Veronica Wu, founder of First Bight Ventures, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to outline Houston's opportunities in synthetic biology and biomanufacturing. Photo courtesy

Houston has all the ingredients to be a successful synthetic biology hub, says Veronica Wu. She believes so strongly in this that she relocated to Houston from Silicon Valley just over a year ago to start a venture capital firm dedicated to the field. Since then, she's doubled down on her passion for Houston leading in biotech — especially when it comes to one uniquely Houston opportunity: biomanufacturing.

While Houston's health care innovation scene is actively deploying synthetic biology applications, Wu points to Houston-based Solugen, a plant-based chemical producer, as an example of what Houston has to offer at-scale industrial biomanufacturing. Houston has the workforce and the physical space available for more of these types of biomanufacturing plants, which have a huge potential to move the needle on reducing carbon emissions.

"This is really fundamental technology that's going to change the paradigm and whole dialogue of how we are making a significant impact in reducing a carbon footprint and improving sustainability," says Wu, founder and managing partner of First Bight Ventures, on the Houston Innovators Podcast.

Several aspects — government funding, corporate interest, advances in technology — have converged to make it an ideal time for synthetic biology innovators and investors, Wu explains on the show, and she has an idea of what Houston needs to secure its spot as a leader in the space: The BioWell.

First introduced at a Houston Tech Rodeo event at the Texas Medical Center's Innovation Factory, The BioWell is a public-private partnership that aims to provide access to pilot and lab space, mentorship and programming, and more support that biomanufacturing innovators critically need.

"The way we envision The BioWell is it will provide a holistic, curated support for startups to be able to get across the Valley of Death," Wu says, explaining that startups transitioning from research and development into commercialization need extra support. The BioWell will provide that, as well as allow more engagement from corporations, investors, and other players.

Now that her plans for The BioWell have been announced, Wu is looking for those who want to be a part of it.

She shares more about her mission and what's next for First Bight Ventures on the podcast. Listen to the interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.

Finding funding is tough and might get you in the mother of all holes — the Valley of Death. Miguel Tovar/University of Houston

7 ways to escape the Valley of Death, according to University of Houston research

Houston Voices

To walk through the valley of death means that death and misery are low points (valleys) in the human experience through which we all must inevitably walk and experience.

Although not as morbid, in the world of startup businesses, the valley of death is still grim. It is a low point in your startup's life where your business suffers and all seems lost. Specifically, it describes how hard it is to cover negative cash flow while you wait for your startup to start generating revenue from actual consumers. Sadly, only 10 percent of startups will survive the valley of death after the first three years, according to a Gompers and Lerner analysis.

"Our startup overcame the valley of death by making believers out of investors. Often, you have ideas that are worthwhile, but you have to find investors who also believe that," says Jason Eriksen, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology and chair and co-founder of Alzeca Biosciences.

Alzeca develops advanced imaging technology that helps physicians detect Alzheimer's at a much earlier stage than ever before. Alzeca is one of 28 groundbreaking and innovative startups changing the world at UH's Technology Bridge.

"Initially, our investors rejected us because they were disappointed that we couldn't cure Alzheimer's, and that we could merely stage it. That sent us spiraling into the valley of death. We overcame that by making other investors believers. We made them believe in our technology for detecting the disease early and that it would be life-changing for millions of sufferers," Eriksen says.

Here are another seven ways to dig yourself out of, not just a hole, but the mother of all holes: the valley of death.

1. Gather resources.

Planning your business is a good way to minimize risk. Such preparation involves determining how much money you will need to get to the revenue generation stage, and how much money you will need to cover costs in the likely event you fall into a financial hole. The more resources you've accumulated beforehand, the more padding you'll have if you fall on your face.

2. Don't quit your day job.

Keep your day-to-day job to keep money coming in and your personal finances covered. Use your weeknights and weekends to put in work on your company while you wait to generate revenue. You'll be making money while you wait for money. This way might take longer, but with proper planning, you can ensure that your lights will stay on while your startup struggles to bring in revenue while spiraling in the valley of death.

3. Find funding from friends and family.

"Angel investors and venture capitalists will feel a lot better about investing if they see you already have money at stake," Eriksen says.

That pre-investor money usually comes from friends and family. There is some weight to the idea that you should never mix business with family, but there are exceptions.

You're more likely to secure funding from friends and family if you show them you have a more-than-solid business plan. Your loved ones will want to see figures and metrics that have tracked what your business has done or what it is projected to do. They will also want to see that you are an expert in your business. It would also help to show them a payment plan where you outline when and how you will pay their money back.

Once you have friends and family funding secured, you're a lot more likely to acquire more funding from investors, and the long, hard road out of the valley of death begins.

4. Call for crowdfunding.

One smart way to jet pack out of the valley of death is to launch a crowdfunding campaign. If you know your tech, service, or product is a game changer, crowdfunding will put that to the test. This is where you'll obtain funding from everyday people who like what you have to offer enough to put all their faith in it in the form of dollars and cents.

