Houston health tech startup secures $20M series A, NIH grant amid clinical trials

fresh funding

VenoStent has raised additional funding. Image courtesy of VenoStent

A clinical-stage Houston health tech company with a novel therapeutic device has raised venture capital funding and secured a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

VenoStent Inc., which is currently in clinical trials with its bioabsorbable perivascular wrap, announced the closing of a $20 million series A round co-led by Good Growth Capital and IAG Capital Partners. The two Charleston, South Carolina-based firms also led VenoStent's 2023 series A round that closed last year at $16 million.

Additionally, the company secured a $3.6 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Grant from NIH, which will help fund its multi-center, 200-patient, randomized controlled trial in the United States.

Tim Boire, VenoStent CEO and co-founder, describes 2024 so far as "a momentous year" so far for his company.

"In the span of a few months, we initiated our first clinical sites, enrolled the first patients in our large RCT and closed our Series A with Norwest," Boire says in a news release. "We also received the NIH grant, which enables us to execute our trial with the highest degree of quality and rigor to make it as scientifically robust and impactful to patients as possible.

'Each of these are major company milestones that collectively represent many years of intensive and fruitful R&D and collaboration," he continues. "These recent milestones will propel our company forward to an exciting next phase."

Tim Boire is the CEO and co-founder of VenoStent. Photo via LinkedIn

The company's innovation, the SelfWrap, goes around arteriovenous (AV) access sites at the time of AV fistula creation surgery. The device is intended "to accelerate the usability and increase the durability of the fistula sites for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients requiring hemodialysis," reads the release, "mimicking the arterial environment in veins, which experience a 10x increase in pressure and flow during AV creation and causes the veins to become unusable in dialysis."

Along with the investment, VenoStent announced two new board observers. Norwest General Partner Dr. Zack Scott and Investor Dr. Ehi Akhirome are bringing their expertise to the growing company.

"Norwest's investment is tremendous validation for VenoStent, and we are thrilled to have both Zack and Ehi joining the company's board," VenoStent COO and Co-Founder Geoffrey Lucks adds in the release. "Zack and Ehi have extensive knowledge in our space, and their added value will match the capital and cache of Norwest dollar-for-dollar."

Last year at the same time VenoStent announced its last funding round, the SelfWrap was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin its U.S. Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) study.

"Over half a million people in the U.S. rely on hemodialysis to survive and require an arteriovenous fistula creation surgery in order to receive the treatment. However, the AV fistula procedure has a one-year failure rate of more than 60 percent, which significantly impacts patients' survival rates and quality of life," Scott says in the release. "VenoStent's groundbreaking technology for AV fistula formation, SelfWrap, has the potential to significantly improve these odds. We look forward to working with the VenoStent team as it proves the efficacy of this breakthrough technology in order to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of CKD patients."

Last summer, Boire told InnovationMap on the Houston Innovators Podcast that he's looking to launch the product in 2026.

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LiNova will use the funds to advance its polymer cathode battery technology. Photo via Getty Images

Houston energy leaders back battery startup's $15.8M series A

Money moves

A California startup that's revolutionizing polymer cathode battery technology has announced its series A round of funding with support from Houston-based energy transition leaders.

LiNova Energy Inc. closed a $15.8 million series A round led by Catalus Capital. Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, which has its US HQ in Houston, and Houston-based Chevron Technology Ventures, also participated in the round with a coalition of other investors.

LiNova will use the funds with its polymer cathode battery to advance the energy storage landscape, according to the company. The company uses a high-energy polymer battery technology that is designed to allow material replacement of the traditional cathode that is made up of cobalt, nickel, and other materials.

The joint development agreement with Saft will have them collaborate to develop the battery technology for commercialization in Saft's key markets.

“We are proud to collaborate with LiNova in scaling up its technology, leveraging the extensive experience of Saft's research teams, our newest prototype lines, and our industrial expertise in battery cell production," Cedric Duclos, CEO of Saft, says in a news release.

CTV recently announced its $500 million Future Energy Fund III, which aims to lead on emerging mobility, energy decentralization, industrial decarbonization, and the growing circular economy. Chevron has promised to spend $10 billion on lower carbon energy investments and projects by 2028.

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This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

Aziz Gilani, managing director at Mercury, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast. Photo via LinkedIn

Houston investor on SaaS investing and cracking product-market fit

Houston innovators podcast episode 230

Aziz Gilani's career in tech dates back to when he'd ride his bike from Clear Lake High School to a local tech organization that was digitizing manuals from mission control. After years working on every side of the equation of software technology, he's in the driver's seat at a local venture capital firm deploying funding into innovative software businesses.

As managing director at Mercury, the firm he's been at since 2008, Gilani looks for promising startups within the software-as-a-service space — everything from cloud computing and data science and beyond.

