Houston clean-tech co. with NASA ties wins big at SXSW 2025

And the winner is...

Helix Earth was one of the winners of SXSW's 2025 pitch competition. Photo by Sergei A/Pexels

Houston had a strong showing at the 2025 SXSW Pitch showcase in Austin, with two local startups claiming top prizes, including a novel clean-tech startup.

Clean-tech company Helix Earth, which spun out of Rice University and was incubated at Greentown Labs, won in the Smart Cities, Transportation & Sustainability contest.

"We faced impressive competition from a well-chosen set of finalists, and we're honored to be chosen as the winners. One of the judges even commented, ‘Who knew you could make air conditioning sexy,’” Brad Husick, Helix's co-founder and chief business officer, said in a release.

Helix Earth was launched in 2022 and is known for its space capsule air filtration system that was co-developed for NASA. The commercial air conditioner add-on technology, now in a pilot phase, has been used to retrofit HVAC systems for commercial buildings and can save up to 50 percent of the net energy, cutting down on emissions and operating costs, according to the company. Its co-founder and CEO Rawand Rasheed was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Energy and Green Tech list for 2025.

“This win validates our mission to drive sustainable innovation in commercial air conditioning and beyond. We are excited about the future of Helix Earth and the impact we will have in reducing energy consumption and emissions," Rasheed said in a statement.

Little Place Labs, a Houston space data startup, also walked away a winner in the Security, GovTech & Space competition. The company uses advanced AI and machine learning to deliver near-real-time space analytics for both ground and space-based applications. Its software aims to help first responders, mission planners and decision-makers detect anomalies and make informed decisions quickly. It was co-founded in 2020 at Oxford by Houstonian and CEO Bosco Lai and Gaurav Bajaj and participated in the 2023 AWS Space Accelerator.

"This all started with a simple mission: To deliver real-time space insights to help first responders, mission planners, and decision-makers act before problems arise,” Little Place Labs wrote on LinkedIn. "Today, that mission feels even stronger."

One of SWSX's marquee events, the pitch competition, held March 8-10, featured 45 finalists, selected from 589 applicants, in nine categories.

Two other Houston companies were finalists this year:

Trez, a Latino-focused fintech company that uses AI and voice-command payroll through WhatsApp to provide culturally relevant payroll and streamline financial operations for Latino business owners.
Tempesst Droneworx, a veteran-owned software company that's Harbinger software providing real-time contextual intelligence for early warning detection, reducing time to decision and speeding time to action.

Jesse Martinez, founder of invincible, and Anu Puvvada of KPMG were two judges representing Houston.

According to SXSW, 647 companies have participated in SXSW Pitch over the years, with over 93 percent receiving funding and acquisitions totaling nearly $23.2 billion. See the full list of 2025 winners here.

Three young professionals have made the cut for this year's Forbes Under 30 list in the Energy and Green Tech list for 2025. Photos via Forbes

Under 30: Houston innovators snag spots on Forbes list of top young energy professionals

A handful of Houstonians have been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Energy and Green Tech list for 2025.

Kip Daujotas is an investment associate at Aramco Ventures, a $7.5 billion venture capital arm of the world's largest energy company. Houston is the Americas headquarters for Saudi Aramco. Since its inception in 2012, Aramco Ventures has invested in more than 100 tech startups. Daujotas joined the team over two years ago after studying for an MBA at Yale University. He led Aramco’s first direct air capture (DAC) investment — in Los Alamos, New Mexico-based Spiritus.

Also representing the corporate side of the industry, Wenting Gao immigrated from Beijing to obtain an economics degree from Harvard University, then got a job at consulting giant McKinsey, where she recently became the firm’s youngest partner. Gao works on bringing sustainability strategies to energy and materials companies as well as investors. Her areas of expertise include battery materials, waste, biofuels, and low-carbon products.

Last but not least, Houston entrepreneur Rawand Rasheed is co-founder and CEO of Houston-based Helix Earth. He co-founded the startup after earning a doctoral degree from Rice University and co-inventing Helix’s core technology while at NASA, first as a graduate research fellow and then as an engineer. The core technology, a space capsule air filtration system, has been applied to retrofitting HVAC systems for commercial buildings.

Each year, Forbes 30 Under 30 recognizes 600 honorees in 20 categories. The 2025 honorees were selected from more than 10,000 nominees by Forbes staff and a panel of independent judges based on factors such as funding, revenue, social impact, scale, inventiveness, and potential.

Specifically, the Energy & Green Tech category recognizes young entrepreneurs driving innovation that’s aimed at creating a cleaner, greener future.

