The first class of nine companies has graduated from Rice University’s new accelerator, OwlSpark.
Launched in May, the first batch of startups to leave OwlSpark include a medical data processing firm, an online gift registration company, and a company which can deduce blood alcohol levels from sweat.
In total, the graduates have received $1.1m in investment during their incubation, alongside mentorship and introduction to the wider business community. The Rice-affiliated startups will now seek to capitalise on this with a pitching competition to be held shortly after graduation.
Darren Clifford, co-founder of OwlSpark, said: “Why would companies not go to Y Combinator? Because of our access to Rice, our relationships with future customers, mentors and service providers that will help move a company forward.”
Earlier in the year, Rice University’s Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship was named the top global university business incubator by the Sweden-based University Business Incubator Index.
