3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Shreyans Chopra of Mstack, Scott Deans of BeOne Sports, and Henal Patel of DocJuris. Photos courtesy

Editor's note: Every week, I introduce you to a handful of Houston innovators to know recently making headlines with news of innovative technology, investment activity, and more. This week's batch includes three Houston startup founders celebrating big wins.

Shreyans Chopra, founder of Mstack

Shreyans Chopra, founder of Mstack, is celebrating the close of his company's $40 million series A. Photo courtesy of Mstack

Houston-based Mstack, whose platform helps manufacturers source specialty chemicals, has raised $40 million in a series A funding round. The company says the infusion of cash will enable it to “double down on its mission to disrupt a historically flawed supply chain for specialty chemicals.”

“This new funding affirms investor confidence in our vision and technology to transform global markets. It enables us to expand geographically and intensify our R&D efforts,” Mstack founder Shreyans Chopra says. Read more.

Scott Deans, co-founder and CEO of BeOne Sports

Rice University's athletic programs will be supported by Houston startup BeOne Sports' technology. Photo via LinkedIn

Rice University — in an effort to enhance athletics and research-driven innovation — has formed a partnership with a startup founded by its alumni.

BeOne Sports, a sports performance technology company developed a platform for mobile motion-capture AI and advanced data analytics, will integrate its technology within Rice's sports medicine and rehabilitation programs.

“BeOne Sports was born from the collaborative environment at Rice, where business leaders and engineers work together to solve real-world problems” Scott Deans, co-founder and CEO of BeOne Sports, says. “Our mission is to provide cutting-edge technology to maximize potential in the simplest, fastest and most versatile ways possible. This partnership with Rice is an exciting step toward democratizing access to sports technology for athletes and coaches at all levels.” Read more.

Henal Patel, founder and CEO of DocJuris

Henal Patel, CEO of DocJurisDocJuris has raised its first round of venture funding to grow its team to keep up with demand for its legal software platform. Photo courtesy of DocJuris

Houston-based DocJuris, a leader in AI contract review, announced the successful closure of its series A funding round by raising $8 million in new capital. This brings the total capital raised to date to $11.2 million.

"DocJuris AI has become an industry-leading platform that empowers enterprise legal, procurement, and sales teams to close deals faster while reducing risk," DocJuris CEO and Founder Henal Patel says in a news release. "With this funding, we will continue scaffolding our platform around generative AI, expand our customer success team, and grow our user base." Read more.

DocJuris has raised a $8 million series A. Photo via Getty Images

Houston legal tech platform raises $8M series A, plans to hire

fresh funding

Houston-based DocJuris, a leader in AI contract review, announced the successful closure of its series A funding round by raising $8 million in new capital. This brings the total capital raised to date to $11.2 million.

"DocJuris AI has become an industry-leading platform that empowers enterprise legal, procurement, and sales teams to close deals faster while reducing risk," DocJuris CEO and Founder Henal Patel says in a news release. "With this funding, we will continue scaffolding our platform around generative AI, expand our customer success team, and grow our user base."

The most active venture capital firm in Texas Silverton Partners led the round with participation from previous investors Watertower Ventures, Surface Ventures, and Seed Round Capital.

Companies like Siemens, Dell, FedEx, Toyota, and Duke Energy already use DocJuris with its AI-powered contract negotiation software that automates imporrant tasks during the review, redlining, and negotiation of contracts. DocJuris uses a platform to screen third-party contracts in seconds, can redline clauses with playbook-compliant edits in one click, and also generate formatted track changes, exception tables, and amendments with a cloud-based application.

The Association of Corporate Counsel, awarded DocJuris the Value Champion Award in 2023 due to the reduced contract cycle times to minutes with AI.

“We wanted to replace repetitive, manual tasks and free up valuable time for our employees to focus on more impactful work,” lead attorney for Flex's Global Procurement and Supply Chain Iringo Csifo-Nagy adds. “To achieve this, we developed a turnkey solution for AI-driven contract reviews together with the DocJuris team."

In its first round of funding in 2021, DocJuris raised $3.2 million in seed capital.

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Henal Patel of DocJuris, Patricia van Ee of Inhance Technologies, and Andrew Bruce of Data Gumbo. Courtesy photos

3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

Editor's note: In the week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to three innovators across industries — plastics manufacturing, software, blockchain — recently making headlines.


Henal Patel, CEO of DocJuris

DocJuris has raised its first round of venture funding to grow its team to keep up with demand for its legal software platform. Photo courtesy of DocJuris

Henal Patel, CEO of Houston-based DocJuris, raised his first round of funding without ever having to move from behind his computer screen. The SaaS company founded in 2018 raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by New York-based RTP Seed with additional support from Houston-based Seed Round Capital along with others.

