Rice Business Plan Competition doles out $2M to 2025 student teams

big winners

The University of Michigan's Intero Biosystems was the star of the show at the 2025 Rice Business Plan Competition, bringing home both the top-place finish and the largest total investment. Photo courtesy Rice University.

Celebrating its 25th year, the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship hosted the celebrated Rice Business Plan Competition this month, doling out more than $2 million in investment and cash prizes to the top-performing teams.

“For 25 years, the Rice Business Plan Competition has helped shape how Rice Business shows up in the world by creating a platform where student-entrepreneurs can tackle some of the most complex challenges of our time in energy, in health care, in technology and beyond,” Peter Rodriguez, dean of Rice Business, the presenting sponsor of the event, said in a news release. “If we’re serious about changing the world — and I believe we are — then it’s our responsibility to open doors for students everywhere to imagine bold solutions and build what comes next.”

Over the course of the three-day event, the 42 startups competing this year from colleges or universities around the world presented their plans before more than 300 angel, venture capital, and corporate investors. The teams were selected from the event’s largest applicant pool to date and represented 34 universities across four countries, according to Rice. Winners were announced at the company showcase and awards ceremony April 12 in downtown Houston.

Seven finalists were selected, though each team left the competition with some form of funding, according to Rice. The University of Michigan's Intero Biosystems was the star of the show, bringing home both the top-place finish and the largest total investment. Rice's own Pattern Materials also had a strong showing, placing fourth in the pitch competition and also earning the fourth-highest investment total.

Here are the teams that won big in 2025. See a full list of winners and prizes here.

Intero Biosystems, University of Michigan - $902,000

The team finished in first place for its GastroScreen, the first stem cell-driven human “mini gut” that is ideal for organ function testing before testing on humans, and also claimed the largest total investments among the competition.

  • $150,000 Goose Capital Investment Grand Prize
  • $250,000 Goose Capital Investment Prize
  • $200,000 The OWL Investment Prize
  • $100,000 Houston Angel Network Investment Prize
  • $100,000 nCourage Investment Network’s Courageous Women Entrepreneur Investment Prize
  • $100,000 Investment Prize from Nancy Chang
  • $1,000 Mercury Elevator Pitch Competition - Overall Winner
  • $1,000 Anbarci Family Company Showcase Prize
  • TMC Innovation Healthcare Accelerator Bootcamp Invitation Prize

MabLab, Harvard University – $301,500

The team placed second for its rapid test capable of detecting multiple adulterants in laced drugs and spiked drinks.

  • $100,000 Investment Prize, sponsored by David Anderson, Anderson Family Fund, Jon Finger and Finger Interests
  • $100,000 The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Texas Angels Investment Prize
  • $25,000 nCourage Investment Network’s Courageous Women Entrepreneur Investment Prize
  • $50,000 Valhalla Investment Network Investment Prize
  • $25,000 The Eagles Investor Investment Prize
  • $500 Mercury Elevator Pitch Competition - Life Science*
  • $1,000 Anbarci Family Company Showcase Prize

re.solution, RWTH Aachen University — $76,500

The team placed third for its water-based technology that recycles polyesters without generating salt waste, making textile recycling viable.

  • $50,000 Investment Prize, sponsored by David Anderson, Anderson Family Fund, Jon Finger and Finger Interests
  • $25,000 Pearland EDC Spirit of Entrepreneurship Cash Prize
  • $500 Mercury Elevator Pitch Competition - Energy/Cleantech
  • $1,000 Anbarci Family Company Showcase Prize

Pattern Materials, Rice University – $134,500

The Houston-based team placed fourth for its laser-induced graphene technology that can be rapidly performed, enabling low-cost, scalable production of the material.

  • $5,000 prize, sponsored by Norton Rose Fulbright
  • $50,000 Valhalla Investment Network Investment Prize
  • $25,000 Pearland EDC Spirit of Entrepreneurship Cash Prize
  • $25,000 New Climate Ventures Sustainable Investment Prize
  • $25,000 Amentum and WRX Companies Rising Stars Space Technology and Commercial Aerospace Cash Prize
  • $500 Mercury Elevator Pitch Competition - Hard Tech
  • $1,000 Anbarci Family Company Showcase Prize
  • $3,000 Venture Builder Innovation Prizes

Xatoms, Western University and University of Toronto — $30,000

The team placed fifth for its AI- and quantum-driven platform for discovering solar-activated semiconductor materials.