"Once a year at Mercury, we sit down with our partners and talk about the next investment cycle and the focuses we have for what makes companies stand out," Gilani says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "The current software investment cycle is very focused on companies that have truly achieved product-market fit and are showing large customer adoption."



An example of this type of company is Houston-based RepeatMD, which raised a $50 million series A round last November. Mercury's Fund V, which closed at an oversubscribed $160 million, contributed to RepeatMD's round.

"While looking at that investment, it really made me re-calibrate a lot of my thoughts in terms what product-market fit meant," Gilani says. "At RepeatMD, we had customers that were so eager for the service that they were literally buying into products while we were still making them."

Gilani says he's focused on finding more of these high-growth companies to add to Mercury's portfolio amidst what, admittedly, has been a tough time for venture capital. But 2024 has been looking better for those fundraising.

"We've some potential for improvement," Gilani says. "But overall, the environment is constrained, interest rates haven't budged, and we've seen some potential for IPO activity."

Gilani shares more insight into his investment thesis, what areas of tech he's been focused on recently, and how Houston has developed as an ecosystem on the podcast.

Houston-based Sage Geosystems announced the first close of $17 million round led by Chesapeake Energy Corp. Photo via sagegeosystems.com

Houston energy startup closes $17M series A to fund Texas geothermal facility

money moves

A Houston geothermal startup has announced the close of its series A round of funding.

Houston-based Sage Geosystems announced the first close of $17 million round led by Chesapeake Energy Corp. The proceeds aim to fund its first commercial geopressured geothermal system facility, which will be built in Texas in Q4 of 2024. According to the company, the facility will be the first of its kind.

The venture is joined by technology investor Arch Meredith, Helium-3 Ventures and will include support from existing investors Virya, LLC, Nabors Industries Ltd., and Ignis Energy Inc.

“The first close of our Series A funding and our commercial facility are significant milestones in our mission to make geopressured geothermal system technologies a reality,” Cindy Taff, CEO of Sage Geosystems, says in a news release. “The success of our GGS technologies is not only critical to Sage Geosystems becoming post-revenue, but it is an essential step in accelerating the development of this proprietary geothermal baseload approach.

"This progress would not be possible without the ongoing support from our existing investors, and we look forward to continuing this work with our new investors," she continues.

The 3-megawatt commercial facility will be called EarthStore and will use Sage’s technology that harvests energy from pressurized water from underground. The facility will be able to store energy — for short and long periods of time — and can be paired with intermittent renewable energy sources like wind and solar. It will also be able to provide baseload, dispatchable power, and inertia to the electric grid.

In 2023, Sage Geosystems debuted the EarthStore system in a full-scale commercial pilot project in Texas. The pilot produced 200 kilowatt for more than 18 hours, 1 megawatt for 30 minutes, and generated electricity with Pelton turbines. The system had a water loss of less than 2 percent and a round-trip efficiency (RTE) of 70-75.

Motif Neurotech, which develops minimally invasive bioelectronics for mental health treatment, closed its series A round with an oversubscribed $18.75 million. Photo via Rice.edu

Rice University medical device spinout secures nearly $19M series A

fresh funding

A health tech startup based out of a newly formed accelerator program at Rice University has raised venture funding.

Motif Neurotech closed its series A round with an oversubscribed $18.75 million. The company, which develops minimally invasive bioelectronics for mental health treatment, was formed out of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad that launched last fall.

The round was led by Arboretum Ventures, with participation from new investors KdT Ventures, Satori Neuro, Dolby Family Ventures, re.Mind Capital and existing investors Divergent Capital, TMC Venture Fund, PsyMed Ventures, Empath Ventures and Capital Factory, according to a news release from Rice.

“Minimally invasive bioelectronics are the future of mental health treatment,” Jacob Robinson, CEO and founder of Motif Neurotech, says in the release. “Thirty percent of patients with depression don’t respond to two or more medications, and there is a significant need for additional treatment options that are effective and easily accessible."

The fresh funding will go toward developing the inaugural product, the DOT microstimulator, a wireless, battery-free device that can provide at-home therapy for treatment-resistant depression, or TRD, a major depressive disorder.

“This is a pivotal moment for the company as it closes its Series A in addition to the recent successful completion of the proof-of-concept first-in-human implant of the DOT stimulator device," Tom Shehab, managing partner of Arboretum Ventures, says in the release. "We believe Motif’s device will greatly improve the quality of life for patients who have been diagnosed with difficult to treat mental health disorders, including TRD."

Shehab, along with Amy Kruse, chief investment officer of Satori Neuro, will reportedly join Motif Neurotech's board of directors alongside Anthony Arnold, president and CEO of Sensydia Corporation, and Jacob Robinson, professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering at Rice.

