, Skywriter LLC and Textbook Ventures also participated.

Helix Earth—which was founded based on NASA technology, spun out of Rice University and has been incubated at Greentown Labs—is developing high-efficiency retrofit dehumidification systems that aim to reduce the energy consumption of commercial HVAC units. The company reports that its technology can lead to "healthier indoor air, lower energy bills, reduced building maintenance, and more comfortable spaces for building owners and occupants." Continue reading.

NanoTech Materials

The company has developed thermal insulation technology that improves efficiency and safety in buildings and outdoor infrastructure. Photo via LinkedIn

Houston-based NanoTech Materials closed a $29.4 million Series A in April.

The round was led by Austin-based HPI Real Estate & Investments. Houston-based Goose Capital and Austin-based Milliken & Company also participated.

Nanotech has developed its patented Insulative Ceramic Particle (ICP) technology, which reduces heat transfer in buildings and outdoor infrastructure, improving efficiency and safety. It's known for its Cool Roof Coat, Wildfire Shield and Insulative Coat: Cool Touch product lines. Continue reading.

Paige

Paige founder and CEO Emily Cisek. Photo courtesy Paige

Houston-based Paige, a comprehensive life planning and succession software company, secured a $2.5 million investment to expand the AI-driven tools on its platform this spring.

The funding comes from Alabama-based 22nd State Banking Company, according to a news release. Paige says it will use the funding to expand automation, AI-driven onboarding and self-service tools, as well as add to its sales and customer success teams.

The company was originally founded by CEO Emily Cisek in 2020 as The Postage and rebranded to Paige last year. It helps users navigate and organize end-of-life planning with features like document storage and organization, password management, and funeral and last wishes planning. Continue reading.

Ace Green Recycling

The company plans to use the funds to support its flagship Texas facility and planned merger. Photo via LinkedIn

Houston-based Ace Green Recycling raised $32 million in private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing to support its future plans for growth, the company reported in May.

The battery recycling technology company secured the financing with Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. II, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company that Ace previously announced it plans to merge with. Once the merger is completed, Ace will become a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "AGXI."

Ace says the financing will be used to complete the merger and scale the company. Continue reading.

Casimir

Casimir’s semiconductor chips can generate power from quantum vacuum fields without the need for batteries or charging. Photo via casimir.inc

Houston-based Casimir emerged from stealth in May with a $12 million seed round to commercialize its quantum energy chip.

The round was led by Austin-based Scout Ventures. Lavrock Ventures, Cottonwood Technology, Capital Factory, American Deep Tech, and Tim Draper of Draper Associates also participated in the round. The oversubscribed round exceeded the company’s original $8 million target, according to a news release.

Casimir’s semiconductor chips can generate power from quantum vacuum fields without the need for batteries or charging. The company plans to commercialize its first-generation MicroSparc chip by 2028. Continue reading.

VoltaGrid

VoltaGrid has developed a modular power generation system that improves reliability and limits emissions. Photo via voltagrid.com

Houston-based power generation startup VoltaGrid nailed down a $1 billion equity investment from asset management heavyweight Blackstone and Houston-based oilfield services provider Halliburton in May.

The investment came in two forms:

  • A $775 million primary capital raise
  • A $225 million secondary capital purchase from existing investors

VoltaGrid, founded in 2020, provides behind-the-meter mobile power generation equipment for data centers, microgrids and industrial customers. Continue reading.

Aquanta Vision

Babur Ozden is the founder and CEO of Aquanta Vision. Photo via LinkedIn

Houston climatech startup Aquanta Vision secured pre-seed funding to accelerate the commercialization of its methane leak detection software, the company announced in May.

EIC Rose Rock participated in the round, joining investors like Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Chevron Technology Ventures, Ecosphere Ventures, and Odyssey Energy Advisors. The investment follows successful field trials for Aquanta Vision’s optical gas imaging (OGI) detection software, according to the company. Continue reading.

Axiom Space

Axiom Space closed an oversubscribed $525 million round in June. Image via NASA

Axiom Space tacked on an additional $175 million to a previously announced capital raise in June, bringing the oversubscribed round to a total of more than $525 million.

Axiom shared in February that it had secured $350 million in a financing round led by Type One Ventures and Qatar Investment Authority. In June, the company reported that Japan-based MUFG Bank Ltd. joined the round as a new investor, in addition to continued participation from existing backers.