  • $5,000 prize, sponsored by EY
  • $25,000 nCourage Investment Network’s Courageous Women Entrepreneur Investment Prize

Mito Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University— $5,000

The team placed sixth for its automated manual cell culture with AI-powered robotic scientists for life science research

  • $5,000 prize, sponsored by Chevron Technology Ventures

FarmSmart.ai, LSU – $106,000

The team placed seventh for its AI—driven assistant that synthesizes vast agricultural research into actionable, tailored intelligence, but earned the fifth-most investments among the group.

  • $5,000 prize, sponsored by Shell Ventures
  • $100,000 The OWL Investment Prize
  • $1,000 Anbarci Family Company Showcase Prize
  • Edward H. Molter Memorial Prizes for Wildcard Round - 1st place - Advance to Finals


Other significant awards

GreenLIB Materials, University of Ottawa – $152,000

  • $150,000 Goose Capital Investment Prize
  • $2,000 Venture Builder Innovation Prizes

Microvitality, Tufts University – $26,500

  • $25,000 Southwest National Pediatric Device Consortium Pediatric Device Cash Prize
  • $1,500 Edward H. Molter Memorial Prizes for Wildcard Round - 3rd place overall in WC

Nanoborne, University of Texas at Austin - $25,000

  • $25,000 NOV Golden Ticket to Supernova Accelerator and Cash Prize

Last year, the Rice Business Plan Competition facilitated over $1.5 million in investment and cash prizes. MesaQuantum from Harvard University landed the highest total investment last year, although it was not named a finalist. Protein Pints from Michigan State University won the pitch competition.

According to Rice, 910 startups have raised more than $6.9 billion in capital through the competition over the last 25 years.

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Houston cell therapy company launches second-phase clinical trial

fighting cancer

A Houston cell therapy company has dosed its first patient in a Phase 2 clinical trial. March Biosciences is testing the efficacy of MB-105, a CD5-targeted CAR-T cell therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory CD5-positive T-cell lymphoma.

Last year, InnovationMap reported that March Biosciences had closed its series A with a $28.4 million raise. Now, the company, co-founded by Sarah Hein, Max Mamonkin and Malcolm Brenner, is ready to enroll a total of 46 patients in its study of people with difficult-to-treat cancer.

The trial will be conducted at cancer centers around the United States, but the first dose took place locally, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Swaminathan P. Iyer, a professor in the department of lymphoma/myeloma at MD Anderson, is leading the trial.

“This represents a significant milestone in advancing MB-105 as a potential treatment option for patients with T-cell lymphoma who currently face extremely limited therapeutic choices,” Hein, who serves as CEO, says. “CAR-T therapies have revolutionized the treatment of B-cell lymphomas and leukemias but have not successfully addressed the rarer T-cell lymphomas and leukemias. We are optimistic that this larger trial will further validate MB-105's potential to address the critical unmet needs of these patients and look forward to reporting our first clinical readouts.”

The Phase 1 trial showed promise for MB-105 in terms of both safety and efficacy. That means that potentially concerning side effects, including neurological events and cytokine release above grade 3, were not observed. Those results were published last year, noting lasting remissions.

In January 2025, MB-105 won an orphan drug designation from the FDA. That results in seven years of market exclusivity if the drug is approved, as well as development incentives along the way.

The trial is enrolling its single-arm, two-stage study on ClinicalTrials.gov. For patients with stubborn blood cancers, the drug is providing new hope.

Elon Musk's SpaceX site officially becomes the city of Starbase, Texas

Starbase, Texas

The South Texas home of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket company is now an official city with a galactic name: Starbase.

A vote Saturday, May 3, to formally organize Starbase as a city was approved by a lopsided margin among the small group of voters who live there and are mostly Musk’s employees at SpaceX. With all the votes in, the tally was 212 in favor to 6 against, according to results published online by the Cameron County Elections Department.

Musk celebrated in a post on his social platform, X, saying it is “now a real city!”

Starbase is the facility and launch site for the SpaceX rocket program that is under contract with the Department of Defense and NASA that hopes to send astronauts back to the moon and someday to Mars.

Musk first floated the idea of Starbase in 2021 and approval of the new city was all but certain. Of the 283 eligible voters in the area, most are believed to be Starbase workers.

