Houston startup Collide secures $5M to grow energy-focused AI platform

Fresh Funds

Houston-based Collide plans to use its seed funding to accelerate the development of its GenAI platform for the energy industry. Photo via Getty Images

Houston-based Collide, a provider of generative artificial intelligence for the energy sector, has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Houston’s Mercury Fund.

Other investors in the seed round include Bryan Sheffield, founder of Austin-based Parsley Energy, which was acquired by Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources in 2021; Billy Quinn, founder and managing partner of Dallas-based private equity firm Pearl Energy Investments; and David Albin, co-founder and former managing partner of Dallas-based private equity firm NGP Capital Partners.

“(Collide) co-founders Collin McLelland and Chuck Yates bring a unique understanding of the oil and gas industry,” Blair Garrou, managing partner at Mercury, said in a news release. “Their backgrounds, combined with Collide’s proprietary knowledge base, create a significant and strategic moat for the platform.”

Collide, founded in 2022, says the funding will enable the company to accelerate the development of its GenAI platform. GenAI creates digital content such as images, videos, text, and music.

Originally launched by Houston media organization Digital Wildcatters as “a professional network and digital community for technical discussions and knowledge sharing,” the company says it will now shift its focus to rolling out its enterprise-level, AI-enabled solution.

Collide explains that its platform gathers and synthesizes data from trusted sources to deliver industry insights for oil and gas professionals. Unlike platforms such as OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot, Collide’s platform “uniquely accesses a comprehensive, industry-specific knowledge base, including technical papers, internal processes, and a curated Q&A database tailored to energy professionals,” the company said.

Collide says its approximately 6,000 platform users span 122 countries.

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This story originally appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

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, NASA-founded tech startup closes $5.6M in seed funding

money moves

A Houston startup with clean tech originating out of NASA has secured millions in funding.

Helix Earth Technologies closed an oversubscribed $5.6 million seed funding led by Houston-based research and investment firm Veriten. Anthropocene Ventures, Semilla Capital, and others including individual investors also participated in the round.

“This investment will empower the Helix Earth team to accelerate the development and deployment of our first groundbreaking hardware technology designed to disrupt a significant portion of the commercial air conditioning market, an industry that is ready for innovation,” Rawand Rasheed, Helix Earth co-founder and CEO, says in a news release.

Helix Earth was founded based on NASA technology co-invented by Rasheed and spun out of Rice University and has been incubated at Greentown Labs in Houston since 2022. Currently being piloted, the technology is estimated to save up to half of the net energy used in commercial air conditioning, reducing both emissions and costs for operators.

“The enthusiastic response from investors reinforces our team’s confidence in our ability to transform innovation-starved sectors such as commercial air conditioning with an easy-to-install-and-maintain solution that benefits distributors, mechanical contractors, and most of all, building owners, with a positive benefit to the environment,” Rasheed says.

Prior to its raise, the company received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Energy.

“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with the Helix Earth team," Maynard Holt, Veriten’s founder and CEO, adds. "We were so impressed with their unique combination of a technology with broad applicability across multiple industries, a product that will have an immediate and measurable impact on our energy system, and a fantastic and well-rounded team.”

Helix Earth, per the release, reports that is also looking to provide solutions for commercial humidity control and carbon capture.

CrossBridge Bio, formed during the TMC Innovation’s Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics program, closed a $10 million seed round led by TMC Venture Fund and CE-Ventures. Photo via Getty Images

Houston biotech startup secures $10M seed round to propel cancer-fighting therapy from bench to bedside

fresh funding

A Houston biotech company based off research out of UTHealth Houston has raised seed funding to continue developing its cancer-fighting therapeutic.

CrossBridge Bio, formed during the TMC Innovation’s Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics program, closed a $10 million seed round led by TMC Venture Fund and Crescent Enterprises' VC arm, CE-Ventures. The round also included participation from Portal Innovations, Alexandria Venture Investments, Linden Lake Labs, and several pre-seed investors.

“We are thrilled to have the support of such experienced investors who share our vision of bringing transformative cancer therapies to patients in need,” Michael Torres, CEO of CrossBridge Bio, says in a news release. Torres served as an entrepreneur in residence of ACT.

The company is working on the next-generation of antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) therapeutics that process dual payloads as targeted treatments for a set of challenging cancers. The innovative treatment is based on research from UTHealth experts Dr. Kyoji Tsuchikama and Dr. Zhiqiang An.

“Our dual-payload ADC technology is designed to deliver synergistic therapeutic effects using highly stable linkers that ensure payload release only within the targeted cancer cells, thereby maximizing their therapeutic effectiveness while minimizing the liabilities associated with uptake in unintended tissues, as seen with many of today’s cancer treatments," Torres continues.

