Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) is an insurance company headquartered in Richardson, Texas, that has been in operation since 1929. It specializes in providing health insurance services, along with property and casualty insurance products. As a subsidiary of the Health Care Service Corporation, BCBSTX is committed to delivering financially sound healthcare coverage to its members, focusing on the well-being and health needs of individuals and families across Texas. The company is dedicated to adapting its offerings to meet the evolving demands of the healthcare landscape.

Founded in 2012, LiveOak Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Austin, Texas. It focuses on technology and technology-driven services across Texas, typically investing at the seed stage and providing full lifecycle support.

Founded in 1999, Enhanced Capital Partners is a New York-based investment firm managing over $400 million. It specializes in equity and debt investments for small to mid-sized companies across various sectors, with a focus on healthcare technology systems and TMT industries.

Founded in 2006, Techstars is a global platform that supports and invests in early-stage technology companies. Through its mentorship-driven accelerator programs, seed investments, and venture capital fund, Techstars fosters innovation across various sectors worldwide.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency established in 1950 and based in Alexandria, Virginia. It is dedicated to supporting research and education in science and engineering across a wide range of disciplines. The NSF provides significant non-dilutive funding, up to $1.5 million, to startups and small businesses through its America's Seed Fund initiative, which is part of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program mandated by Congress. With an operating budget of approximately $7.8 billion, the NSF is committed to advancing fundamental research and education, thus fostering innovation and technological development in the United States.

Silverton Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2006 by Bill Wood and Morgan Flager, the firm provides capital and mentorship to technology startups across the United States, leveraging an operating-focused investment team. It backs companies in software, internet, cloud services, enterprise software, and other technology sectors, with a focus on opportunities in the Texas region. It operates as a registered investment adviser, reflecting its formal approach to early-stage investing.

Founded in 2009, Capital Factory is a venture capital firm and accelerator based in Austin, Texas. It invests in seed-stage to later-stage companies across software, media, and technology sectors, providing resources, mentorship, and coworking space.

The U.S. Department of Energy is a government agency established in 1977, located in Washington, D.C. Its primary mission is to ensure the security and prosperity of the nation by tackling energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges. The Department focuses on promoting transformative scientific and technological solutions to address these issues, thereby supporting the country's energy needs and environmental sustainability.

Founded in 2005, Y Combinator is a California-based startup accelerator and early-stage venture capital firm. It provides funding, mentorship, and resources to early-stage companies across various industries, with a focus on technology, healthcare, and finance. The organization helps founders refine their business models and products through an intensive three-month program in Silicon Valley, culminating in Demo Day presentations to investors.

Next Coast Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Austin, Texas, founded in 2015. It backs early-stage technology companies, with a focus on Texas but pursuing selected opportunities in larger markets. The firm concentrates on information technology and related sectors such as retail, healthcare and e-commerce, providing early capital and hands-on company-building support. It leverages a strong industry network and a venture partner program to help portfolio companies scale, guided by macro trends and founders’ experience to identify attractive opportunities. Next Coast Ventures aims to back bold entrepreneurs building scalable businesses in large markets.

Founded in 2007, S3 Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Austin, Texas. It specializes in Series A to C investments, focusing on information technology, medical devices, enterprise software, SaaS, marketing, financial services, and sales sectors. The firm primarily invests in the Southwestern United States, with a focus on Texas and Austin. S3 Ventures typically considers equity transactions of $10 million to $20 million, aiming for exits through acquisition or IPO.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas is a state agency established in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas. Its primary mission is to invest in cancer prevention and academic research to accelerate innovation in the field and enhance access to evidence-based prevention programs. The institute awards grants for a broad range of cancer-related research and for the implementation of cancer prevention services by both public and private organizations within Texas. All research funded by the institute is conducted by Texas-based scientists, aligning with its goal of expanding the state’s research capabilities and fostering the creation of high-quality jobs.

MassChallenge is a global startup accelerator supporting early-stage entrepreneurs across various industries. Founded in 2009, it provides mentorship, resources, and networking opportunities through its programs worldwide.

Corsa Ventures, established in 2011, is an Austin, Texas-based venture capital firm specializing in early-stage investments. The company focuses on opportunities in Texas and the Southwest, investing in U.S.-based technology startups that leverage cloud, big data, mobile, and social technologies to disrupt traditional business models. Corsa's team brings deep operational experience and global networks, having led businesses from startup to Fortune 50 level.

