Arrow Analytics
Semi-Finalist | Bryan/College Station, Texas
Advanced Carpet Recycling, LLC
Alternate | Bedford, Texas
Advanced Carpet Recycling (ACR) is commercializing a patented, AREMA compliant composite railroad crosstie designed to directly replace chemically treated hardwood ties, with no changes to existing rail infrastructure. More than 21 million ties are replaced annually in the U.S., creating a large, recurring market constrained by timber scarcity, creosote regulation, and rising lifecycle costs. ACR’s one step process converts 100% waste carpet into a high-performance synthetic tie that exceeds oak’s strength and flexibility while delivering longer life, lower total cost, and zero toxic preservatives.
Backstop Neural, Inc
Semi-Finalist |Dallas, Texas
Backstop Neural, Inc. is a privately held, pre-clinical stage medical device company based in Dallas, TX and focused on restoring arm and hand function in people with cervical spinal cord injuries using epidural spinal cord stimulation (eSCS). Founded in 2018, our company has been funded through private capital and multiple NIH and NSF grants. Our purpose-built eSCS system is anchored by the company’s innovative cervical paddle lead that leverages novel materials and microfabrication processing. Together with an implantable pulse generator and AI-driven software platform, the system is designed to first precisely map the targeted muscle groups and then deliver specific stimulation at the dorsal roots of the spinal cord. Combining our approach to eSCS with intensive motor rehabilitation, we aim to improve arm and hand function to meet the specific needs of each patient, thereby improving quality of life and reducing chronic care costs after spinal cord injury.
Bioprinting Laboratories, Inc
Semi-Finalist |Dallas, Texas
Bioprinting Laboratories Inc. (BPL) develops a high-throughput pillar/perfusion plate platform combining microarray 3D bioprinting, pump-free dynamic perfusion, and on-plate organoid cryopreservation to enable scalable, predictive, and cost-effective human organoid screening. Injection-molded 36/144/384-format plates allow ultra-fast, reproducible loading (≤1 minute; CV <20%), long-term perfused culture without pumps/tubing, in situ imaging, and compatibility with standard HTS automation. Ultra-low assay volumes cut reagent costs 20–100× while improving human relevance versus 2D assays and static organoids. BPL monetizes via high-margin consumable plates, assay-ready organoids-on-plate, and contract services for pharma, biotech, CROs, cosmetics, and chemical companies. The platform enables human-relevant New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) aligned with FDA Modernization Act 2.0, reducing animal testing, failure rates, and R&D costs.
Brimstalt Therapeutics
Semi-Finalist | Houston, Texas
Brimstalt Therapeutics is developing AIRR, a breakthrough therapy designed to reduce heart damage during a heart attack. Each year, millions of people survive heart attacks thanks to emergency procedures that restore blood flow — but the return of blood flow itself can cause additional injury to the heart muscle. Today, there are no approved medicines that directly protect the heart during this critical window.
Clavius Health
Semi-Finalist | Houston, Texas
Clavius Health is building an AI-driven spinal alignment screening platform for musculoskeletal care. Using depth or standard RGB imaging, our software captures objective posture and spinal alignment measurements in minutes—replacing subjective visual assessments with structured, repeatable metrics.
Designed for clinicians and allied staff, Clavius delivers transparent, explainable reports that support evaluation, longitudinal tracking, and patient engagement—without making diagnostic claims. Our goal is to become a foundational measurement layer for MSK care, bringing consistency, speed, and data-driven insight into everyday clinical workflows.
DystropHix, LLC
Alternate | Bryan College Station; Waller, Texas
Dystrophix has the potential to dramatically impact the lives of children suffering from muscle Dystrophy (MD). To maintain muscle mass in disease, ongoing clinical studies are investigating compounds directed toward a range of therapeutic targets including corticosteroids and viral gene therapy. While these agents have the potential to slow disease progression and maintain body mass in MD, each is systemically administered and produces either significant side effects or debilitating immune response. In contrast, Dystrophix is a locally delivered therapy designed to promote myofiber integrity while minimizing the potential for side effects and remains relevant for promoting healthy muscle mass resistant to injury from both wound healing and neuromuscular diseases like MD.
DystropHix, LLC will never have the resources and reach to fully maximize the potential of DystropHix. Therefore, our team’s mission is to de-risk DystropHix to a successful strategic acquisition.
