Houston medtech accelerator announces inaugural cohort

future of health care

Five companies have been selected for a brand new accelerator program in Houston. Image via Getty Images

A Houston medical technology organization has announced the inaugural cohort of a new early-stage accelerator.

M1 MedTech, launched this year by Houston-based Proxima Clinical Research, announced its Fall 2022 cohort.

“This initial cohort launches M1 MedTech with an interactive 14-week agenda covering the basics every emerging MedTech business needs to progress from a startup to an established solution in their market,” says Sean Bittner, director of programs at M1 MedTech, in a news release.

The accelerator will equip early-stage startups with storytelling, business plan support, investor connections, FDA guidance, research, and more through one-on-one consultations, workships, and in-kind services.

The first cohort includes five startups, per the release from the company:

  1. Linovasc. Providing a long overdue major update to balloon angioplasty devices in over 50 years, the Linovasc solution offers a safer branch occlusion and aortic stent dilatation using a toroidal balloon that expands the aorta uniformly without the ischemia caused by current treatments. The company is founded by Bruce Addis.
  2. Grapheton. Founded by Sam Kassegne and Bao Nguyen, Grapheton's patented carbon materials work with electrically active devices to improve the longevity and outcome of bioelectric implants in the body. Terry Lingren serves as the CEO of the startup.
    • Rhythio Medical. Founded by Kunal Shah and Savannah Esteve, Rhythio is the first preventative approach to heart arrhythmias.The chief medical officer is Dr. Mehdi Razavi.
      • PONS Technology. An AI cognitive functioning ultrasound device attempting to change the way ultrasound is done, PONS is founded by CEO: Soner Haci and CTO: Ilker Hacihaliloglu.
        • Vivifi Medical. Founded by CEO Tushar Sharma, Vivifi is the first suture-less laparoscopic technology that connects vessels to improve male infertility and benign prostatic hyperplasia. The company's senior R&D engineer is Frida Montoya.

          The program includes support from sponsors and experts from: Proxima Clinical Research, Greenlight Guru, Medrio, Galen Data, Merge Medical Device Studio, Venn Negotiation, Engagement PR & Marketing, Aleberry Creative, and others.

          “This is an amazing opportunity for emerging founders to learn the progression of pipelining their ideas through the FDA and absorb the critical strategies for success early in their business development,” says Isabella Schmitt, principal at M1 MedTech and director of regulatory affairs at Proxima CRO, in the release.

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          XSpace adds 3 Houston partners to fuel national expansion

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          Texas-based XSpace Group has brought onboard three partners from the Houston area to ramp up the company’s national expansion.

          The new partners of XSpace, which sells high-end multi-use commercial condos, are KDW, Pyek Financial and Welcome Wilson Jr. Houston-based KDW is a design-build real estate developer, Katy-based Pyek offers fractional CFO services and Wilson is president and CEO of Welcome Group, a Houston real estate development firm.

          “KDW has been shaping the commercial [real estate] landscape in Texas for years, and Pyek Financial brings deep expertise in scaling businesses and creating long‑term value,” says Byron Smith, founder of XSpace. “Their commitment to XSpace is a powerful endorsement of our model and momentum. With their resources, we’re accelerating our growth and building the foundation for nationwide expansion.”

          The expansion effort will target high-growth markets, potentially including Nashville, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; and Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina.

          XSpace launched in Austin with a $20 million, 90,000-square-foot project featuring 106 condos. The company later added locations on Old Katy Road in Houston and at The Woodlands Town Center. A third Houston-area location is coming to the Design District.

          XSpace condos range in size from 300 to 3,000 square feet. They can accommodate a variety of uses, such as a luxury-car storage space, a satellite office, or a podcasting studio.

          “XSpace has tapped into a fundamental shift in how entrepreneurs and professionals want to use space,” Wilson says. “Houston is one of the best places in the country to innovate and build, and XSpace’s model is perfectly aligned with the needs of this fast‑growing, opportunity‑driven market.”

          Rice Business Plan Competition names startup teams for 2026 event

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          The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship has announced the 42 student-led teams that will compete in the 26th annual Rice Business Plan Competition this spring.

          The highly competitive event, known as one of the world’s largest and richest intercollegiate student startup challenges, will take place April 9-11 on Rice's campus and at the Ion. Teams in this year's competition represent 39 universities from four countries, including one team from Rice and two from the University of Texas at Austin.

