Editor’s note:Check out this week’s roundup of Houston’s top innovation news. InnovationMap’s Houston technology and startup trends articles included NanoTech expanding into new areas, two health tech companies finding great success, and more.
Growing Houston startup moves into 43,000 square foot facility in the midst of a “hypergrowth period”
NanoTech Materials celebrated its move to a new 43,000 square foot facility in Katy, Texas this week. Photo courtesy of NanoTech Materials
A Houston startup has moved into a new space more than four times larger than its previous location. This prepared the company to expand its business.
NanoTech Materials celebrated its move to a new 43,000 square foot facility in Katy, Texas this week. The materials science company is now distributing roof coatings featuring its new thermal control technology throughout its company. The company was originally founded in a garage, but has now moved from his 10,000 square foot space at Halliburton Research Center to a larger location to support growth.
“Thanks to our new facility, we can not only focus on roofing materials, which is growing at a fairly rapid pace, but also launch different production lines in preparation for the arrival of the next technology,” says Co-Founder and CEO CEO Mike Francis said. NanoTech talks to his InnovationMap. Keep reading.
Here’s how much Houston startups have raised through 2024:
Houston startups raised a total of $380 million in venture funding last quarter. Photo from Getty Images
Seven Houston startups are off to a strong start to the new year, securing more than $380 million in venture funding. Most of that is due to his one huge deal with a geothermal company.
According to InnovationMap’s report, VC activity in Houston in the first quarter of 2024 spanned industries and stages, from pre-seed to Series E. That’s a lot of money raised in Houston in one quarter, but not in terms of closed deals, at least. Compared to the previous quarter, startups raised more than $170 million in nine deals.
From a national perspective, it’s not that big of a deal. According to PitchBook’s quarterly report, U.S. VC activity at the beginning of the year “showed itself to be one of the laggards in the world.” venture ” Just $9.3 billion capital Funds raised in the US last quarter accounted for just 11.3% of the total raised in the already slowing market in 2023. Keep reading.
Proprietary cell therapy developed in Houston administered to first patient
At MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Rezvani Research Institute, scientists train cancer-fighting immune cells. Photo from Getty Images
Replay, a San Diego-based genome writing company, announces first patient administered with genetically engineered T-cell receptor natural killer (TCR-NK) cell therapy for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma did.
What does that have to do with Houston? Last year, Replay incorporated Syena, a first-in-class engineered TCR-NK cell therapy product company using technology developed by Dr. katie rezvani At the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Rezvani, a professor of stem cell transplantation and cell therapy, is the driving force behind MD Anderson’s treatments. Lesbian Laba group of 55 people, all focused on harnessing natural killer cells to fight cancer.
“Everyone thinks that the immune system fights viruses and infections, but our immune system is extremely powerful because it can recognize and kill abnormal or cancerous cells. I feel like this whole field of immunotherapy is really about the power of the immune system,” Rezvani told Innovation Map. Keep reading.
10 sports tech startups selected for Houston-based hybrid accelerator
Meet the 10 startups that will be joining the Spring 2024 cohort of the DivInc Sports Tech Accelerator, a hybrid program based at Aeon. Photo courtesy: DivInc.com
DivInc has named a group focused on the latest sports technology for hybrid accelerators installed outside of Aeon.
The Sports Tech Accelerator has selected 10 companies with technologies such as human performance and fan experience as the 13th group to participate in a 12-week hybrid program starting this month and ending in July.
The program is supported by underdog venture teams Women In Sports Tech, The Collectiv and HTX Sports Tech, and includes partners Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Gunderson Dettmer, Brown Advisory, Ion; Mercury is helping. Keep reading.
With FDA approval, Houston health tech company prepares to expand nationwide
Jessica Traver Ingram, CEO and co-founder of IntuiTap, joined the Houston Innovators Podcast to share the company’s latest milestones. Photo courtesy of IntuiTap
Jessica Traver Ingram has been fascinated by the intersection of physics and health care for most of her life, and that passion led her to help establish the Texas Medical Center’s Biodesign Fellowship. After Traver Ingram helped make the program a reality, she joined the program as a fellow.
The program selects fellows to explore TMC member institutions to find ways to innovate amid unmet clinical needs. The inefficiencies and challenges of epidurals and lumbar punctures caught the attention of Traver Ingram and his colleagues. This process is completely dependent on the medical professional’s ability to feel the spine with their fingers as they administer the injection.
“We kept looking at the inefficiencies in these procedures, and everyone was like, ‘That’s right. I don’t really understand why we’re doing it this way,'” said Traver Ingram of Houston. – Speaking on the Innovators podcast. “It’s really great to be an outsider and watch and observe, because you only see things that other people don’t see, and that’s the same in any industry.”
Thus, IntuiTap was born. Traver Ingram describes the company’s tool, his VerTouch, as a “stud finder for the spine.” After years of growing her company, she can now say she has FDA approval. Keep reading.