He explains that the funding will toward advancing CrossBridge's first development candidate, CBB-120, into preclinical non-GLP toxicology studies in addition to derisking the company’s proprietary linker technology with dual-payload applications, per the release.

As a result of the raise, William McKeon, president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center, and Damir Illich, manager of life sciences of CE-Ventures, will join CrossBridge Bio’s board of directors.

“We are proud to back CrossBridge Bio in their mission to develop the next generation of cancer therapies,” McKeon says in the release. “Their dual-payload ADCs are designed to deliver targeted drug release within cancer cells with greater stability, precision, and control. These breakthrough advancements have the potential to change patients’ lives worldwide and we look forward to helping drive their development.”

Paladin’s AI-enhanced autonomous drones help public safety agencies, such as police and fire departments, respond to 911 calls. Photo via paladindrones.io

Houston startup designing emergency response drones lands $5.2M in seed funding

cha-ching

Houston-based Paladin, whose remotely controlled drones help first responders react quickly to emergencies, has collected $5.2 million in seed funding.

Gradient, a seed fund that backs AI-oriented startups, led the round. Also participating were Toyota Ventures, the early-stage VC arm of Japanese automaker Toyota; venture capital firm Khosla Ventures; and VC fund 1517.

“We believe Paladin will drive meaningful change in public safety and redefine how communities are served,” Gradient said in an announcement about the seed round.

In 2019, Paladin received $1.3 million in seed funding from Khosla Ventures and Gmail creator Paul Buchheit, a group partner at Y Combinator. In 2018, the year it was co-founded by Divyaditya Shrivastava and Trevor Pennypacker, Paladin graduated from Y Combinator’s three-month boot camp.

Paladin’s AI-enhanced autonomous drones help public safety agencies, such as police and fire departments, respond to 911 calls. These drones provide aerial views of emergency scenes in an effort to decrease response times, improve “situational awareness,” and save lives, according to a Gradient blog post.

Among the agencies that have tried out Paladin’s technology is the Houston area’s Memorial Villages Police Department. The department participated in a three-month Paladin pilot project in 2019.

"(This is) one of the first departments in the country to be testing this technology," Shrivastava told InnovationMap in 2019. "We're very limited in the area that we cover, and that's just because we're taking baby steps and going as carefully and deliberately as possible."

Gradient says more than 12,000 drone missions have been performed using Paladin’s hardware and software platform. Agencies that have adopted the platform report average response times under 90 seconds. Furthermore, the technology has allowed them to resolve nearly one-third of 911 calls without dispatching first responders.

“Paladin keeps innovating, recently launching Payload Drop, a groundbreaking feature that enables drones to deliver lifesaving equipment — such as Narcan, life vests, and AEDs — directly to emergency scenes,” says Gradient.

On its website, Paladin says it envisions autonomous drones responding to every 911 call in the U.S. by 2027.

“The information is paramount, the technology exists and is rapidly improving, and the need is there. We want to help,” Paladin proclaims.

Diakonos Oncology Corp. closed its seed round to the tune of $11.4 million. Photo via Getty Images

Houston oncology therapeutics co. raises $11.4M in seed funding

money moves

A Houston-based, clinical-stage immuno-oncology company has raised an oversubscribed round of seed funding.

Diakonos Oncology Corp. closed its seed round to the tune of $11.4 million. The funding will go toward supporting the company's Phase 2 trial — slated for later this year, following its ongoing Phase 1 study — and operations through late next year. California-based biotechnology investment firm Restem Group Inc. led the round, and existing investors contributed as well.

“We greatly appreciate the support of these investors in sharing our passion for improving the lives of patients suffering from deadly cancers such as glioblastoma,” Mike Wicks, Diakonos CEO, says in a news release. “The fact that this financing is nearly triple our initial target also shows they share our confidence in the effectiveness of our unique cancer therapy.”

Founded in 2016, the company recently received FDA Fast Track designation for its dendritic cell vaccine, DOC1021, which targets glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM, the most common and most lethal malignant brain tumor in adults. Diakonos also received the designation for its pancreatic cancer treatment.

"We are thrilled to invest in this groundbreaking company that is at the forefront of cancer treatment innovation. As a firm deeply involved in the cell therapeutic field, we recognize the immense potential of their pioneering work with dendritic cell therapies and we are confident that this can become a new standard of care for cancer in the future," adds Andres Isaias, executive chairman of Restem Group Inc.