5. Enter competitions and apply for grants.

Enter as many competitions as you can.

"Because of the government's recent surge in focus on tech-based and energy-based startups, there are now more startup competitions available in major VC (venture capitalist) geographic hotspots like San Francisco, Boston, New York, LA, and San Jose," Eriksen says.

While those cities are the startup hotspots, their activity reflects the current market for startups all over the country. Thankfully, that activity is at an all-time high, so you can rest assured that startup competitions are abundant in your own city, too.

This is your chance to show the world your hoverboard and attain funding you don't have to pay back, all without even relinquishing any equity. These competitions are, get this, competitive, so it would wise to register as early as you can.

6. Consider joint venture.

There might be a company out there that sees your product or services as congruent to their own business. Reach out to them and try to convince them that a joint venture would behoove both companies. This approach is not uncommon, and companies have been known to advance funding early on with the expectation that you'll reimburse them once your revenue starts rolling in.

7. Borrow if need be. 

Somewhere out there is a loan with your name on it. Wallowing in the valley of death can really leave a business owner feeling desperate and alone in the world. So desperate, that is, that they might mess around and apply for a loan. This alternative is the nuclear option. A last resort. It's only a viable approach if you're willing to put your home or other big assets on the line as collateral.

Typically, banks will only approve loans to startups that are cash-flow positive. So maybe this option is best if you've succeeded with a few of the aforementioned approaches so much that they helped your company start generating revenue. Once you've reached that point, that's the prime time to apply for a loan or line of credit.

"The phrase 'valley of death' is appropriate because it is a death sentence for the vast majority of startups," warns Eriksen.

That doesn't mean you go down without a fight.

When Buster Douglas fought Mike Tyson, every fan, expert, and sportswriter counted him out. For the entire fight, they were right. His defeat was inevitable. Then the tenth round happened.

Not only did he not go down without a fight, he won the bout. He beat the champ, and the odds. If you want your best chance at beating the odds, you do everything you can. You fight. Loans, competitions, crowdfunding, joint ventures; whatever it takes.

"The valley of death is only a death sentence if you allow it to be."

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This article originally appeared on the University of Houston's The Big Idea.

The author, Rene Cantu, is the writer and editor at UH Division of Research.

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Houston named ‘star’ metro for artificial intelligence in new report

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A new report declares Houston one of the country’s 28 “star” hubs for artificial intelligence.

The Houston metro area appears at No. 16 in the Brookings Institution’s ranking of metros that are AI “stars.” The metro areas earned star status based on data from three AI buckets: talent, innovation and adoption. Only two places, the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, made Brookings’ “superstar” list.

According to Brookings, the Houston area had 11,369 job postings in 2024 that sought candidates with AI skills, 210 AI startups (based on Crunchbase data from 2014 to 2024), and 113 venture capital deals for AI startups (based on PitchBook data from 2023 to 2024).

A number of developments are boosting Houston’s AI profile, such as:

Brookings also named Texas’s three other major metros as AI stars:

  • No. 11 Austin
  • No. 13 Dallas-Fort Worth
  • No. 40 San Antonio

Brookings said star metros like Houston “are bridging the gap” between the two superstar regions and the rest of the country. In 2025, the 28 star metros made up 46 percent of the country’s metro-area employment but 54 percent of AI job postings. Across the 28 metros, the number of AI job postings soared 139 percent between 2018 and 2025, according to Brookings.

Around the country, dozens of metros fell into three other categories on Brookings’ AI list: “emerging centers” (14 metros), “focused movers” (29 metros) and “nascent adopters” (79 metros).

Innovation Labs @ TMC set to launch for early-stage life science startups

moving in

The Texas Medical Center will launch its new Innovation Labs @ TMC in January 2026 to better support life science startups working within the innovation hub.

The 34,000-square-foot space, located in the TMC Innovation Factory at 2450 Holcombe Blvd., will feature labs and life science offices and will be managed by TMC. The space was previously occupied by Johnson & Johnson's JLABS @TMC, a representative from TMC tells InnovationMap. JLABS will officially vacate the space in January.

TMC shares that the expansion will allow it to "open its doors to a wider range of life science visionaries," including those in the TMC BioBridge program and Innovation Factory residents. It will also allow TMC to better integrate with the Innovation Factory's offerings, such as the TMC Health Tech accelerator, TMC Center for Device Innovation and TMC Venture Fund.

“We have witnessed an incredible demand for life science space, not only at the TMC Innovation Factory, but also on the TMC Helix Park research campus,” William McKeon, president and CEO of the TMC, said in a news release. “Innovation Labs @ TMC enables us to meet this rising demand and continue reshaping how early-stage life science companies grow, connect, and thrive.”

“By bringing together top talent, cutting-edge research, and industry access in one central hub, we can continue to advance Houston’s life science ecosystem," he continued.

The TMC Innovation Factory has hosted 450 early-stage ventures since it launched in 2015. JLABS first opened in the space in 2016 with the goal of helping health care startups commercialize.