“Gen Z is one of the fastest-growing groups of entrepreneurs and creators, who are reshaping the way the world conducts business, and our Under 30 class of 2025 proves that you can never begin your career journey too early,” says Alexandra York, editor of Forbes Under 30. “With the expansion across AI, technology, social media, and other industries, the honorees on this year’s list are pushing the boundaries and building their brands beyond traditional scopes.”

Helix Earth's technology is estimated to save up to half of the net energy used in commercial air conditioning, reducing both emissions and costs for operators. Photo by Sergei A/Pexels

Houston investor leads Houston climatetech startup's $5.6M seed to transform energy-efficient HVAC challenges

local funding

A Houston startup with clean tech originating out of NASA has secured millions in funding.

Helix Earth Technologies closed an oversubscribed $5.6 million seed funding led by Houston-based research and investment firm Veriten. Anthropocene Ventures, Semilla Capital, and others including individual investors also participated in the round.

“This investment will empower the Helix Earth team to accelerate the development and deployment of our first groundbreaking hardware technology designed to disrupt a significant portion of the commercial air conditioning market, an industry that is ready for innovation,” Rawand Rasheed, Helix Earth co-founder and CEO, says in a news release.

Helix Earth was founded based on NASA technology co-invented by Rasheed and spun out of Rice University and has been incubated at Greentown Labs in Houston since 2022. Currently being piloted, the technology is estimated to save up to half of the net energy used in commercial air conditioning, reducing both emissions and costs for operators.

“The enthusiastic response from investors reinforces our team’s confidence in our ability to transform innovation-starved sectors such as commercial air conditioning with an easy-to-install-and-maintain solution that benefits distributors, mechanical contractors, and most of all, building owners, with a positive benefit to the environment,” Rasheed says.

Prior to its raise, the company received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Energy.

“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with the Helix Earth team," Maynard Holt, Veriten’s founder and CEO, adds. "We were so impressed with their unique combination of a technology with broad applicability across multiple industries, a product that will have an immediate and measurable impact on our energy system, and a fantastic and well-rounded team.”

Helix Earth, per the release, reports that is also looking to provide solutions for commercial humidity control and carbon capture.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

The 12-week program received a record number of applications, that spanned the campus' degree offerings. Photo courtesy of Rice University

2 sustainability-focused student startups named to Houston accelerator

ready to grow

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.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

Nearly 40 climatetech startups will pitch at this upcoming CERAWeek event from HETI, the Rice Alliance, and TEX-E. Photo by Natalie Harms

Houston orgs name student, industry teams for CERAWeek pitch competition

taking the stage

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, the Houston Energy Transition Initiative and the Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy announced the 39 energy ventures that will pitch at 2024 Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition during this month's CERAWeek.

The ventures are focused on driving efficiency and advancements toward the energy transition and will each present a 3.5-minute pitch before venture capitalists, corporate innovation groups, industry leaders, academics, and service providers during CERAWeek's Agora program.

The pitch competition is divided up into the TEX-E university track, in which Texas student-led energy startups compete for $50,000 in cash prizes, and the industry ventures track.

Teams competing in the TEX-E Prize track, many of which come from Houston universities, include:

AirMax, University of Texas at Austin
BeadBlocker, University of Houston
Carvis Energy Solutions, Texas A&M University
Coflux Purification, Rice University
Solidec, Rice University

Thirty-four companies will present within the industry ventures track, which is further subdivided into three industry tracks, spanning materials to clean energy. The top three companies from each industry track will be named. Click here to see the full list of companies and which investor groups will participate.

The pitch competition will be held Wednesday, March 20, at CERAWeek from 1-5 pm. An Agora pass is required to attend.

For those without passes, a pitch preview will be introduced to the programming for the first time this year. The preview will be held Tuesday, March 19, from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm at the Ion. It's free to attend, but registration is required. Click here to register.

Last year, Houston-based Helix Earth Technologies took home the top TEX-E price and $25,000 cash awards. The venture, founded by Rawand Rasheed and Brad Husick from Rice University, developed high-speed, high-efficiency filter systems derived from technology originating at NASA.

David Pruner, the executive director of TEX-E joined the Houston Innovators Podcast last month. He discussed how the nonprofit is expanding opportunities for students at its five university partners—Rice University, Texas A&M University, Prairie View A&M University, University of Houston, and The University of Texas at Austin. Listen to the episode below.

At last year's awards program, Cemvita Factory's co-founders, Tara and Moji Karimi, accepted the award for the Green Impact Business category. This year, Moji Karimi served as a judge

18 Houston energy startups named finalists for innovation awards program

companies to watch

The 2023 Houston Innovation Awards announced its 52 finalists — a large portion of which are promising energy transition startups.

