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Texas A&M New Ventures Competition
Chris Scotti chairs the Texas A&M New Ventures Competition, which has deployed over $2.5M in non-dilutive seed capital to A&M spinouts since 2014.
Texas A&M New Ventures Competition
The Texas A&M New Ventures Competition launched in 2014 under the Texas A&M University System and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), with Chris Scotti serving as chair and Samuel Kim as interim chief innovation officer. It was built to bridge the gap between laboratory research and venture-backable companies, drawing exclusively from Texas A&M faculty, students, and affiliated researchers. The competition awards non-dilutive cash prizes, mentorship, and office space to early-stage startups rooted in A&M's intellectual property pipeline. TNVC's strategy targets pre-seed and seed-stage companies across deep technology verticals. Historical finalists include restorative neurostimulation developer PathMaker Neurosystems, water-purification sensor startup Infinite Elements, and drone-based crop analytics platform Paxauris. The competition mandates that participating companies hold a disclosure or license to Texas A&M intellectual property; judges include partners from the Aggie Angel Network and the Houston-based GOOSE Society, while TMC Innovation provides healthcare-specific acceleration for medical-device and life-science winners. Geographically, nearly all funded ventures remain in Texas — concentrated in Bryan/College Station, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth. The prize pool includes cash awards, legal services, and co-working access at Texas A&M's Innovation Plaza. In November 2023, TNVC awarded $400,000 across six finalists, with additional in-kind services from local service providers. The program operates alongside Texas A&M's broader commercialization infrastructure, including the Aggie Angel Network, the Blackstone LaunchPad entrepreneurship center, and the university's Office of Commercialization and Business Ventures, though TNVC remains the only vehicle offering non-dilutive competition-based seed funding with no equity take. TNVC's structural differentiator is its embedded position inside a public-university research engine — it does not raise external LP capital or charge management fees. Instead, it funnels state and donor-allocated commercialization funds into startups that remain tethered to A&M's technology transfer office, effectively acting as a pre-revenue screening mechanism for later-stage regional investors like the GOOSE Society. The arrangement creates a zero-equity, zero-fee entry point for A&M-affiliated founders that has no direct peer among Southeastern Conference universities.
General information
Firm type
Generalist
Year founded
2014
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
College Station
Corporate office
College Station, TX, United States
Principals
Chris Scotti
Chair of the Texas A&M New Ventures Competition and Director of Strategic Partnerships at Texas A&M Innovation
Samuel Kim
Interim Chief Innovation Officer and Managing Director of New Ventures for the Texas A&M University System
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the Texas A&M New Ventures Competition?
Chris Scotti chairs the competition and serves as Director of Strategic Partnerships at Texas A&M Innovation. Samuel Kim, Interim Chief Innovation Officer and Managing Director of New Ventures for the Texas A&M University System, oversees the broader commercialization portfolio. Judging panels are assembled each cycle from the Aggie Angel Network, GOOSE Society members, and outside industry experts — final prize allocations are determined by judge scoring, not unilateral investment committee discretion.
Does TNVC take equity in participating startups?
No. The Texas A&M New Ventures Competition awards non-dilutive cash prizes. Winning teams retain full equity ownership. The program is funded through university commercialization budgets and donor contributions, and operates as a competition, not as an investment fund. This distinguishes it from university-affiliated seed funds that take warrants or equity stakes.
What investment stages does TNVC typically target?
TNVC targets pre-seed and seed-stage companies with disclosed or licensed Texas A&M intellectual property. Most participating teams are at prototype or proof-of-concept stage, with limited or no outside venture capital raised. The competition is designed as a first-check mechanism before startups pursue angel or institutional venture rounds.
How does TNVC source its deal flow?
All deal flow is internal to the Texas A&M University System. Applicants must be A&M faculty, staff, students, or affiliated researchers with a disclosure or license to A&M intellectual property. The competition publicizes open calls through university channels, TEES, and the Office of Commercialization and Business Ventures, but does not accept unsolicited applications from outside the A&M ecosystem.
How is TNVC related to the Aggie Angel Network and GOOSE Society?
The Aggie Angel Network and GOOSE Society are co-investment partners that provide judges and may offer follow-on angel funding to competition winners. They operate independently from TNVC — the competition does not obligate winners to accept funding from either group, though many finalists pursue that path. GOOSE Society members have served as TNVC judges since at least 2018.
Does TNVC participate in fund commitments or only direct prizes?
TNVC does not commit to external venture funds. It operates solely as a competition-based prize mechanism that disburses non-dilutive cash and in-kind services directly to startups. The program does not hold LP interests, manage pooled capital, or pursue co-investment strategies alongside GPs.
Which sectors does TNVC explicitly support?
TNVC is sector-agnostic among science and engineering disciplines but requires a connection to Texas A&M intellectual property. Historically, finalists have clustered in life sciences, medical devices, AI/ML, industrial technology, energy, and agricultural tech. Consumer internet and pure software-as-a-service startups are rare unless built on A&M-owned machine-learning or data-science IP.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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