The election victory was personal for Musk. The billionaire’s popularity has diminished since he became the chain-saw-wielding public face of President Donald Trump’s federal job and spending cuts, and profits at his Tesla car company have plummeted.

SpaceX has generally drawn widespread support from local officials for its jobs and investment in the area.

But the creation of an official company town has also drawn critics who worry it will expand Musk’s personal control over the area, with potential authority to close a popular beach and state park for launches.

Companion efforts to the city vote include bills in the state Legislature to shift that authority from the county to the new town’s mayor and city council.

All these measures come as SpaceX is asking federal authorities for permission to increase the number of South Texas launches from five to 25 a year.

The city at the southern tip of Texas near the Mexico border is only about 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers), crisscrossed by a few roads and dappled with airstream trailers and modest midcentury homes.

SpaceX officials have said little about exactly why they want a company town and did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

“We need the ability to grow Starbase as a community,” Starbase General Manager Kathryn Lueders wrote to local officials in 2024 with the request to get the city issue on the ballot.

The letter said the company already manages roads and utilities, as well as “the provisions of schooling and medical care” for those living on the property.

SpaceX officials have told lawmakers that granting the city authority to close the beach would streamline launch operations. SpaceX rocket launches and engine tests, and even just moving certain equipment around the launch base, requires the closure of a local highway and access to Boca Chica State Park and Boca Chica Beach.

Critics say beach closure authority should stay with the county government, which represents a broader population that uses the beach and park. Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, Jr. has said the county has worked well with SpaceX and there is no need for change.

Another proposed bill would make it a Class B misdemeanor with up to 180 days in jail if someone doesn’t comply with an order to evacuate the beach.

The South Texas Environmental Justice Network, which has organized protests against the city vote and the beach access issue, held another demonstration Saturday that attracted dozens of people.

Josette Hinojosa, whose young daughter was building a sandcastle nearby, said she was taking part to try to ensure continued access to a beach her family has enjoyed for generations.

With SpaceX, Hinojosa said, “Some days it’s closed, and some days you get turned away."

Organizer Christopher Basaldú, a member of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas tribe, said his ancestors have long been in the area, where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf.

“It’s not just important,” he said, “it’s sacred.”

Texas-based 'DoorDash for laundry' startup tumbles into Houston market

No Scrubs

Laundry may seem like an endless task that piles up, but a new service offers a solution to overwhelmed Houston families.

NoScrubs, an Austin-based home laundry pickup service has just expanded to Houston. Described by the company as "DoorDash — but for laundry," they wash customer's clothes at local laundromats and return them the same day, folded and ready to be put away.

The service took off like gangbusters in Austin, making an expansion to the state's largest city an obvious choice. It's not universal coverage just yet.

For now, only the following ZIP codes have NoScrubs service available: 77002, 77004, 77005, 77006, 77007, 77008, 77009, 77010, 77018, 77019, 77024, 77025, 77027, 77046, 77056, 77057, 77081, 77098, 77401, 77030, 77003.

A single pickup starts at $40 for 20 pounds of laundry, while the basic monthly subscription is $60 for two pickups. All services use hypoallergenic detergents.

The average American family spends about 240 hours a year on laundry, making it a very time-consuming chore. For people with disabilities, difficult work schedules, and other circumstances, it can be a real help, says co-founder Matt O'Connor.

"Some of our favorite customer stories simply revolve around saving people time when they have something challenging going on," he writes in an email. "For example, one customer reviewed NoScrubs saying 'So happy I could cry! (Partially because I'm pregnant and my emotions are heightened!)...1000% recommend if you have time restrictions or physical restrictions! ' So, whether it’s saving time, the affordability, or the pleasantly surprising turnaround time, NoScrubs has a variety of benefits for any customer."

NoScrubs is also a new opportunity for Houston's gig workers. Because there are no passengers, it can be a safer alternative to driving ride share for women and other people apprehensive about having strangers in their cars. As NoScrubs partners with local laundromats, drivers are also going to centralized locations rather than all over the map, leading to less wear and tear on their cars. The laundromats benefit as well, since NoScrubs loads are ones that would otherwise be done at home.

"Our model makes driving a tiny fraction of the time, so folks who don’t want to wear down their vehicles and spend a ton on gas love working at NoScrubs," added O'Connor.

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