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Texas Awards $6 Million in Emerging Tech Funds

In May, Governor Rick Perry announced nearly $6 million in awards to four emerging technology companies to help them get their innovations to the marketplace.

In May, Gov. Rick Perry announced nearly $6 million in awards to four emerging technology companies to help these early stage businesses get their emerging technology innovations to the marketplace. The awards are the second announcements by Perry under the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, a $200 million initiative created by the Texas Legislature last year at the governor’s request.

“With these grants, we are investing in Texas companies, the long-term economic health of our economy and keeping Texas competitive with other states investing in emerging technologies,” Perry says. “More importantly, though, our investments will accelerate the availability of new technologies that will make life better for Texans.”

The TETF awards are going to:

  • CardioSpectra, Inc., of San Antonio, $1.35 million for the commercialization of its Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Diagnostic Catheter. The catheter allows doctors to better predict the likelihood a patient will suffer a heart attack based on vascular plaque; it provides diagnostic capabilities unavailable through existing technologies, such as MRI, CT and ultrasound devices. The OCT also has applications in ophthalmology, cancer detection and glucose monitoring for diabetics.
  • Xilas Medical, Inc., of San Antonio, $1 million for the commercialization of three medical devices that will aid in the early detection of neuropathies, foot stress and inflammation that often lead to diabetic ulcers and amputation. The VPT meter provides physicians the ability to determine a patient’s risk of amputation as the result of neuropathy. The GlideSoft insole reduces friction and pressure where traditional insoles only reduce pressure. The Temp touch dermal thermometer allows home monitoring for patients to detect inflammation before a wound is created.
  • Molecular Imprints of Austin, $3 million for the commercialization of a “disruptive” technology called Step and Flash Imprint Lithography (S-FIL) for fabricating nano-scale devices and components. It has applications to semiconductors, light emitting diodes, disk drives, displays, digital cameras and bio devices.
  • CorInnova, Incorporated, of College Station, $500,000 for the commercialization of its Heart Therapy Device, a life-saving technology that reduces by 60 percent or more the instances of congestive heart failure in patients who have suffered a severe heart attack.

A 17-member advisory committee of high-tech leaders, entrepreneurs and research experts reviews potential projects and recommends projects for funding to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House.

The first TETF award was announced earlier this year, with Texas Tech University receiving nearly $2 million to help it become the international leader in agriculture genomics research and development and help make the west Texas region the fiber capital of the world. The grant will further Texas Tech’s partnership with Bayer CropScience and help launch the International Center of Excellence in Agriculture Genomics and Biotechnology.

The TETF program has three main areas of investment:

  • Increasing research collaboration between public and private sector entities through new Regional Centers of Innovation and Commercialization where the seeds of an idea can take root in a university lab and eventually grow into a new product marketed by a new or expanding firm.
  • Matching research grants provided by both federal and private sponsors to help innovators acquire the capital they need to bring their idea to life.
  • Attracting more top-notch research teams from other universities around the nation that will help put Texas universities on the cutting edge of technology research and development.

Many states, including California, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, are pumping billions of dollars into high-tech research and development and warned that Texas could be left behind without the Emerging Technology Fund, Perry noted.

“Over the next decade, emerging technologies will generate $3 trillion in revenue worldwide,” Perry says. “The question is, where will those investments be made and who will reap the benefits? Our TETF helps ensure that Texas has the competitive edge to provide greater opportunity, prosperity and a brighter future for all of our people.”