The funding will go toward developing the company's commercial space station, known as Axiom Station, and the production of its Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) under its NASA spacesuit contract. Continue reading.

Receipts Depositary Corporation

The company's platform makes it easier to buy and trade hard-to-access and less traditional assets. File photo

Houston-based fintech company Receipts Depositary Corporation closed a $7 million oversubscribed funding round in June and plans to scale.

The round was led by Austin-based LiveOak Ventures, with participation from Hivemind Capital, Onigiri Capital, OTC Markets Group, GTS, and Redbeard Ventures, according to a release from RDC.

RDC's platform issues depositary receipts (DRs) to qualified investors on digital and alternative assets, making it easier for investors to buy and trade hard-to-access and less traditional assets. Continue reading.

Houston healthtech startup raises $30M to scale surgical healing gel

fresh funding

Houston-based healthtech startup TYBR Health has raised a $30 million Series A round to scale its B3 GEL System, which helps protect tendons from scarring after surgery.

The round was led by Minneapolis-based Vensana Capital and Cleveland-based Mutual Capital Partners, with participation from Denver-based Neovate Capital Partners and existing investors, according to a news release from the company.

TYBR Health said it plans to use the funding to broaden the B3 GEL System's clinical applications, expand commercialization and conduct studies to evaluate its ability to protect tissue and improve healing outcomes.

"Surgeons are exceptionally good at the structural repair, but the biology that follows is what determines how it heals. That part of the equation has gone largely unaddressed ... There's a shift underway across surgical specialties, from focusing almost entirely on the mechanical repair to also weighing the biological conditions that repair needs to succeed," Tim Keane, co-founder and CEO of TYBR Health, said in the news release. "This financing lets us reach more surgeons and generate the clinical evidence to move that shift forward."

As part of the financing round, Greg Banker of Vensana Capital and Liz Todia Zambory of Mutual Capital Partners will join the TYBR board, alongside independent director Aaron Smith.

"TYBR Health is addressing a gap surgeons have lived with for a long time, with a product that fits the way they already work," Zambory, principal at Mutual Capital Partners, added in the release. "We're excited to co-lead this round and support the company's growth."

TYBR was founded in 2020 and originated from the TMCi’s Biodesign fellowship and participated in the TMC's Accelerator for HealthTech. Its B3 GEL System is a flowable extracellular matrix hydrogel designed to protect tendons, ligaments, muscles, and the surrounding soft tissue while they heal from orthopedic surgery. It received FDA 510(k) clearance last June and launched an Australian clinical trial in the fall.

The B3 GEL System has been used in hand, wrist, shoulder, foot and ankle, and sports medicine procedures since it launched, according to the company, and was first used in the clinical setting earlier this year by Dr. Tammam Hanna with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Houston space companies win NASA funding to build Mars exploration robots

mission to mars

Two Houston-area spacetech companies have landed a portion of a $17 million award from NASA to develop robots for exploring the surface of Mars, the agency announced this month.

Houston-based Inuitive Machines and Webster, Texas-based MEI Technologies, which does business as Aegis Aerospace, were among the seven companies selected to receive the funding from NASA's Science Transport and Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration (STRIDE) initiative.

According to the release from NASA, the companies are tasked with creating "innovative mobility systems" that would allow future Mars missions to access more challenging terrain and difficult-to-reach regions of the planet, and to travel farther distances. NASA estimated that the work will begin this fall.

NASA solicited proposals for participants in the STRIDE initiative in January. The seven named companies are the first selected to participate in the program.

The additional five companies to receive STRIDE funding include:

"STRIDE demonstrates NASA’s commitment to strong public-private partnerships, allowing the agency to explore new approaches for Mars surface exploration while identifying key capability gaps and development needs for commercial systems that could operate and traverse realistic Martian environments," NASA shared in the announcement.

Last month, Intuitive Machines was awarded $148.3 million to deliver its Nova-C lander to the moon. The funding was part of $600 million the space agency awarded to three companies as part of its Moon Base Program and was Intuitive Machines' sixth task order under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Astrobotic was also one of the companies to land funding for the Moon Base program, as well as Austin-based Firefly Aerospace.

Around the same time, Firefly Aerospace was awarded a $13 million subcontract from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop technology for NASA’s SkyFall mission to Mars. The mission aims to deploy three Mars helicopters to "perform science and demonstrate airborne subsurface mapping and resource prospecting on the planet." Read more here.

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