The awards program — hosted by EnergyCapital's sister site, InnovationMap, and Houston Exponential — will name its winners on November 8 at the Houston Innovation Awards. The program was established to honor the best and brightest companies and individuals from the city's innovation community.

The following startups, which all have an energy transition element to their business, received a finalist position in one or two categories.

Click here to secure your tickets to see who wins.

ALLY Energy, helping energy companies and climate startups find, develop, and retain great talent, scored two finalist positions — one in the Female-Owned Business category and the other in the Social Impact Business category.
Eden Grow Systems, next generation farming technologies, is a finalist in the People's Choice: Startup of the Year category.
Feelit Technologies, nanotechnology for preventive maintenance to eliminate leaks, fires and explosions, increase safety and reduce downtime, is a finalist in the Female-Owned Business category and the People's Choice: Startup of the Year category.
Fervo Energy, leveraging proven oil and gas drilling technology to deliver 24/7 carbon-free geothermal energy, scored two finalist positions — one in the Sustainability Business category and the other in the People's Choice: Startup of the Year category.
FluxWorks, making frictionless gearboxes for missions in any environment, is a finalist in the Hardtech Business category.
Helix Earth Technologies, decarbonizing the built environment and heavy industry, is a finalist in the Hardtech Business category.
INOVUES, re-energizing building facades through its non-invasive window retrofit innovations, making building smarter, greener, and healthier for a better and sustainable future, was named a finalist in the Sustainability Business category.
Kanin Energy, helping heavy industry monetize their waste heat and decarbonize their operations, was named a finalist in the BIPOC-Owned Business and the Sustainability Business categories.
Mars Materials, developing a carbon-negative pathway for carbon fiber and acrylamide production using CO2 and biomass as raw materials, is a finalist in the BIPOC-Owned Business category.
Molecule, an energy/commodity trading risk management software that provides users with an efficient, reliable, responsive platform for managing trade risk, is a finalist in the Digital Solutions Business category.
Rhythm Energy, 100 percent renewable electricity service for residential customers in Texas, is a finalist in the People's Choice: Startup of the Year category.
Sage Geosystems, a cost-effective geothermal baseload energy solution company, also innovating underground energy storage solutions, was named a finalist in the Sustainability Business category.
Solugen, decarbonizing the chemical industry, is a finalist in the Hardtech Business category.
Square Robot, applying robotic technology to eliminate the need to put people into dangerous enclosed spaces and eliminate taking tanks out of service, is a finalist in the Hardtech Business category.
Syzygy Plasmonics, a deep decarbonization company that builds chemical reactors designed to use light instead of combustion to produce valuable chemicals like hydrogen and sustainable fuels, is a finalist in the Hardtech Business category.
Tierra Climate, decarbonizing the power grid faster by helping grid-scale batteries monetize their environmental benefits and change their operational behavior to abate more carbon, was named a finalist in the Sustainability Business category.
Utility Global, a technology company converting a range of waste gases into sustainable hydrogen and syngas, was named a finalist in the Sustainability Business category.
Venus Aerospace, a hypersonics company on track to fly reusable hypersonic flight platforms by 2024, is a finalist in the Hardtech Business category.

Additionally, two energy companies were named to the Corporate of the Year category, which honors corporations that supports startups and/or the Houston innovation community. Aramco Ventures and Chevron Technology Ventures are two of the four finalists in this category.

Lastly, Jason Ethier, co-founder of Lambda Catalyzer and host of the Energy Tech Startups podcast, and Kendrick Alridge, senior manager of community at Greentown Labs, scored finalist positions in the Ecosystem Builder category, as individuals who have acted as leaders in developing Houston’s startup ecosystem.

Click here to see the full list of finalists.

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Global co. opens state-of-the-art energy innovation hub in Houston

flagship facility

French multinational company Schneider Electric has opened a new 10,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art Energy Innovation Center in Houston.

The new facility is located in Houston’s Energy Corridor and is designed to “foster increased collaboration and technological advancements across the entire value chain,” according to a news release from the company. The new Houston location joins Schneider's existing innovation hubs in Paris, Singapore and Bangalore.

The venue will serve as a training center for process control engineers, production superintendents, manufacturing managers, technical leads and plant operations personnel. It can simulate various real-world scenarios in refineries, combined-cycle power plants, ethylene plants, recovery boilers and chemical reactors.

It includes an interactive control room and artificial Intelligence applications that “highlight the future of industrial automation,” according to the release.