Encando.AI
Semi-Finalist | Bryan/College Station, Texas
Encando.AI is a vertically integrated AI portal for higher education that empowers instructors – not replaces them. Encando addresses a $6.8B annual teaching support problem in the U.S. for scaling instructor and student support at a fraction of traditional support cost. We combine automated course organization, a course-aligned multimodal AI tutor (ChaTA), AI-driven assessment generation, and an autograder into a single accreditation-friendly platform. Unlike generic AI tools optimized for engagement, Encando is an expert-facing system designed to improve cognitive learning outcomes and instructor effectiveness. Instructors need our platform to save time and be more effective teachers by providing targeted help based on student data analytics. Students need it to get instructor-mediated help. Administrators need our portal to lower costs. Our hybrid land-and-expand model targets individual faculty, departments, and institutions with AI-credit-based pricing for cost control.
FirstThen
Semi-Finalist |Dallas, Texas
FirstThen has created the first parent-centered, AI-enhanced mobile health app for the treatment of pediatric Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). We’re working at the crossroads of digital mental health, responsible AI, and caregiving to address the massive unmet need for psychosocial treatment and support when a child has ADHD. Our technology fills this gap and has received recognition for its innovation from both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association. A Phase I SBIR from the National Science Foundation supported early and rigorous R&D. With our initial pilot showing feasibility and signaling clinical improvements in parent stress and child ADHD symptoms, our multidisciplinary team is now driving toward commercialization.
Gale
Semi-Finalist | Lantana, Texas
Gale enables retailers to grow their sales by up to 10% by adding IRS-Compliant HSA & FSA payments to their checkout.
Gale publicly launched in Q3 2025 and has since acquired 120+ merchants onto its HSA/FSA payments platform with a compounded monthly growth rate of 165%.
With Gale, merchants can add HSA/FSA payments to their store in minutes enabling their shoppers to use pre-tax HSA/FSA dollars that can save them up to 40% off.
IonTX, Inc
Semi-Finalist | Houston, Texas
IonTX, a Texas pre-seed preclinical biotech, develops first-in-class small molecule protein–protein interaction (PPI) modulators to control the regulation of voltage-gated sodium (nav) channels, innovating precision medication of neuropsychiatric illnesses. Targeting intracellular proteins that bind to nav channels, IonTX aims to normalize abnormal neuronal firing that underlies aberrant brain network functioning in people living with neurological, pain or mental disorders. Our nav channel PPI modulators enable the fine-tuning of firing of select cells with minimal side effects and no abuse liability. Our strong IP around nav-focused PPIs includes exclusive licenses or license options of patents associated with IonTX nav channel PPI assets. Founded by Dr. Fernanda Laezza, our pipeline includes GSK3β–Nav1.6 inhibitors for early Alzheimer’s disease, peripheral FGF13–Nav1.7 modulators for pain, and FGF14–Nav1.6 and FGF13–Nav1.6 modulators for anhedonia and substance use disorders.
Lamplight Logistics
Semi-Finalist | Austin, Texas
Lamplight Logistics builds Spotlight, an industrial spatial intelligence platform created by RTLS veterans with 40+ years of combined experience. We design full-stack location systems (BLE, UWB, GNSS, and multi-modal) that convert physical movement into operational intelligence.
MyEngene, Inc
Semi-Finalist | Houston, Texas
MyEngene Inc. prevents adverse drug reactions (ADRs), the 4th leading cause of death in North America, killing 128,000+ Americans annually at $136B cost. Our bioinformatics and AI platform interprets genetic data for personalized medication decisions. Two products: PGxIQ is an AI pharmacovigilance platform providing real-time drug-drug, drug-gene, and lifestyle-drug interaction alerts without genetic testing. PGxME analyzes 1,110 genes across 990+ medications via 30X Whole Genome Sequencing. Non-regulated SaaS status confirmed by Health Canada, US CMS, and CAP, enabling immediate market entry. Our wet lab partner holds CAP/CLIA certification. 7 patent applications filed with cross-industry licensing potential. Target: healthcare systems, pharmacy chains, long-term care, laboratories, government (DND/DoD). Houston-based, raising $5M seed at $30M pre-money with strong investor interest from HNW individuals and family offices.
Nu M.A.Y.A. (Most Advanced Yet Acceptable)
Semi-Finalist | Houston, Texas
Tape is slow. Tape gets left behind on the aircraft and that creates a real safety hazard. SMART-FOD Kits address both problems.