Diakonos Oncology's DOC1021 uses the body’s natural anti-viral immune response to fight GBM. The vaccine mimics viral infection with the patient’s cancer markers. Essentially, DOC1021 uses the body’s own natural ability to detect and eliminate infected cells. According to the company, all of the patients who have tried the treatment have exceeded survival expectations. And DOC1021 appears to be extremely safe, with no serious adverse effects having been reported.

The projects focus on an array of topics from the challenges of harmful space radiation to the reliability of space robots. Photo via Pexels

Rice University awards $150,000 to space researchers

future of space

The Rice Space Institute has awarded $150,000 in seed funding to six university researchers to further their work in space-related science and engineering.

The projects each will receive $25,000 until June 2025, according to Rice. They focus on an array of topics from the challenges of harmful space radiation to the reliability of space robots.

“These projects collectively represent RSI’s commitment to pioneering studies that advance Rice’s space research portfolio,” RSI Director David Alexander, said in a statement.

The projects include:

  • Co-advancement of formal methods and prognostic digital twins for reliability and resilience of space robotics: The project aims to make space robots more reliable by improving the lifespan of robotic components operating in space.
  • Development of 3D-printed waveguide arrays for snapshot spectrometers for Earth remote sensing observations: The project will develop 3D waveguide components and a hyperspectral imaging system that will help provide data on Earth's water cycle. It's led by Tomasz Tkaczyk.
  • Haptic sensory feedback augmentation to mitigate vestibular deficits following microgravity exposure: The project focuses on a device that uses vibrotactile feedback to improve astronauts' balance and movement impairments due to microgravity. It's led by Marcia O’Malley, Vanessa Sanchez, Shane King and Kyra Stovicek.
  • Modeling framework for bioelectricity and its effect on the mechano-biology of wounds to accelerate healing in microgravity environments: The project focuses on the effect of bioelectricity on wound healing in microgravity. It's led by Raudel Avila, Swathi Balaji and K. Jane Grande-Allen.
  • The role of the environment in planet formation: The project will develop a conference at at the Rice Global Paris Center for foster collaboration between Rice, RSI and international institutions for students, researchers and faculty. It's led by Megan Reiter.
  • Spark plasma sintered high-density and lightweight boron nitrides ceramics for radiation shielding applications: The project aims to create boron-nitride ceramics to shield against harmful space radiation. It's led by Robert Vajtai and Abhijit Biswas.

Earlier this year, Alexander was named to the first-ever Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium Executive Committee, part of the new Texas Space Commission. TARSEC is composed of representatives of each higher education institution in the state and aims to ensure that Texas remains a "powerhouse" in the space industry, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said in a release.

Meanwhile, The Translational Research Institute for Space Health, or TRISH, which is part of BCM’s Center for Space Medicine, announced plans to launch six more experiments into space this year, focused on topics ranging from motion sickness to genome alterations during space travel.
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Houston institutions launch Project Metis to position region as global leader in brain health

brain trust

Leaders in Houston's health care and innovation sectors have joined the Center for Houston’s Future to launch an initiative that aims to make the Greater Houston Area "the global leader of brain health."

The multi-year Project Metis, named after the Greek goddess of wisdom and deep thought, will be led by the newly formed Rice Brain Institute, The University of Texas Medical Branch's Moody Brain Health Institute and Memorial Hermann’s comprehensive neurology care department. The initiative comes on the heels of Texas voters overwhelmingly approving a ballot measure to launch the $3 billion, state-funded Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT).

According to organizers, initial plans for Project Metis include:

  • Creating working teams focused on brain health across all life stages, science and medical advances, and innovation and commercialization
  • Developing a regional Brain Health Index to track progress and equity
  • Implanting pilot projects in areas such as clinical care, education and workplace wellness
  • Sharing Houston’s progress and learnings at major international forums, including Davos and the UN General Assembly

The initiative will be chaired by:

  • Founding Chair: Dr. Jochen Reiser, President of UTMB and CEO of the UTMB Health System
  • Project Chair: Amy Dittmar, Howard R. Hughes Provost and Executive Vice President of Rice University
  • Project Chair: Dr. David L. Callender, President and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System

The leaders will work with David Gow, Center for Houston’s Future president and CEO. Gow is the founder and chairman of Gow Media, InnovationMap's parent company.

“Now is exactly the right time for Project Metis and the Houston-Galveston Region is exactly the right place,” Gow said in a news release. “Texas voters, by approving the state-funded Dementia Prevention Institute, have shown a strong commitment to brain health, as scientific advances continue daily. The initiative aims to harness the Houston’s regions unique strengths: its concentration of leading medical and academic institutions, a vibrant innovation ecosystem, and a history of entrepreneurial leadership in health and life sciences.”

