ready to grow
2 sustainability-focused student startups named to Houston accelerator
Rice University's Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, or Lilie, has named eight teams to the second cohort of the Lilie Summer Venture Studio, and two have sustainability as a goal.
According to Rice, the 12-week program received a record number of applications, that spanned the campus' degree offerings.
“We are thrilled to see such a high level of interest and excitement from Rice students for a high-growth venture accelerator,” Kyle Judah, executive director of Lilie, said in a statement. “The diversity and creativity in this year's applications were truly inspiring, and we’re excited to support these promising ventures with the resources and mentorship they need to hit escape velocity and create the next generation of pillar companies for Houston, Texas and the world.”
The selected teams will receive $15,000 in non-dilutive funding from the accelerator, along with access to coworking space and personalized mentorship in the Liu Idea Lab.
Coflux Purification, a patent-pending in-stream module that breaks down PFAS using a novel absorbent for chemical-free water, was named to the cohort, as was Solidec, a technology platform that extracts molecules from water and air, transforms them into pure chemicals and fuels without any carbon emissions.
Here are the rest of the teams for the 2024 Lilie Summer Venture Studio:
- Docflow, focused on streamlining residency shift scheduling
- JewelVision, building virtual fitting rooms for jewelry e-commerce retailers using generative AI
- Levytation, using data science and AI to answer critical questions about sales and customers for coffee shop management
- OnGuard, a marketplace to book off-duty police officers and security professionals
- Roster, leverages data on athletes in the NCAA Transfer Portal to automatically send updates on players to coaches
- Veloci, a running shoe venture that addresses common pains through shoe design
Lilie launched the Summer Venture Studio last year. According to Rice, two out of the six teams selected, Helix Earth Technologies and Tierra Climate, which both also tackle sustainability challenges, raised venture capital funds after completing the accelerator program.
Helix Earth Technologies also went on to earn the inaugural TEX-E Prize at CERAWeek in 2023.
“The track record of our Summer Venture Studio Accelerator speaks for itself, despite being early in our second year," Taylor Anne Adams, head of venture acceleration programs at the Liu Idea Lab, said in a statement. "This is the power of entrepreneurship programming that is designed by founders, for founders, that happens at the Liu Idea Lab.”
Last year, Lilie also named 11 successful business leaders with ties to Houston to its first Lilie’s Leadership Council. Each agreed to donate time and money to the university’s entrepreneurship programs.———
This article originally ran on InnovationMap.