Austin Ventures, founded in 1979 and based in Austin, Texas, is a venture capital firm focusing on early-stage and mid-market technology companies. It invests primarily in the United States with a focus on Texas, particularly the Austin area.

Alumni Ventures Group is a venture capital firm based in Manchester, New Hampshire, with offices across North America. It provides access to venture investing for individual accredited investors, particularly alumni networks, by offering diversified portfolios of venture opportunities and allowing members to invest alongside fellow alumni in ventures led by peers. The firm backs early-stage and later-stage opportunities across technology, consumer, healthcare, financial services, and other sectors, with a sector- and geography-agnostic approach. It typically invests between $10,000 and $3 million per deal and emphasizes the involvement of alumni connections and an institutional lead investor in opportunities. Alumni Ventures also offers focused funds to broaden participation, enabling accredited investors to access venture portfolios diversified by type, sector, stage, and geography. The model aims to democratize access to venture capital while maintaining rigorous selection standards through alumni networks.

Founded in 2005, Mercury Fund is a Houston-based venture capital firm with an additional office in Ann Arbor. The firm focuses on early-stage investments in technology-related companies across the United States midcontinent.

ATX Venture Partners is a venture capital firm based in Austin, Texas, founded in 2014. It backs early-stage technology companies in the United States, with a focus on Seed and Series A rounds. The firm targets B2B software, cloud technologies, APIs, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and related areas such as supply chain tech, insurtech, fintech, human resources technology, big data, advanced manufacturing, and marketplaces. It also considers opportunities in adjacent sectors and may participate in investments outside traditional early-stage fund structures. Through its differentiated portfolio approach, ATX Venture Partners supports companies that aim to disrupt industries and scale with software and digital platforms.

Moonshots Capital is a venture capital firm based in Austin, Texas. It makes seed-stage investments in technology startups led by founders who are building products that re-imagine work and personal life in large and growing markets. The firm uses a disciplined investment process to identify companies with moonshot potential. It focuses on dual-use technology, fintech, consumer Internet, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. Moonshots Capital is a registered investment adviser and supports portfolio companies through early growth to scale.

Mercury is a purpose-built early-stage venture capital platform dedicated to supporting transformative software startups in communities across America, particularly in Middle America. The company identifies and partners with exceptional founders, offering both guidance to new entrepreneurs and resources to experienced innovators. With a focus on operationally-driven investment strategies, Mercury has generated over $9 billion in value, facilitating rapid and sustainable growth for its portfolio companies. Through its comprehensive growth partner network, Mercury aims to leverage local assets and talent, fostering entrepreneurship and innovation within the regions it serves.

Green Park & Golf Ventures is a Dallas-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage and seed-stage healthcare technology, life sciences, and related sectors in the United States, with a focus on North Texas. The firm provides strategic guidance, financial backing, and access to a network of professionals to portfolio companies and typically makes initial investments in the low six figures to around $1 million. Founded in 2011, the firm leverages decades of operational and financial experience in healthcare and aims for above-market returns. It operates primarily from Dallas, with an office in Houston, and targets medical devices, therapeutics, healthcare services, manufacturing and related opportunities.

The Houston Angel Network (HAN) is the oldest and most active angel network in Texas, recognized as a leading organization for early-stage investments in the United States. Since its establishment in 2001, HAN members have collectively invested over $61.7 million across 198 deals, with notable activity in 2014 when they invested $15.3 million in 66 deals. The network comprises accredited individual investors who are committed to supporting emerging companies through both capital and mentorship. In addition to individual members, HAN includes institutional members such as seed funds, accelerators, universities, and other entities that contribute to the innovation ecosystem. As a non-profit association, HAN does not impose fees on entrepreneurs, relying instead on membership dues and sponsorships for its revenue.

Founded in 2011, Geekdom is a collaborative startup community based in San Antonio, Texas. It empowers entrepreneurs by providing resources and opportunities to cultivate ideas into viable businesses.

Sputnik ATX is a venture capital firm and startup accelerator based in Austin, Texas, founded in 2017. It combines capital with training and hands-on experience to help early-stage maker-founders grow their ventures. The accelerator runs two cohorts per year, with each participating company receiving 100,000 to 500,000 USD via a SAFE note, alongside mentorship and structured programming. Sputnik ATX supports a broad range of sectors, including fintech, software, consumer products, SaaS, and blockchain, and focuses on early-stage companies across diverse industries. By delivering capital paired with business development resources, Sputnik ATX aims to help startups win and scale within its regional ecosystem.