SMART-FOD fills that critical safety gap. Every cover is pre-cut, serialized, and tracked like a tool significantly reducing the risk of leaving material on the jet.
SMART-FOD F-16 Test results with our customer, the 314th Maintenance Squadron at Holloman AFB, January 30, 2026:
Zero experience crew: 45 minutes total
2.3x faster. 57 minutes saved per wash vs. Team using tradition tape rolls and hand-cut prep
100% manual compliance. 100% accountability vs. Team with tape rolls missing multiple areas
Pike Robotics
Semi-Finalist | Austin; Houston, Texas
Pike Robotics develops advanced robotic inspection systems for hazardous industrial infrastructure. Its flagship product, the Wall-Eye platform, is a Class 1, Division 1–certified wall-crawling robot that performs in-service inspections inside explosive and confined environments such as above-ground storage tanks. By eliminating confined-space entry and costly shutdowns, Wall-Eye improves safety, reduces inspection costs, and helps operators maintain regulatory compliance while keeping assets online. The system collects multi-modal inspection data, including visual imagery, point cloud data, and gas measurements, to detect defects and emissions risks and generate digital inspection reports. Originating from research at the University of Texas at Austin and early collaboration with Phillips 66, Pike Robotics deploys its technology through robotics-enabled inspection services across the energy and chemical industries.
Pro-j diapeutics
Alternate | Kingsville, Texas
Pro-j diapeutics, founded by Drs. Jayshree Mishra and Narendra Kumar from Texas A&M University, is developing a novel first in class of JAK3-targeted drugs for triple-negative breast cancer brain metastases; a condition with no FDA-approved therapy, demonstrating preclinical efficacy and addressing a market opportunity valued at $3 billion.
ryw
Semi-Finalist | Houston, Texas
Convenience stores are the backbone of the American commute, they sell about 80% of the fuel we buy, across ~150k locations. Yet behind the counter, many stores still run like it’s the 90s, which quietly squeezes an already thin-margin business. Ryw is building the first Agentic AI Store Operator to fix this: software that takes over repetitive operational busywork end-to-end and runs it consistently, catching issues teams often miss or don’t have the bandwidth to chase, and only pulling a human in when a real judgment call is needed. The goal is simple: make stores more profitable and easier to scale without adding overhead. We sell to independent and small-mid-chain operators (starting with multi-site groups) who feel the scaling pain most. Our business model is a monthly subscription per store, designed to deliver an estimated 3–10x ROI.
Our north star: Ryw runs every non-physical task of store operations so humans manage by exception, and owners focus on growth.
Spry Bio, Inc
Semi-Finalist | Irving, Texas
StreamSettle
Alternate | Houston, Texas
StreamSettle is a B2B legal-tech platform solving the “blinking first” standoff in civil litigation. Opposing parties confidentially submit bottom-line settlement numbers. If an overlap exists, the claim settles instantly at the midpoint. If not, data remains concealed with zero leverage lost. U.S. insurance carriers waste billions annually on avoidable legal fees simply because neither side wants to make the first move. StreamSettle eliminates this friction. We are generating organic traction across both personal injury and commercial dockets. Our momentum includes a historic unanimous mandate from 11 Texas judges ordering litigants to use our platform, plus active pipeline pilots with national carriers. Built by a Board Certified trial lawyer and backed by $410k in total capital, StreamSettle clears dockets, slashes corporate legal spend, and provides a completely risk-free path to early resolution.
Texas Microsintering
Semi-Finalist | Austin, Texas
Texas Microsintering is revolutionizing semiconductor manufacturing and packaging by commercializing Holographic Volumetric Lithography. Traditional semiconductor fabrication is slow, expensive, and wasteful, relying on a long sequence of material deposition, masking, and etching steps. We replace this outdated workflow with a single-pass 3D printing process that patterns advanced electronics using ultra-thin optical metasurfaces. Our technology can create complex, multi-material 3D structures with resolutions finer than a human hair with just a single mask. By reducing production time from months to days, we are drastically lowering the financial barriers for low-volume, high-mix custom chip production. This enables rapid prototyping and advanced packaging for critical applications in defense, aerospace, medical devices, and consumer electronics.
*Alternates on standby if a semi-finalist drops out for any reason, and are eligible for all sponsored and elevator-pitch competition prizes.
