RBPC Big Winner Hello Alice Raises Funding, More Houston Trending Innovation News

Editor's note: A roundup of this week's top innovation stories in Houston. InnovationMap's Houston Technology and Startup Trends articles included results from the 2024 Rice Business Plan Competition, recent funding from Houston startups, and more.

Houston technology platform raises Series C round backed by Mastercard

After the round, Hello Alice is now valued at $130 million.Photo by Casey Clifford/Hello Alice

Hello Alice, a fintech platform that supports 1.5 million small businesses across the country, has announced a Series C round.

Although the amount raised was not disclosed, Hello Alice reported that the new funding brings the company's valuation to $130 million. Alexandria, Virginia-based QED Investors led the round, with investors including Mastercard, Backstage Capital, Guy Fieri, Golden Seeds, Herbert Growth Partners Fund, and How Women Invest i. , LP, Label Limited Partnership, Tyler Ninja, Jessica Blevins, and Tamera Mowry. Adam Housley, according to a company news release.

We are thrilled to have reached the milestone of 1.5 million small businesses using Hello Alice to enhance their American Dream. More entrepreneurs are starting their businesses this year than at any time in our nation's history, and we will continue to ensure they have the funding they need to grow, says Hello Alice co-founder Elizabeth Gore and Carolyn Roz said in a news release. As we close out our Series C, we welcome Mastercard to our family of investors and continue to express our gratitude to our supporters, including QED, How Women Invest, and Guy Fieri. Keep reading.

Annual Houston Student Startup Competition awards more than $1.5 million in cash and investment prizes

Thirteen of the 42 teams participating in RBPC 2024 received investment funds.Photo courtesy of Rice University

For the 24th time, the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship hosted the Rice Business Plan Competition, awarding more than $1.5 million in investments and cash prizes to top teams.

Announced earlier this year and featuring teams from around the world, 42 of this year's startups took part in the three-day event culminating with a reception on Saturday, April 6th. Companies were divided into his five categories: energy, cleantech; and sustainability. Hard Tech; Life Sciences and Healthcare Solutions. Digital enterprise. Consumer products and services.

RBPC Director Catherine Santamaria said at the awards ceremony: “We are awarding a $1 million prize to each contestant, which will serve as the foundational capital to launch a startup.” The prizes are many, but the biggest thing our startup will leave behind is the generosity and sense of community from this room. This community is always ready to support founders and support our vision for the competition by investing time, money, and resources in student innovators. Keep reading.

Houston organizations launch collaborative center to accelerate cancer outcomes

Researchers at the new SynthX Center will aim to translate basic research into clinical applications, fine-tuning drug properties and molecules.Photo courtesy of Rice University

Rice University's new Synthesis X Center was officially launched last month, bringing together experts in cancer treatment and chemistry.

The center grew out of what began about seven years ago as an informal meeting between American chemist Han Xiao's research group and other members of the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine. According to a statement from Rice, the level of cooperation between the two teams has improved significantly in recent years, with monthly meetings now attracting approximately 100 participants across disciplines, disciplines and Houston-based organizations. It is said that they are gathering.

Researchers at the new SynthX Center will aim to translate basic research into clinical applications, fine-tuning drug properties and molecules. We will focus on improving cancer outcomes by considering a range of factors including prevention and detection, immunotherapy, the use of artificial intelligence to accelerate drug discovery and development, and several other topics. . Keep reading.

Early-stage accelerator names Houston's 9th cohort

Global organization generator8tor, in collaboration with Downtown Launchpad, launched its 9th gBETA Houston cohort last month.Photo from Getty Images

In its ninth year, gBETA is incubating five early-stage Houston startups with innovative solutions across skin care, human resources, and more.

Global organization generator8tor, in collaboration with Downtown Launchpad, launched its 9th gBETA Houston cohort last month. Five Houston-based founders were selected for the seven-week, free, stock-free accelerator program, which provided helpful programs, support, and connections with mentors, customers, corporate partners, and investors. .

“We are excited to continue to drive innovation in Houston and are grateful for our collaboration with Downtown Launchpad in launching gBETA Houston’s ninth group,” said Gener8tor’s Vice President of gBETA. Vanessa Huerta said in a statement.

Houston physicist wins $15.5 million grant for high-energy nuclear physics research

According to Rice University, the research is “poised to revolutionize our understanding of fundamental physics.”Photo courtesy of Rice University

A team of Rice University physicists has been awarded a prestigious grant from the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Physics for their work in high-energy nuclear physics and the study of new states of matter.

The five-year, $15.5 million grant will focus on the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), a large general-purpose particle physics detector built on CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC).・The money will be used for the discoveries of astronomy professor Wei Li. European nuclear research institute located in France and Switzerland. The research “is poised to revolutionize our understanding of fundamental physics,” Rice said in a statement.

Li's team will work on developing an ultra-fast silicon timing detector, known as an end-cap timing layer (ETL), to upgrade CMS detectors. ET1 is expected to have a temporal resolution of 30 ps per particle, allowing for more accurate time-of-flight particle identification. Keep reading.

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