Rice Alliance Quick Facts

• Since inception in 2000, the Rice Alliance has assisted in the launch of more than 311 new technology companies, which have raised more than $1.3 billion in early-stage funding
• More than 1400 companies have benefited from participation in Rice Alliance Technology Venture Forum programs
• The Rice Alliance has hosted more than 140 educational programs and venture forums in 11 years, attended by 33,000+ individuals
• In the last 12 years, over 1,000 speakers have participated at Rice Alliance events
• More than 28,000 individuals now subscribe to the weekly Rice Alliance Digest Newsletter
• The most recent Rice Alliance Company Directory included more than 500 companies, the largest ever collection of new technology companies in the region
• 500+ companies and individuals currently provide annual financial support for the Rice Alliance
• 40+ start-up companies have been launched based on Rice University technology and/or Rice affiliations since the founding of the Rice Alliance
• 12 Rice affiliated start-ups have received grants from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund
• Rice patent portfolio had the highest Industry impact of any university in the U.S. in 2008 according to Patent Board’s University Patent Scorecard
• Rice is a leader in innovation and led the nation in 2008 in disclosures per $1M of research (per AUTM)
• A recent Rice University alumni survey indicated that 28% of all Rice alumni have started a business, and of those, 42% had founded tow or more. Total revenues of Rice alumni companies exceed $42 billion annually
• 22% of Rice MBA alums have started companies since the school was founded in 1974 and 76% are in business today with revenues over $1.5 billion
• the Rice Alliance and Rice Busines Plan Competition have ben featured in FORTUNE magazine, CNN/Money.com, Forbes, Entrepreneur magazine, U.S. News & World Report, Financial Tiems, Wall Street Journal

Rice Business Plan Competition

• 42 top graduate-level teams from around the world compete for over $1.5 million in the Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC).   The competition provides the opportunity for promising entrepreneurs to obtain funding, mentoring, and advice
• More than 199 past RBPC teams have launched their companies 
• 128 are in business today having raised more than $460 million in funding
• 250+ judges participate in the competition, of which more than 50% are current investors (venture capitalists, angel investors and early-stage pirvate equity investors)
• The RBPC has awarded nearly $4.8 million in prizes since 2001
• More than 133 corporations, government and private organizations sponsor the RBPC

Awards & Recognitions

• 2012 & 2011 #14 Best U.S. Graduate Entrepreneurship Program – US News & World Report 
• NASDAQ OMX Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence Award - – Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) - 2011
• 2011, 2010, 2009 Ranked Top Ten in the U.S. Princeton Review & Entrepreneurship magazine 
• The annual survey ranks 30+ criteria: course offerings, teaching and research faculty, community outreach, research centers and institutes, degrees and certificates offered, and faculty and alumni evaluation.
• National Model MBA in Entrepreneurship—United  States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) - 2011
• Outstanding Entrepreneurial Leadership Award – Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) - 2009
• Excellence in Technology Entrepreneurship Award – Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) - 2009
• Outstanding Technology Entrepreneurship Program – United  States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) - 2009
• Houston’s Greatest Economic Development Ally – Awarded by the Greater Houston Partnership – 2008
• #1 University Entrepreneurship Center in the U.S. for Enterprize Creation by the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers – 2007
• E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year ^TM – Award for Supporter of Entrepreneurship – 2005
• Rice University was ranked as the #1 university in the U.S. in 2005 and #3 in 2006 in the commercialization of nanotechnology published by Small Times Magazine