Founded in 2010 and based in San Francisco, Right Side Capital Management is a venture capital firm focusing on early-stage investments in tech-enabled companies. It specializes in pre-seed rounds, investing in approximately 75-100 startups annually with capital-efficient models located outside major tech hubs. The firm aims to provide a swift investment decision within two weeks.

Founded in 1869, The Goldman Sachs Group provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Its core segments include Investment Banking (financial advisory services and underwriting), Institutional Client Services (client execution services and securities services), Investing & Lending (longer-term loans and investments in various asset classes), and Investment Management (investment products, wealth advisory services).

Founded in 2015, Dundon Capital Partners is a Dallas-based investment firm focused on private equity and credit investments across various industries. The firm partners with experienced management teams to support long-term company objectives.

Founded in 2012, 8VC is a venture capital firm based in Austin, Texas. The firm partners with founders to develop transformational technologies across sectors such as healthcare, logistics, and software.

HPS Investment Partners is a global investment firm focused on non-investment grade credit. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in New York, it operates with offices worldwide. The firm originated as a unit of Highbridge Capital Management, a subsidiary of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and was acquired by its principals in 2016, with J.P. Morgan retaining the hedge fund strategies. HPS manages a broad set of capital-structure strategies, including syndicated leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, privately negotiated senior secured debt, mezzanine financing, asset-based leasing, and private equity, serving clients across industries such as insurance, healthcare, media, retail, logistics, and marine.

Founders Fund is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that backs science and technology companies across multiple stages, from seed to late-stage. It pursues transformative technologies and follows a founder-friendly investment approach that provides substantial support with minimal interference. The firm invests in ventures solving difficult problems across sectors such as aerospace and transportation, artificial intelligence, advanced computing, energy, healthcare, biotechnology, cybersecurity, fintech, consumer internet, software, robotics, and related technology fields. It has backed notable companies early, including SpaceX, Palantir, and Facebook, reflecting a history of partnering with ambitious founders to scale breakthrough technologies.

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Houston, Post Oak Energy Capital is a private equity firm specializing in energy investments across North America. The firm focuses on mid-market acquisitions, growth capital, and recapitalizations within the oil and gas sector.

Moneta Ventures is a California-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in enterprise technology and healthcare companies. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Folsom, the firm typically serves as the first institutional investor in its portfolio and seeks to participate in subsequent rounds through Series B and beyond, delivering value beyond capital through operational support. The team has experience starting and scaling businesses and maintains investment activity across the West Coast and Texas. The firm focuses on software and technology-enabled services in its target sectors and operates as a registered investment adviser.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) leads initiatives in food, agriculture, natural resources, and rural development. It aims to expand markets for agricultural products globally, foster alternative markets domestically, improve rural infrastructure, enhance food safety, promote nutrition education, and manage public lands collaboratively.

Founded in 2018, Ecliptic Capital is a venture capital firm headquartered in Austin, Texas. The firm invests early in disruptive companies across various sectors, including technology, life sciences, and cybersecurity, with a focus on bridging digital and physical worlds in undercapitalized markets.

Founded in 2012, Texas Halo Fund is a venture capital firm headquartered in Houston, Texas. It specializes in investing in early-stage companies across various sectors, focusing on businesses with promising growth prospects and strong management teams.

Texas Capital Bank is a commercial bank headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It provides financial services to businesses and individual clients across the state, including commercial and private banking, wealth management, online and personal banking, treasury and liquidity management, and mortgage financing. The bank serves industries such as real estate, energy, and healthcare, and offers lending, leasing, equipment finance, and asset-based and term loans through its business services division. With a focus on personalized service and streamlined decision-making, the bank aims to support client growth and financial needs for Texas-based companies and their leaders.

Dos Rios Partners is a private equity firm founded in 2013, headquartered in Austin, Texas with an additional office in Dallas. The firm specializes in investing in proven, growing niche businesses across various sectors, focusing on companies based between the Rio Grande and Mississippi rivers. Dos Rios prefers investments of $5 million to $15 million in companies with EBITDA between $3 million and $12 million.