Patel says he was looking for funds as well as support from investors who had experience with software and could open doors to new clients for the legal software.

"Our platform is designed to empower legal, sales, and procurement teams and corporations to negotiate and close contracts with greater speed and precision," Patel says. "The underlying mission is to solve the last-mile of contracting." Click here to read more.

Patricia van Ee, chief commercial officer at Inhance Technologies

Houston-based sustainable plastics manufacturer Inhance Technologies has announced recent growth as business continues to boom. Photo via inhancetechnologies.com

Patricia van Ee has a new role at a growing Houston-based company. The new chief commercial officer at Inhance Technologies just assumed the position in January as the sustainable manufacturer, which transforms conventional plastics into high-performance materials, has opened its new 75,000-square-foot site in St. Louis.

"The expansion in St. Louis is a great moment for the company and a sign of the organization's ambition in sustainable solutions for plastics," van Ee says in a release. "We know consumers are favoring more recyclable plastics, especially in packaging … ." Click here to read more.

Andrew Bruce, CEO and founder of Data Gumbo

Data Gumbo, founded by Andrew Bruce, has launched a new tool for customers focused on transparency and ESG reporting. Photo courtesy of Data Gumbo

Last week, Data Gumbo, provider of GumboNet™, announced its new tool, GumboNet ESG, a sustainability measurement solution that can pull together a company's operational data to ESG standards reporting. The tool incorporates the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board framework for transparency and allows industrial companies access to real-time verifiable environmental performance monitoring.

"GumboNet ESG provides the ability to execute a company's monitoring of sustainability goals over time across their supply chain, providing trustworthy and auditable reports for the market against the credible and widely used SASB standards," says Andrew Bruce, founder and CEO of Data Gumbo, in a news release. "It's a new dawn for reliable and automated environmental impact measurements based on smart contracts powered and secured by blockchain."

Existing Data Gumbo customers will have access to the GumboNet ESG as part of their GumboNet subscription. All GumboNet ESG users can use the ESG tool to provide verified and transparent reporting to their customers, investors, media, and more. Click here to read more.

DocJuris has raised its first round of venture funding to grow its team to keep up with demand for its legal software platform. Image courtesy of DocJuris

Houston B2B software company raises $3.2M in seed funding to grow team and product

money moves

A Houston-based software-as-a-service company that is revolutionizing the contract process has closed a round of funding this week.

DocJuris, founded in 2018, raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by New York-based RTP Seed with additional support from Houston-based Seed Round Capital, California-based Watertower Ventures, Maryland-based Crossbeam, and Remote First Capital.

It's the startup's first round of venture funding and Henal Patel, CEO of DocJuris, says he was looking for funds as well as support from investors who had experience with software and could open doors to new clients for the legal software.

"Our platform is designed to empower legal, sales, and procurement teams and corporations to negotiate and close contracts with greater speed and precision," Patel says. "The underlying mission is to solve the last-mile of contracting."

Henal Patel is CEO of DocJuris. Photo courtesy of DocJuris

The need for funding came at a time of growth, Patel says, as DocJuris was seeing more and more opportunities in light of the pandemic.

"As work has gone more remote, there's a greater need for teams to be able to collaborate on their contracts — instead of sending Word documents over email," he tells InnovationMap.

Within the contract optimization space, Patel says he sees a lot of opportunities for enhancing the experience for lawyers, business owners, contractors, and anyone who has to spend any amount of time on legal papers.

"One of our visions is to — in addition to providing the tactical tools we do to day — revisualize the way that people read contracts," Patel says. "Our platform enables the ability to improve the lives of the people who have to stare at contracts all day."

DocJuris is already hiring for a few positions across sales, customer service, and marketing, and Patel says he will continue to grow his remote team locally.

"We've been remote since before it was cool," Patel says, adding that all but one of his employees is based in Houston. "But we've been locally concentrated in Houston. We're planning on growing our team here in Houston, but keeping the team remote. We believe in Houston."

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Houston-based HPE wins $931M contract to upgrade military data centers

defense data centers

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), based in Spring, Texas, which provides AI, cloud, and networking products and services, has received a $931 million contract to modernize data centers run by the federal Defense Information Systems Agency.

HPE says it will supply distributed hybrid multicloud technology to the federal agency, which provides combat support for U.S. troops. The project will feature HPE’s Private Cloud Enterprise and GreenLake offerings. It will allow DISA to scale and accelerate communications, improve AI and data analytics, boost IT efficiencies, reduce costs and more, according to a news release from HPE.

