Texas Emerging Technology Fund awards $2.25 million to local companies

Texas governor Rick Perry announced $2.25 million in awards from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (TETF) to three technology companies. A seventeen-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. All three must then agree on which projects should be funded. “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,” Governor Perry said. “More importantly, though, our investments will accelerate the availability of new technologies that will make life better for Texans in diverse ways.”

The TETF awards were given to:

—Houston-based Endothelix — $1 million for the development of new diagnostic technology which will allow physicians to more accurately, quickly, and inexpensively assess patients’ cardiovascular health

—Houston-based itRobotics. — $750,000 to support the development and production of pipe inspection robots, which will enable the inspection of a significant portion of tubular infrastructure for gas, nuclear plants, power plants, and non-energy pipelines

—San Antonio-based Bauhaus — $500,000 to support development and distribution of an animation software solution that replaces hybrid paper and digital methods with a complete digital system for animation and special effects

The three main areas of investment for the TETF program are increasing research collaboration between public and private sector entities, matching research grants provided by both federal and private sponsors, and attracting more top-notch research teams from other universities around the nation.