Entrepreneurship

OwlSpark announces students, alumni and staff selected for its 13th cohort

OwlSpark, Rice’s startup and small business accelerator for Rice-affiliated ventures, brings together 11 companies in the program’s 13th year who represent a new wave of entrepreneurs tackling challenges across technology, consumer products, health care and more. Since 2013, the accelerator has supported 229 founders and launched 104 ventures with participants collectively raising more than $116 million in funding.

Veloci wins the 2025 Rice Launch Challenge

Veloci, an innovative shoe company founded by Rice student-athlete Tyler Strothman, took home the top prize at the annual Napier Rice Launch Challenge (NRLC). The April 22 banner event featured pitches from the final five ventures of the competition to a panel of distinguished judges in front of a live audience.

Lilie announces 2025 Rice Innovation Fellows cohort

The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) has introduced the 2025 Rice Innovation Fellows cohort, a dynamic group set to lead the future of scientist- and engineer-driven spinout ventures from Rice labs.

Intero Biosystems from University of Michigan wins Rice Business Plan Competition

Intero Biosystems — a life science company that has developed the first cell-derived human “minigut” replicating cell types, spatial structure and function of the human intestine — took home the grand prize at the 2025 Rice Business Plan Competition.

Propelling the future of prosthetics

Pranai Reddy, a senior studying business management, biochemistry and entrepreneurship, has spent his time at Rice University figuring out how to improve the usability in prosthetic hands and how to give students a hands-on learning experience in venture capital.

Rice Biotech Launch Pad and RBL LLC to celebrate official launch and lab opening

The Rice Biotech Launch Pad and RBL LLC will hold an event to celebrate the official launch and lab opening of RBL LLC May 5, following a Rice presidential lecture delivered by Robert Langer Jr. The launch event, held at Helix Park, will also feature a keynote a keynote presentation by Robert Ruffolo Jr.

Veterans Business Battle returns to Rice March 13-14

Rice Business is hosting its 11th annual Veterans Business Battle — a forum for veterans to connect with investors, advisers and resources. Each year, the event gives military veterans an opportunity to pitch business ideas for a chance to raise capital.

Rice opens the Rice Nexus, an innovation factory in the Ion focused on AI

Rice is celebrating the grand opening of the Rice Nexus, its flagship innovation hub in the Ion District designed to help faculty, students and alumni founders turn breakthrough research into high-impact startups.

Rice Nexus grand opening event Feb. 14

Rice will officially open the Rice Nexus, its flagship innovation factory located in the heart of Houston’s vibrant Ion District.

Rice Business tops Princeton Review entrepreneurship rankings for sixth year in a row

Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business has taken the No. 1 spot in The Princeton Review and Entrepreneurship magazines’ rankings of top schools for graduate entrepreneurship programs for the sixth year running.

Rice Alliance gathers industry leaders to drive clean energy innovation

Houston’s inaugural Energy and Climate Startup Week brought together leading venture capital investors, industry leaders and startups from around the world to showcase the most innovative companies and technologies that are transforming the energy industry. The citywide initiative held last month celebrated Houston’s role in driving the energy transition and was organized by a group of regional organizations, academic institutions and corporations in the Houston ecosystem, including the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Halliburton Labs, Greentown Labs, Activate, Digital Wildcatters and the Houston Energy Transition Initiative.

Running track while running a business

“It’s about empowering people and making them more comfortable while doing what they care about,” said Rice student-athlete Tyler Strothman, a Duncan College senior, about his startup Veloci. He added that his running shoe company offers a better designed shoe — one that actually fits the anatomical shape of a human’s foot.

DesRoches: Rice is committed to research that addresses global issues

Rice President Reginald DesRoches spoke with author Walter Isaacson at a fireside chat ahead of a startup pitch day hosted by Halliburton Labs as part of the inaugural Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week 2024. DesRoches and Isaacson spoke about Houston's innovation ecosystem and academia’s role in the future of technology and innovation.

Lilie showcases 8 student startups that are making a difference in their industries

Eight Rice student startups presented their ventures at the 2024 Summer Venture Studio Accelerator (SVS) Demo Day hosted by Rice’s Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) Sept. 17 in the Anderson Clarke Center. Lilie is the home for entrepreneurship education, exploration and acceleration for students, faculty and alumni from every discipline.

Startups innovating the clean energy transition will showcase their technology at Sept. 12 Energy Tech Venture Forum

The Energy Tech Venture Forum (ETVF), hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, will convene innovators and investors at a Sept. 12 conference to connect ventures with Houston’s energy ecosystem. The forum is an anchor event for the inaugural Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week, happening Sept. 9-13. This week is a city-wide initiative to bring together and celebrate the momentum in Houston driving the energy transition. Many events are hosted at the Ion, Houston’s innovation hub powered by Rice.