2 leading Texas universities rank among world’s best for entrepreneurs
honor roll
The Lone Star State’s two biggest universities—the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University—rank among the world’s best schools for entrepreneurs.
PitchBook’s annual list of the world’s top 100 universities for entrepreneurs takes into account both undergraduate and graduate programs. PitchBook analyzed more than 222,000 startup founders whose startups are VC-backed.
UT’s “unique” advantage
UT Austin landed at No. 10 on the list, down from No. 8 last year. PitchBook identified 1,002 UT-alumni founders at 948 startups. Collectively, those startups have raised $34.7 billion, according to PitchBook.
Among the 948 UT Austin-affiliated startups, these five have raised the most capital:
- No. 1 Tucson, Arizona-based World View, $2.8 billion
- No. 2 Austin-based Apptronik, $966 million
- No. 3 Mountain View, California-based Lightmatter, $821 million
- No. 4 Austin-based Function Health, $807 million
- No. 5. San Francisco-based Niantic, $779 million
“The unique UT Austin advantage is the alignment between the university and the city,” Foundra.ai says. “Unlike schools where the campus ecosystem and the local startup scene are disconnected, Austin’s startup community actively recruits UT students and alumni, and UT programs actively send students into the local ecosystem.”
Texas A&M’s “living laboratory”
UT Austin’s biggest in-state rival, Texas A&M, appeared at No. 79 on the list, down from No. 76 last year. PitchBook tallied 317 A&M-alumni founders at 295 startups. Collectively, those startups have raised $9.8 billion, according to PitchBook.
Among the 317 A&M-affiliated startups, these five have raised the most capital:
- No. 1 Austin-based RigUp, $817 million
- No. 2 Austin-based ICON, $543 million
- No. 3 Scottsdale, Arizona-based HomeLight, $413 million
- No. 4 Everett, Washington-based Zap Energy, $326 million
- No. 5 San Diego-based Splice Therapeutics, $320 million
A cornerstone of Texas A&M’s entrepreneurship offerings is the Center for Applied Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Mays School of Business. The business school says the center “helps students explore, test, build, buy, and transform businesses in real markets.”
“Grounded in Texas as a living laboratory and guided by the Aggie core values, the center advances applied learning through industry engagement, AI-enabled experimentation, and collaboration across Mays and Texas A&M,” the business school says.
The most “exceptional” schools on PitchBook’s list
In announcing its rankings, PitchBook said: “Great entrepreneurs can come from anywhere, but some universities have a truly exceptional track record of attracting and producing future founders.”
The most exceptional universities, based on PitchBook’s criteria, are:
- No. 1 University of California, Berkeley
- No. 2 Stanford University
- No. 3 Harvard University
- No. 4 Cornell University
- No. 5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