The Rice Biotech Launch Pad was established to take biotech innovations from concept to clinical trials in five years or less. It occupies 15,000 square feet of space on campus and is funded through federal grants and donations.

Tim Boire, CEO and co-founder of VenoStent, shares his company's roadmap on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. Photo via LinkedIn

This Houston medical device innovator plans to lead a 'paradigm shift' in vascular surgery

HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 199

Commercializing a health tech innovation is a long game — fraught with regulatory obstacles, cyclical rounds of funding, and continuous improvement — all fueled by the desire to enhance treatment and save lives.

That's Tim Boire's plan. And it's a thorough one at that. On this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast, Boire — president and CEO of VenoStent, a medical device startup that’s designing a unique material for hemodialysis patients — shares his roadmap for his company.

"We believe we can be pioneers of a paradigm shift in vascular surgery — to not just treat problems after they've already occurred, but actually prevent them from occurring in the first place," he says in the episode.

VenoStent's most recent hurdle cleared is closing a $16 million series A round of venture funding. Two Charleston, South Carolina-based firms — Good Growth Capital and IAG Capital Partners — led the round. The TMC Venture Fund also contributed.

Now, VenoStent is headed for a 200-patient trial in the United States, with an ultimate goal of product launch in 2026. The company's unique medical device is a bioabsorbable wrap that reduces vein collapse by providing mechanical support and promoting outward vein growth.

Boire had the idea for VenoStend when he was completing his PhD at Vanderbilt University. He completed the program, and then joined the HealthWildcatters accelerator in 2017 in Dallas. After that, Boire and his co-founder, Geoff Lucks, decided to take the leap and move to Houston to join JLABS at TMC. The rest, as they say, is history.

“Houston’s been a great place to hire,” Boire says. “We've been I think very fortunate to find our employees who are stellar, true believers in the technology — amazing engineers, and amazing people.”

And, of course, Boire has a plan to continue this hiring success. He says the goal is to grow to a team of 16 by the end of the year. Marketing and sales roles will likely be filled in 2025 ahead of product launch.

“When we think about what our mission is at VenoStent, it’s to ultimately improve patient care — and we are very passionate about this specific problem that patients experience and go through,” Boire says.

“That's what drives everything we're doing as a company to improve quality and length of life for patients who have chronic kidney disease that progresses to a point where they need dialysis to sustain life," he continues. "We believe that we can become the standard care for vascular surgery starting with hemodialysis access."

As VenoStent's trials and growth goes according to plan, Boire says this product can be used for other implications.

Boire shares more on his grand plan, plus how he weathered the storm that is fundraising at a time where so much venture capital activity has slowed. Listen to the interview here — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.

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Houston scientist wins prestigious Pew biomed ​award for brain cancer research

standout scholar

Christina Tringides, an assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering at Rice University, is one of 21 scientists to win a prestigious Pew Biomedical Scholar award.

She is the first faculty member from Rice to win the distinction, which provides $300,000 over four years for advances in biomedicine, according to the university. The awards are granted to researchers who are in the first few years at the assistant professor level.

In Tringides’ case, the funding will support her innovative new method of modeling glioblastoma, a common and extremely aggressive form of brain cancer. Thanks to producing its own blood supply, glioblastoma spreads quickly, weaving tendrils of blighted tissue throughout the brain. Because of this, surgery is difficult and conventional therapies ineffective.

Understanding the way glioblastoma spreads is crucial to the search for a cure. Tringides is using hydrogels that mimic the brain’s extracellular matrix. Using cultures and a microscopic labyrinth, her team can see how the cancer spreads, bonds with neurons and changes cell wall activity. Essentially, Tringides has devised an intelligence test for tumors in hopes of learning how to outsmart them.

“As cancer crawls through the maze, we can look at how it is interacting with the neurons more and more, and measure how electrical activity is changing as a result,” she said in a news release from Rice.

Examining how cancer cells grow can reveal which conditional changes slow them down. Finding ways to alter the structure of brain matter in a way that makes it inhospitable to the cancer could lead to therapies that would impede growth or even reverse it. Using her custom-made ersatz brain maze makes it easier to observe changes than it would be in a patient’s brain.

“Imaging synapses is time-intensive ⎯ it can involve large data files that are hard to visualize, but if we know that the only place where we might have a synapse is this tiny 1-by-4-by-10 micron channel, it makes it much faster and reliable to image them,” Tringides said.

Born in Ames, Iowa, Tringides received her doctorate in biophysics from Harvard before joining Rice in 2024 through a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) recruitment award.

Her research was also one of the first four projects to receive research awards through the Rice Brain Institute and TMC Neuro Collaboration Seed Grant Program.