          Graduate student-led teams from colleges or universities around the world will present their plans before more than 300 angel, venture capital and corporate investors to compete for more than $1 million in prizes. Top teams were awarded $2 million in investment and cash prizes at the 2025 event.

          The 2026 invitees include:

          • Alchemll, University of Tennessee - Knoxville
          • Altaris MedTech, University of Arkansas
          • Armada Therapeutics, Dartmouth College
          • Arrow Analytics, Texas A&M University
          • Aura Life Science, Northwestern University
          • BeamFeed, City University of New York
          • BiliRoo, University of Michigan
          • BioLegacy, Seattle University
          • BlueHealer, Johns Hopkins University
          • BRCĒ, Michigan State University
          • ChargeBay, University of Miami
          • Cocoa Potash, Case Western Reserve
          • Cosnetix, Yale University
          • Cottage Core, Kent State University
          • Crack'd Up, University of Wisconsin - Madison
          • Curbon, Princeton University
          • DialySafe, Rice University
          • Foregger Energy Systems, Babson College
          • Forge, University of California, Berkeley
          • Grapheon, University of Pittsburgh
          • GUIDEAIR Labs, University of Washington
          • Hydrastack, University of Chicago
          • Imagine Devices, University of Texas at Austin
          • Innowind Energy Solutions, University of Waterloo (Canada)
          • JanuTech, University of Washington
          • Laetech, University of Toronto (Canada)
          • Lectra Technologies, MIT
          • Legion Platforms, Arizona State University
          • Lucy, University of Pennsylvania
          • NerView Surgical, McMaster University (Canada)
          • Panoptica Technologies, Georgia Tech University
          • PowerHouse, MIT
          • Quantum Power Systems, University of Texas at Austin
          • Routora, University of Notre Dame
          • Sentivity.ai, Virginia Tech
          • Shinra Energy, Harvard University
          • Solid Air Dynamics, RWTH Aachen (Germany)
          • Spine Biotics, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
          • The Good Company, Michigan Tech
          • UNCHAIN, Lehigh University
          • VivoFlux, University of Rochester
          • Vocadian, University of Oxford (UK)

          This year's group joins more than 910 RBPC alums that have raised more than $6.9 billion in capital, according to Rice.

          The University of Michigan's Intero Biosystems, which is developing the first stem cell-driven human “mini gut,” took home the largest investment sum of $902,000 last year. The company also claimed the first-place prize.

          Houston suburb ranks as No. 3 best place to retire in Texas

          Rankings & Reports

          Texas retirees on the hunt for the right place to settle down and enjoy their blissful retirement years will find their haven in the Houston suburb of Pasadena, which just ranked as the third-best city to retire statewide.

          A new study conducted by the research team at RetirementLiving.com, "The Best Cities to Retire in Texas," compared the affordability, safety, livability, and healthcare access for seniors across 31 Texas cities with at least 90,000 residents.

          Wichita Falls, about 140 miles northwest of Dallas, claimed the top spot as the No. 1 best place to retire in Texas.

          The senior living experts said Pasadena has the best healthcare access for seniors in the entire state, and it ranked as the No. 8 most affordable city on the list.

          "Taking care of one’s health can be stressful for seniors," the report said. "Harris County, where [Pasadena is] located, has 281.1 primary care physicians per 1,000 seniors — that’s almost 50-fold the statewide ratio of 5.9 per 1,000."

          Pasadena ranked 10th overall for its livability, and ranked 25th for safety, the report added.

          Meanwhile, Houston proper ranked as the No. 31 best place to retire in Texas, but its livability score was the 7th best statewide.

          Seven of the Lone Star State's top 10 best retirement locales are located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: Carrollton (No. 2), Plano (No. 4), Garland (No. 5), Richardson (No. 6), Arlington (No. 7), Grand Prairie (No. 8), and Irving (No. 9). McAllen, a South Texas border town, rounded out the top 10.

          RetirementLiving said Carrollton has one of the lowest property and violent crime rates per capita in Texas, and it ranked as the No. 5 safest city on the list. About 17 percent of the city's population is aged 65 or older, which is higher than the statewide average of just 14 percent.

          The top 10 best place to retire in Texas in 2026 are:

          • No. 1 – Wichita Falls
          • No. 2 – Carrollton
          • No. 3 – Pasadena
          • No. 4 – Plano
          • No. 5 – Garland
          • No. 6 – Richardson
          • No. 7 – Arlington
          • No. 8 – Grand Prairie
          • No. 9 – Irving
          • No. 10 – McAllen
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          This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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