Lime Rock Resources, BP and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center served as early steering members for Project Metis. HKS, Houston Methodist and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation have also supported the project.

An estimated 460,000 Texans are living with dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, and more than one million caregivers support them.

“Through our work, we see both the immense human toll of brain-related illness and the tremendous potential of early intervention, coordinated care and long-term prevention," Callender added in the release. "That’s why this bold new initiative matters so much."

Texas launches cryptocurrency reserve with $5 million Bitcoin purchase

Money Talks

Texas has launched its new cryptocurrency reserve with a $5 million purchase of Bitcoin as the state continues to embrace the volatile and controversial digital currency.

The Texas Comptroller’s Office confirmed the purchase was made last month as a “placeholder investment” while the office works to contract with a cryptocurrency bank to manage its portfolio.

The purchase is one of the first of its kind by a state government, made during a year where the price of Bitcoin has exploded amid the embrace of the digital currency by President Donald Trump’s administration and the rapid expansion of crypto mines in Texas.

“The Texas Legislature passed a bold mandate to create the nation’s first Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock wrote in a statement. “Our goal for implementation is simple: build a secure reserve that strengthens the state’s balance sheet. Texas is leading the way once again, and we’re proud to do it.”

The purchase represents half of the $10 million the Legislature appropriated for the strategic reserve during this year’s legislative session, but just a sliver of the state’s $338 billion budget.

However, the purchase is still significant, making Texas the first state to fund a strategic cryptocurrency reserve. Arizona and New Hampshire have also passed laws to create similar strategic funds but have not yet purchased cryptocurrency.

Wisconsin and Michigan made pension fund investments in cryptocurrency last year.

The Comptroller’s office purchased the Bitcoin the morning of Nov. 20 when the price of a single bitcoin was $91,336, according to the Comptroller’s office. As of Friday afternoon, Bitcoin was worth slightly less than the price Texas paid, trading for $89,406.

University of Houston energy economist Ed Hirs questioned the state’s investment, pointing to Bitcoin’s volatility. That makes it a bad investment of taxpayer dollars when compared to more common investments in the stock and bond markets, he said.

“The ordinary mix [in investing] is one that goes away from volatility,” Hirs said. “The goal is to not lose to the market. Once the public decides this really has no intrinsic value, then it will be over, and taxpayers will be left holding the bag.”

The price of Bitcoin is down significantly from an all-time high of $126,080 in early October.

Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council, argued the state is making a good investment because the price of Bitcoin has trended upward ever since it first launched in early 2009.

“It’s only a 16-year-old asset, so the volatility, both in the up and down direction, will smooth out over time,” Bratcher said. “We still want it to retain some of those volatility characteristics because that’s how we could see those upward moves that will benefit the state’s finances in the future.”

Bratcher said the timing of the state’s investment was shrewd because he believes it is unlikely to be valued this low again.

The investment comes at a time that the crypto industry has found a home in Texas.

Rural counties have become magnets for crypto mines ever since China banned crypto mining in 2021 and Gov. Greg Abbott declared “Texas is open for crypto business” in a post on social media.

The state is home to at least 27 Bitcoin facilities, according to the Texas Blockchain Council, making it the world’s top crypto mining spot. The two largest crypto mining facilities in the world call Texas home.

The industry has also come under criticism as it expands.

Critics point to the industry’s significant energy usage, with crypto mines in the state consuming 2,717 megawatts of power in 2023, according to the comptroller’s office. That is enough electricity to power roughly 680,000 homes.

Crypto mines use large amounts of electricity to run computers that run constantly to produce cryptocurrencies, which are decentralized digital currencies used as alternatives to government-backed traditional currencies.

A 2023 study by energy research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie commissioned by The New York Times found that Texans’ electric bills had risen nearly 5%, or $1.8 billion per year, due to the increase in demand on the state power grid created by crypto mines.

Residents living near crypto mines have also complained that the amount of job creation promised by the facilities has not materialized and the noise of their operation is a nuisance.

“Texas should be reinvesting Texan’s tax money in things that truly bolster the economy long term, living wage, access to quality healthcare, world class public schools,” said state Sen. Molly Cook, D-Houston, who voted against the creation of the strategic fund. “Instead it feels like they’re almost gambling our money on something that is known to be really volatile and has not shown to be a tide that raises all boats.”

State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, who authored the bill that created the fund, said at the time it passed that it will allow Texas to “lead and compete in the digital economy.”

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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

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.

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