Texas residents earn 11th highest income in U.S., says 2026 study

Money Matters

A new WalletHub study comparing income disparities across America has ranked Texas residents No. 11 on the list of states with the highest earning residents in the nation.

The report, "States Where People Have the Highest Income (2026)," analyzed U.S. Census Bureau income data in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report evaluated the average annual income of the top five percent, the median annual household income, and the average annual income of the bottom 20 percent of residents in every state, all adjusted for the cost of living.

The report's data revealed the top five percent of Texans, the highest earners, make $520,378 on average yearly after adjusting for the cost of living. That's the seventh-highest income among the top five percent of earners nationwide.

Meanwhile, the median annual income of a Texas household is just under $76,000. The bottom 20 percent of Texas residents make $17,651 a year, the report found.

For additional context, the latest data from the Federal Reserve shows an American household's median yearly income is about $83,700. WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo also found that the highest earning 10 percent of individuals in the U.S. earn over 12 times more than those in the lowest-earning 10 percent, based on the latest Census data.

"By measuring the income of various percentiles against a state's median income, we can better identify where income disparities are more prevalent, which could help us better understand why residents of certain states struggle more to make ends meet," said Lupo.

Virginia is the state where residents earn the highest income in the U.S., WalletHub said. Based on the report's findings, the top five percent of Virginians make $545,097 on average per year after adjusting for the cost of living. The median annual income of a Virginia household comes out to $95,339, and the bottom 20 percent of residents make $19,671 annually on average.

Conversely, West Virginia is the state where people have the lowest income in the U.S. A West Virginia household makes a median annual income of $56,610, the third-lowest nationally, and the bottom 20 percent of residents make $13,260 on average per year, which is the fifth-lowest in the nation. The top five percent of West Virginians make $372,218 on average per year.

The top 10 states where residents have the highest income are:

  • No. 1 – Virginia
  • No. 2 – New York
  • No. 3 – New Jersey
  • No. 4 – Washington
  • No. 5 – Connecticut
  • No. 6 – Utah
  • No. 7 – Colorado
  • No. 8 – Minnesota
  • No. 9 – Illinois
  • No. 10 – Massachusetts

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

23 Houston companies rank among America’s most future-ready businesses

future focused

By one measure, Spring-based tech giant Hewlett Packard Enterprises reigns as the most future-ready Houston-area company on the S&P 500 stock index.

HPE sits at No. 72 in a first-time ranking of the best S&P 500 companies for the future. Including HPE, 23 Houston-area companies appear on the list.

Published by The Wall Street Journal, the ranking was created by Bendable Labs for the WSJ Leadership Institute. It evaluates how S&P 500 companies stack up in six areas: AI readiness, innovation, talent readiness, financial fitness, resilience and agility. To be ranked, a company had to be part of the S&P 500 as of Dec. 31.

Among the six categories, HPE ranked highest for innovation (No. 30) among local companies. The WSJ didn’t say why HPE scored so well for innovation. However, the company stands out in this category thanks to:

  • Creation of the El Capitan and Frontier supercomputing systems
  • Research into photonic computing and quantum networking
  • Last year’s $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, giving HPE an edge in AI-native networking
  • Establishment of the everything-as-a-service GreenLake hybrid cloud platform for data centers, colocation facilities and edge computing environments

In an interview with the Six Five podcast at HPE Discover 2025 in Las Vegas, CEO Antonio Neri said the company’s strategy is “basically founded on innovation, and that innovation drives shareholder value over the long term.”

While HPE fared well in the innovation category, it ranked toward the bottom for financial fitness. What’s behind the No. 430 ranking in the financial category? HPE’s low score likely reflects a debt-heavy acquisition strategy coupled with a historically low-margin hardware business.

Here’s the full list of the 23 Houston-area companies included in the ranking of the best companies for the future:

  • No. 72 Hewlett Packard Enterprise
  • No. 105 SLB
  • No. 120 Baker Hughes
  • No. 125 ConocoPhillips
  • No. 158 NRG Energy
  • No. 176 Targa Resources
  • No. 185 Chevron
  • No. 195 Halliburton
  • No. 223 Coterra Energy
  • No. 229 Waste Management
  • No. 235 Exxon Mobil
  • No. 250 Kinder Morgan
  • No. 257 Quanta Services
  • No. 276 CenterPoint Energy
  • No. 285 Sysco
  • No. 313 Occidental Petroleum
  • No. 318 Camden Property Trust
  • No. 333 EOG Resources
  • No. 365 LyondellBasell Industries
  • No. 373 Comfort Systems USA
  • No. 401 Crown Castle
  • No. 408 Phillips 66
  • No. 500 APA
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