The contract comes after the completion of HPE’s test of distributed hybrid multicloud technology at Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) data centers in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and Ogden, Utah. This technology is aimed at managing DISA’s IT infrastructure and resources across public and private clouds through one hybrid multicloud platform, according to Data Center Dynamics.

Fidelma Russo, executive vice president and general manager of hybrid cloud at HPE, said in a news release that the project will enable DISA to “deliver innovative, future-ready managed services to the agencies it supports that are operating across the globe.”

The platform being developed for DISA “is designed to mirror the look and feel of a public cloud, replicating many of the key features” offered by cloud computing businesses such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform, according to The Register.

In the 1990s, DISA consolidated 194 data centers into 16. According to The Register, these are the U.S. military’s most sensitive data centers.

More recently, in 2024, the Fort Meade, Maryland-based agency laid out a five-year strategy to “simplify the network globally with large-scale adoption of command IT environments,” according to Data Center Dynamics.

Astros and Rockets launch new streaming service for Houston sports fans

Sports Talk

Houston sports fans now have a way to watch their favorite teams without a cable or satellite subscription. Launched December 3, the Space City Home Network’s SCHN+ service allows consumers to watch the Houston Astros and Houston Rockets via iOS, Apple TV, Android, Amazon Fire TV, or web browser.

A subscription to SCHN+ allows sports fans to watch all Astros and Rockets games, as well as behind-the-scenes features and other on-demand content. It’s priced at $19.99 per month or $199.99 annually (plus tax). People who watch Space City Network Network via their existing cable or satellite service will be able to access SCHN+ at no additional charge.

As the Houston Chronicle notes, the Astros and Rockets were the only MLB and NBA teams not to offer a direct-to-consumer streaming option.

“We’re thrilled to offer another great option to ensure fans have access to watch games, and the SCHN+ streaming app makes it easier than ever to cheer on the Rockets,” Rockets alternate governor Patrick Fertitta said in a statement.

“Providing fans with a convenient way to watch their favorite teams, along with our network’s award-winning programming, was an essential addition. This season feels special, and we’re committed to exploring new ways to elevate our broadcasts for Rockets fans to enjoy.”

Astros owner Jim Crane echoed Feritta’s comments, adding, “Providing fans options on how they view our games is important as we continue to grow the game – we want to make it accessible to as large an audience as possible. We are looking forward to the 2026 season and more Astros fans watching our players compete for another championship.”

SCHN+ is available to customers in Texas; Louisiana; Arkansas; Oklahoma; and the following counties in New Mexico: Dona Ana, Eddy, Lea, Chaves, Roosevelt, Curry, Quay, Union, and Debaca. Fans outside these areas will need to subscribe to the NBA and MLB out-of-market services.

---

This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Rice University researchers unveil new model that could sharpen MRI scans

MRI innovation

Researchers at Rice University, in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have developed a new model that could lead to sharper imaging and safer diagnostics using magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI.

In a study recently published in The Journal of Chemical Physics, the team of researchers showed how they used the Fokker-Planck equation to better understand how water molecules respond to contrast agents in a process known as “relaxation.” Previous models only approximated how water molecules relaxed around contrasting agents. However, through this new model, known as the NMR eigenmodes framework, the research team has uncovered the “full physical equations” to explain the process.

“The concept is similar to how a musical chord consists of many notes,” Thiago Pinheiro, the study’s first author, a Rice doctoral graduate in chemical and biomolecular engineering and postdoctoral researcher in the chemical sciences division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said in a news release. “Previous models only captured one or two notes, while ours picks up the full harmony.”

According to Rice, the findings could lead to the development and application of new contrast agents for clearer MRIs in medicine and materials science. Beyond MRIs, the NMR relaxation method could also be applied to other areas like battery design and subsurface fluid flow.

“In the present paper, we developed a comprehensive theory to interpret those previous molecular dynamics simulations and experimental findings,” Dilipkumar Asthagiri, a senior computational biomedical scientist in the National Center for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said in the release. ”The theory, however, is general and can be used to understand NMR relaxation in liquids broadly.”

The team has also made its code available as open source to encourage its adoption and further development by the broader scientific community.

“By better modeling the physics of nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation in liquids, we gain a tool that doesn’t just predict but also explains the phenomenon,” Walter Chapman, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Rice, added in the release. “That is crucial when lives and technologies depend on accurate scientific understanding.”

The study was backed by The Ken Kennedy Institute, Rice Creative Ventures Fund, Robert A. Welch Foundation and Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

View All Listings