Founded in Austin, Texas in 1999, Superior HealthPlan is a managed healthcare organization dedicated to improving overall health through personalized and affordable care. It serves nearly 2 million Texans, offering nine unique products, including Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, and foster care benefits. With over 3,000 employees, the company provides healthcare programs across all Texas counties.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a leading biomedical research facility in the United States, operating under the Department of Health and Human Services. Established in 1887 and based in Bethesda, Maryland, NIH is the primary agency responsible for biomedical and health-related research in the country. It comprises 27 separate institutes and centers, each focusing on different disciplines within biomedical science. NIH conducts its own scientific research through the Intramural Research Program and provides significant funding for research at external institutions via the Extramural Research Program. With a workforce that includes 1,200 principal investigators and over 4,000 postdoctoral fellows, NIH has been instrumental in major medical breakthroughs, such as the development of vaccines for hepatitis and human papillomavirus, as well as the discovery of treatments for various health conditions. As the world's largest source of medical research funding, NIH continues to advance scientific knowledge and contribute to public health improvements.

The T.D. Jakes Foundation is a workforce training that prepares workers to compete in today's economy through STEM/STEAM education, financial literacy and inclusion,

Quake Capital, established in 2016, is a venture capital firm and startup accelerator with a global presence. It invests in seed-stage ventures across diverse industries, with a focus on consumer-facing technologies leveraging 5G. Quake Capital operates accelerator programs in key tech hubs like Austin, Los Angeles, and New York City, recruiting teams from around the world. It also has a presence in Europe, collaborating with prominent partners such as Deutsche Telekom and RTL in Cologne, Germany. The firm's Los Angeles office, situated in the heart of the city's thriving tech scene, specializes in media and entertainment startups. Quake Capital's unique access to top universities and collegiate entrepreneurs, cultivated over two decades, sets it apart in the venture capital landscape.

Founded in 1988, The Riverside Company is a global private equity firm headquartered in New York. It invests in growing businesses valued up to $400 million across various sectors such as business services, consumer brands, healthcare, software, and manufacturing. Riverside prefers partnering with sellers who wish to remain involved in the company and works collaboratively to drive growth.

Advantage Capital Partners is a venture capital firm that provides growth equity, lending, and mezzanine debt to United States companies at various stages, with a focus on small businesses and underserved communities. It pursues investments in companies that develop or apply proprietary technologies across information technology, telecommunications, business services, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, energy, and related sectors, and considers opportunities in rural agriculture supply chains. The firm offers a mixed debt and equity toolkit, including senior and subordinated debt, mezzanine financing, and government-guaranteed lending, sometimes providing equity to real estate projects; it often co-invests with other investors to support bank lending. Its geographic focus spans multiple states, reflecting a commitment to economic development by backing ventures that create jobs and strengthen local economies. Founded in 1992, the firm is headquartered in New Orleans with additional offices across the United States and has supported thousands of small businesses and development projects.

Founded in 1984, Bain Capital is a global multi-asset alternative investment firm with over $130 billion in assets under management. It operates across private equity, public equity, credit, and venture capital, investing in various sectors including technology, healthcare, consumer, industrials, and financial services.

Arcadius Capital Partners, established in 2014, is a Calgary-based private equity firm with an additional office in Houston. The company specializes in mid-market investments, focusing on the upstream oil and gas sector in the United States and Canada.

The Dallas Foundation is a non-profit organizations industry.

Founded in 1910, CITGO Petroleum Corporation refines, transports, and markets transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, and other industrial products. Its consumer products include gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, and lubricants, while business products comprise gasoline, lubricants and oils, and petrochemicals and solvents.

Pearl Energy Investments is a Dallas, Texas-based private equity firm that focuses on buyouts and small to mid-market investments in the North American energy sector, including upstream, midstream, and oilfield services. Founded in 2015, the firm targets energy companies with typical investment sizes ranging from about $20 million to $150 million per deal, aiming to support growth in upstream operations, midstream infrastructure, and oilfield services.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is a member-owned cooperative that provides credit products and financial services to support housing and economic development in its member institutions across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas. By offering various financial tools, the bank enables its members to deliver essential financial products that fund housing, small businesses, rural development, and agriculture. Additionally, the bank focuses on specialized community investment, along with affordable housing loan and grant programs, aimed at financing community redevelopment and enhancing affordable housing opportunities in the regions it serves.

Headquartered in San Francisco with offices globally, Citi Ventures explores, incubates, and invests in innovative ideas across fintech, data analytics, commerce, security, marketing, property tech, distributed ledger technology, and digital assets. It collaborates with Citi colleagues, clients, and the broader innovation community to drive discovery of new value.