Plug and Play, an acclaimed startup incubator and accelerator based in Silicon Valley, Calif., has announced plans for a new location in Sugar Land, focusing on solutions for the future of smart cities.   Plug and Play accelerated more than 2,700 startups globally in 2023, through work to connect entrepreneurs and startups with valuable resources to help their ideas succeed. The organization is three-pronged, with accelerator programs to help startups, a corporate innovation division for established companies, and venture capital to fund promising enterprises.   Representatives from the Sugar Land Office of Economic Development attended the announcement for the new location at Plug and Play’s November 2024 Silicon Valley Summit.   “We are excited to welcome Plug and Play to Sugar Land,” Mayor of Sugar Land Joe Zimmerman said. “This investment will help us connect with corporate contacts and experts in startups and businesses that would take us many years to reach on our own. It allows us to create a presence, attract investments and jobs to the city, and hopefully become a base of operations for some of these high-growth companies.”  The new location, to be located in Sugar Land Town Square, will officially launch in February or March 2025, with around 15 startups and 4 full-time employee equivalents. The approaches toward smart cities will include startups that focus on energy, health, transportation and mobility.  The Partnership’s trade missions to California in 2022 and 2023 included visits to Plug and Play’s headquarters, fostering discussion on potential for growth in Greater Houston. These visits and continued conversations helped build momentum that led to last week’s announcement for the investment in Sugar Land. “The Partnership is excited for the announcement of Plug and Play’s investment in the Houston region,” Greater Houston Partnership SVP of Economic Development Craig Rhodes said. “Houston’s innovation ecosystem seeks solutions in key industries of energy efficiency, life sciences, aerospace and transportation, and we are pleased to welcome Plug and Play to the Greater Houston area to accelerate these emerging technologies”  The new location underscores the region’s growing innovation ecosystem, seeing substantive growth not only in Houston proper with impactful incubators such as the Ion or Greentown Labs, but also around the region, with industry-specific accelerators like Halliburton Labs on the North Beltway and the Alexandria Center for Advanced Technology in The Woodlands.  For more on Houston’s innovation ecosystem, visit our Innovation and Startups page. 

Nearly one year since launching its first phase, the Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park is already proving to be a powerful catalyst for innovation, attracting a range of life sciences companies and bolstering collaboration between industry and academia.   The 37-acre campus opened with the TMC3 Collaborative Building and Dynamic One Building, now home to prestigious institutions like Baylor College of Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston Methodist, Texas A&M University and UTHealth. Chicago-based venture capital firm Portal Innovations also joined the campus last year, occupying the entire third floor of the Collaborative Building with a 30,000-square-foot space.  Growth continues at Helix Park as local institutions and companies expand their research initiatives and establish a stronger presence on campus. Rice University recently launched RBL LLC, a venture creation studio designed to act as a direct pipeline for new companies built around the technologies developed at its Biotech Launch Pad, established last year.   “Leveraging Rice University’s Biotech Launch Pad breakthroughs and pairing it with the world-class translational infrastructure of TMC Helix Park well positions RBL to drive unprecedented advances in patient care,” said William McKeon, President and CEO of TMC, in a statement. “This partnership between academia, industry and health care is exactly what’s needed to transform medical discoveries into real-world solutions that improve lives globally.”  In September, March Biosciences, an emerging clinical-stage biotech company spun off from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital, and Texas Children’s Hospital’s Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, moved to the Helix Park campus. Shortly after the move, March Biosciences successfully closed an oversubscribed $28.4 million Series A financing round. This funding will support the Phase 2 clinical development of MB-105, the company’s innovative cancer-fighting therapy.   Switzerland-based biotech company Artidis also recently expanded to Helix Park, securing 2,000 square feet in Portal Innovations’ suite within the Collaborative Building, according to the Houston Business Journal. The company uses nanotechnology to rapidly diagnose cancer and develop personalized treatment plans.  MD Anderson Cancer Center is also increasing its footprint at TMC with a new $239 million, 281,254-square-foot research facility featuring lab and office space. According to the Houston Business Journal, the facility, set for completion in 2028, will focus on advancing preclinical research.  Additionally, the campus welcomed its first restaurant, Ojo de Agua, which offers a blend of Mexican and Mediterranean cuisine, contributing to Helix Park’s vision of becoming a premier destination.  “We are excited to introduce Ojo de Agua to the Texas Medical Center community and present a new spot where members and visitors can connect, celebrate and collaborate while enjoying a unique culinary experience,” said McKeon in a statement. “Food has a way of bringing people together and as our campus continues to welcome visitors from all over the world, Ojo de Agua will showcase high quality, fresh ingredients that reflect the vibrancy and diversity of our community.”  Learn more about the growth happening at TMC at the Partnership’s State of the Texas Medical Center event on November 14.