"Digitalization is significantly enhancing the global competitiveness of the U.S. through continuous innovation and increased investment into next-generation technology," Aamir Paul, Schneider Electric's President of North America Operations, said in the release.

Texas has over 4,100 Schneider Electric employees, the most among U.S. states, and has facilities in El Paso, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and other areas.

"This flagship facility in the Energy Capital of the World underscores our commitment to driving the future of software-defined automation for our customers in Houston and beyond,” Paul added in the release. “With this announcement, we are excited to continue supporting the nation's ambitions around competitive, efficient and cost-effective manufacturing."

Schneider Electric says the new Houston facility is part of its expansion plans in the U.S. The company plans to invest over $700 million in its U.S. operations through 2027, which also includes an expansion at its El Paso campus.

The company also announced plans to invest in solar and battery storage systems developed, built, and operated by Houston-based ENGIE North America last year. Read more here.

Hydrogen industry could have major impact on Texas water resources, study says

water works

Just as the data center industry thrives on electricity, the hydrogen industry thrives on water.

A new study from researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that by 2050, new hydrogen production facilities could account for 2 percent to nearly 7 percent of water demand in the state. The impact could be especially dramatic along the Gulf Coast, where most of the state’s hydrogen production facilities are already built or are being planned.

The research was published in the journal Sustainability.

The study reported that "most existing and proposed hydrogen production infrastructures are within projected water-strained cities and counties, such as Houston in Harris County and Corpus Christi in Nueces County."

Compared with municipal water supplies or irrigation systems, the hydrogen industry’s demand for water is comparatively small, the study’s lead author, Ning Lin, an energy economist at UT’s Bureau of Economic Geology, said in a news release. But hydrogen-fueled demand could strain communities that already are grappling with current and future water shortages.

“Where you put a project can make a huge difference locally,” Lin says. “With multiple hydrogen facilities planned in water-stressed Gulf Coast counties, this study highlights the urgent need for integrated water and energy planning and provides a solid foundation to help policymakers, industry, and communities make informed decisions about hydrogen and water management.”

To forecast water demand, Lin and her colleagues crunched data from a 2024 National Petroleum Council study that estimated the regional hydrogen demand from 2030 to 2050 based on two energy policy scenarios.

As part of the study, researchers reviewed water use and water quality for various hydrogen production methods that affect whether water remaining from production can be recycled.

“In order to plan for water needs, somebody has to figure out what those future demands might look like, and this paper puts some numbers to (it) that, I think, will be very helpful,” Robert Mace, executive director of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, who was not part of the study, added in the release.

Co-founder of Houston hypersonic engine co. lands on Inc. 500 list

Ranking It

Five Houston female founders have been recognized by Inc. Magazine for their innovation, including Sassie Duggleby, the CEO and co-founder of groundbreaking space tech and engine company Venus Aerospace.

The women were named to Inc.'s Female Founders 500 list, which features female entrepreneurs based in the U.S. The group attracted approximately $9 billion in 2024 revenue and $10.6 billion in funding, according to Inc.

“Female founders know what struggle is, but they’re also experts of improvisation, adaptability, and creativity. The women featured on this year’s list exemplify these qualities," Diana Ransom, Inc. executive editor said in a release. "Through times of uncertainty, their unwavering dedication and steadfast leadership are not only inspiring but vital to driving progress.”

Venus Aerospace is the Houston-based company that is developing reusable hypersonic technology that it hopes "will revolutionize and redefine the boundaries of aviation, defense, and beyond." The company won the in the Deep Tech Business category in the 2024 Houston Innovation Awards. Duggleby also serves on the Texas Space Commission board of directors.

Duggleby is joined by four other Houston founders:

Stephanie Murphy, CEO and executive chairman of Aegis Aerospace, which provides space services, spaceflight product development, and engineering services. Murphy also serves on the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium Executive Committee.
Emily Cisek, founder of The Postage, now known as Paige, a comprehensive life planning and succession software platform for families and small businesses. The company won the Female-Owned Business category in the 2023 Houston Innovation Awards.
Margo Jordan, founder of adolescent mental health startup Enrichly, which uses AI-driven self-esteem development and behavioral insights to boost student performance.
Nina Magon, founder of Nina Magon Studio / Nina Magon Consumer Products, a residential and commercial interior design company.

"While I don't know many of the ladies on this list, I do know they're some of the most tenacious role models in entrepreneurship. I'm beyond honored to be included among them," Duggleby said in a LinkedIn post.

Twenty-eight Texas female founders made this list, including Kendra Scott and Allison Ellsworth, co-founder of Poppi, and many others.

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A version of this story first appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.com.

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