News

Rhaeos Startup with RBPC Prize Checks

HOUSTON – (March 22, 2023) – The 2023 Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC), hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and the Jones Graduate School of Business, will be held on Rice University campus May 11-13. The competition brings together the most promising student ventures from top universities across the world to compete for prizes in front of active investors, entrepreneurs and the Houston business community.

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HOUSTON – (Nov. 14, 2022) – Clean energy startups that are ready for investments and pilot programs will showcase their work during The Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator’s Nov. 17 Demo Day.

The event hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship will present quick pitches from 17 companies as well as networking opportunities. Startups will showcase work in areas including advanced materials, energy storage, energy efficiency, hydrogen, wind, wave and geothermal energy. Anyone interested in attending should register here.

BlueLaunch Class 1

Rice has a new resource for entrepreneurs: BlueLaunch, the Rice University accelerator for consumer product companies and other small businesses.

BlueLaunch, the latest initiative from the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, provides hands-on training and mentoring designed to support the success of Rice-affiliated small-business entrepreneurs in any industry. Companies accepted into the accelerator have access to legal, financial, sales and marketing resources as well as mentorship from an invaluable professional network.

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This week, 39 energy startup companies from all over the world pitched in Houston — and nine were recognized as being the most promising of the batch.

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship returned its Offshore Technology Conference pitch event to its in-person capacity and host the annual event at the Ion Houston for the first time. The event featured three-minute pitches from the companies, and a select group of corporate and venture investors decided on the top nine to honor.

CEA SeebeckCell Chevron

SeebeckCell Technologies, a startup in the first class of the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator, today announced they are invited to participate in the Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) Catalyst Program to develop further their technology platform designed to recover industrial waste heat energy, increasing energy consumption efficiency, and eliminating battery replacement in IoT applications.

Rice alliance Energy Venture Day at OTC August 16, 2021

The Rice Alliance Energy Venture Day at this year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) features 14 promising energy companies — which combined have raised more than $108 million — presenting their business pitches to key industry investors and leaders.

Jones Graduate School of Business

Rice and its Jones Graduate School of Business have the No. 1 graduate entrepreneurship program in the U.S., according to the 2021 rankings announced Nov. 17 by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine. This marks the second consecutive year the Rice program has topped this category, its fifth time in a top 3 position nationally and the 12th year in a row ranked in the top 10.

Rice Alliance to launch clean energy accelerator in Houston 2021

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship has announced its new Clean Energy Accelerator — a 12-week program for early stage energy startups — at the close of the 18th annual Energy Tech Venture Forum.

"Houston truly is the hub of the global energy industry, and it is here where the next generation of energy leaders will create and scale innovations that will change the world," says Bob Harvey, president and CEO at the Greater Houston Partnership, in a press release. "The new Clean Energy Accelerator will build on that legacy and align with the work already taking place in Houston's robust energy innovation ecosystem."

Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator

Rice Alliance, the globally recognized initiative within the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University, will expand its programs to help startup enterprises with the launch of the Clean Energy Accelerator.

The accelerator will be a hands-on, 12-week program to support early stage energy startups from around the world, all of which will have access to the Rice Alliance network of energy corporations, investors and advisers. Rice Alliance will leverage existing relationships with energy corporations and investors, as well as its experiences from the Rice Business Plan Competition, energy tech venture forums and the Rice University OwlSpark accelerator.

Rice University

For the 20th year, the Rice Business Plan Competition has awarded prizes and investments to student-led startups from around the ward. While this year's competition was postponed and virtually held, the show went on with 42 startups pitching virtually June 17 to 19.

After whittling down the 42 startups to seven finalists, the RBPC judges named the winners. And, this year, all seven finalists walked away with a monetary prize. Here's how the finalists cleaned up.

Aurign, which provides publishing services for recording artists and record labels, from Georgia State University, won first place and the $350,000 grand prize from GOOSE Capital. Aurign also won RG Advisory Partners' prize of $25,000, bringing the company's total to $375,000 won.

RBPC Grand Prize Winner - Aurign

An Atlanta-based startup that combines music publishing with blockchain technology won the 20th Rice Business Plan Competition, a three-day event that was postponed and held virtually this week due to the coronavirus pandemic. Aurign, a startup out of Georgia State University, won a $350,000 investment, which could increase as it works with Goose Capital, a Texas investment firm. It was one of seven finalists that competed Friday. 

Forbes 30 Under 30 - RBPC Alumni

The Rice Business Plan Competition, the world’s richest and largest student venture competition, had six of its recent alumni startups featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2020, an annual compilation of the most innovative and exciting young entrepreneurs in the United States and Canada.

Rice Alliance unveils new office

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, one of the country’s premier initiatives devoted to the support of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship education and the launch of technology companies, hosted a special event Dec. 5 to unveil its new offices, the 3,000-square-foot Bill and Stephanie Sick Suite.

GCEC Conference in Stockholm 2019

Eleven universities with leading-edge entrepreneurship programs, along with 19 finalists, were recognized for their outstanding programs at the 2019 Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) conference in Stockholm. The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and Rice's Jones Graduate School of Business serve as the central office for the GCEC organization.

Jones Graduate School of Business

Rice and its Jones Graduate School of Business have the No. 1 graduate entrepreneurship program in the U.S., according to the 2020 rankings announced Nov. 12 by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine. This marks the first time the Rice program has topped this category, its fourth time in a top 3 position nationally and the 11th year in a row the school has been ranked in the top 10.

OwlSpark - Bayou Startup Showcase

After 12 weeks of refining their business models and building their companies as part of an annual startup accelerator program, teams from Rice’s OwlSpark and the University of Houston’s RED Labs pitched their innovations at the Bayou Startup Showcase held Aug. 1 at The Cannon and Bayou City Fellowship campus.

Rice Alliance default

The winner of the 2019 Rice University Business Plan Competition will ring Nasdaq’s opening bell on the day before Independence Day. Vita Inclinata Technologies from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota will perform the ceremonial opening of the Nasdaq Stock Market trading day at 9:30 a.m. CDT on Wednesday, July 3.

OwlSpark & REDLabs 2019

Rice University’s OwlSpark and the University of Houston’s RED Labs will launch their annual joint startup accelerator program on May 16. The startups, whose offerings range from medical devices to consumer apps and enterprise software, will attend the 12-week program at Station Houston, an accelerator hub for startup technology companies, corporate innovation and entrepreneurship.

Mayor Sylvester Turner at Jones Graduate School of Business

From oil and gas and space exploration to the largest medical center in the world, Houston has long been a capital for innovation. Mayor Sylvester Turner spoke at Rice's Jones Graduate School of Business April 17 about his vision for the city as one of the leading centers of innovation and entrepreneurship, driving economic development and jobs over the next decade.