Rice University’s Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship has selected nine student-led ventures for the 2026 Summer Venture Studio, its flagship venture-building experience designed to help ambitious founders transform breakthrough ideas into venture-scale companies. The selected teams represent industries ranging from health care and artificial intelligence to advanced manufacturing, robotics, agriculture and defense technology.
This year’s SVS began with 10 accepted ventures. Early in the program, two founding teams recognized a unique opportunity to combine their complementary expertise, choosing to merge into a single venture. The result is a nine-company cohort that reflects one of entrepreneurship’s most valuable lessons: strategic pivots now build strong companies for the future. “Summer Venture Studio exists to help founders make the leap from promising technology to enduring company,” said Kyle Judah, executive director of Lilie. “Every year we’re inspired by the caliber of entrepreneurs coming out of Rice, but what excites me most is what happens after the summer. Our founders continue building, raising capital, earning national recognition and solving meaningful problems. That’s the kind of long-term momentum we’re committed to creating.”
SVS provides an immersive three-month experience where student entrepreneurs receive $15,000 in non-dilutive funding, individualized mentorship, workspace and access to an extensive network of experienced founders, investors, and industry experts.
2026 Summer Venture Studio Cohort
- Actile Technologies | Founder Barclay Jumet Actile develops wearable smart fabrics that communicate critical information through the language of touch, helping operators’ eyes and ears stay focused on their environment in national defense and other demanding settings.
- DHI Tech | Founders Dev Sanghvi, Madhuvani Thatiparti areAneesh Thatiparti are developing a plug-and-play edge AI layer for surveillance networks that makes every camera a smart device, covering 25-plus safety, compliance and security use cases out of the box.
- Kairos Health | Founders Adhira Tippur, Sanjana Kavula, Tanush Chintala and Aditya Jain Kairos have developed an AI-powered patient intake platform built specifically for independent dental practices.
- Lucero Health | Founders Halbert Kim and Rohan Dharia connect patients to supplemental resources, turning non-medical needs into actionable care beyond the clinic via a digital platform.
- MedIQ Health | Founders Suran Somawardana, Jacob Lei and Patrick Bednarz are developing hardware and software solutions that help asthma patients and their doctors better manage their condition.
- Codene | FoundersAdam Towner and Saul Brauns Codene are building the AI platform for go-to-market engineering. They Codene discovers ideal customers, executes personalized outreach and accelerates the journey from launch to revenue.
- Vantage | FoundersGavin Firestone and Nolan Connolly Vantage have developed an AI motion coach that uses computer vision to deliver instant, actionable feedback on exercise technique and programming.
- Magma Health | FounderRamtin Shahzanian Magma clones real companies into high-fidelity RL environments.
- Coop | FoundersAdithiya Balaguru and Arnav Bhalla Coop are building an early respiratory disease detection system for poultry farms using AI to analyze audio feeds collected from poultry houses.
Since launching in 2023, SVS has become one of Rice’s premier pathways for translating student innovation into high-growth companies. More than half of participating ventures have gone on to raise pre-seed or seed financing, while alumni companies have earned acceptance into some of the world’s most competitive accelerators programs. Past participant Norra was accepted into Y Combinator, while other ventures, including Morph Labs and Veloci, have earned national recognition and continued commercial traction. Solidec recently announced an oversubscribed funding round and, together with fellow Lilie venture Helix Earth, have become the two largest startup tenants in Houston’s Ion District.
For more information about the Lilie Summer Venture Studio and other Lilie programs, please visit https://entrepreneurship.rice.edu/rice-startup-accelerator.