Editor's note:Let's roundup the top Houston innovation news from the week. Trending Houston tech and startup articles on InnovationMap included a new upcoming location of The Cannon, an oversubscribed pre-seed round of funding, and more.
Houston analytics startup raises $41M series B
Houston-based Welligence Energy Analytics specializes in data and intelligence for the oil and gas markets, greenhouse gas emissions sector, and CCUS projects. Photo via Getty Images
A group of investors has chipped in $41 million to purchase a minority stake in Houston-based Welligence Energy Analytics, a provider of energy data and intelligence.
Boston-based venture capital firm Elephant Partners led the series B round, with participation from Veriten, a Houston-based, energy-focused research, investing, and strategy firm, and EDG, a Metairie, Louisiana-based energy consulting firm. Several executives from the energy, information services, and software sectors also contributed to the round.
Founded in 2016, Welligence specializes in data and intelligence for the oil and gas markets, greenhouse gas emissions sector, and carbon capture, storage, and utilization (CCUS) projects. Clients include major oil and gas companies, as well as large investment banks. Continue reading.
Houston regenerative medicine company to IPO, move toward more human trials
FibroBiologics will IPO this week. Photo via Getty Images
Want a piece of one of Houston’s most promising biotech companies? On January 31, FibroBiologics will begin the trading of its common stock on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
While most labs in the realm of regenerative medicine are focused on stem cells, FibroBiologics has bet on fibroblasts as the secret to treating myriad ailments. Fibroblasts, the most common type of cell in the body, are the primary cells that compose connective tissue.
Interested investors can find a prospectus to peruse before taking the leap. FibroBiologics filed with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 7, 2023. Continue reading.
Houston university launches new institute for synthetic biology
The new Rice Synthetic Biology Institute is part of an $82 million investment the university put toward synthetic biology, neuroengineering, and physical biology in 2018. Photo via Rice.edu
Rice University announced this month that it has officially launched the new Rice Synthetic Biology Institute.
The institute aims to strengthen the synthetic biology community across disciplines at the university, according to an announcement from Rice. It is part of an $82 million investment the university put toward synthetic biology, neuroengineering, and physical biology in 2018.
RSBI will be led by Caroline Ajo-Franklin, professor of biosciences, bioengineering, and chemical and biomolecular engineering, with support from a faculty steering committee. Continue reading.
TMC names 2024 cohort of cancer treatment innovators
TMCi named its 2024 Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics cohort. Photo courtesy of TMC
For the fourth year, Texas Medical Center Innovation has named its annual cohort of Texas health tech innovators working on promising cancer therapeutics.
TMCi named its 2024 Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics cohort last week, and the 23 Texas researchers and companies selected will undergo a nine-month program that will provide them with mentorship and programming, as well as open doors to potential investors and strategic partners.
“The ACT program provides a bridge to commercialization in Texas by surrounding innovators with strategic mentorship, milestone development, and a network of resources to move their projects forward,” Emily Reiser, associate director of TMC Innovation, says in a news release. "We are excited to welcome this year's cohort and to continue enabling participants to advance their solutions to treat cancer." Continue reading.
University of Houston joins $5M consortium for national defense innovation
The SMART Hub is a collection of researchers, engineers, and economic and policy experts looking to “enact a paradigm shift in the use and management of the wireless spectrum.” Photo via Getty Images
The University of Houston has signed on to be a part of an organization that is working toward next-gen technology for defense purposes.
UH has announced its partnership with the Department of Defense Spectrum Innovation Center’s Spectrum Management with Adaptive and Reconfigurable Technology (SMART) Hub, which aims to conduct spectrum research to help with national defense needs. SMART Hub will develop next-generation technologies, and the research team will contribute expertise in spectrum security, economics, communication systems, radar, circuits, policy, and more.
The center is led by Baylor University, and is a collection of researchers, engineers, and economic and policy experts looking to “enact a paradigm shift in the use and management of the wireless spectrum” according to SMART Hub. The consortium is worth $5 million, and comes after UH recently awarded its largest grant in history—$63.5 million from the U.S. DoD. The previous DoD contract aims to support the campus in developing analytical modeling and simulation platforms for the U.S. Army. Continue reading.