LUBBOCK, Texas (NEWS RELEASE) – The following is a news release from Texas Tech University:

A Texas Tech University Innovation Hub at Research Park program is giving a big boost to local startups on the launch pad toward success. Seven developing business ventures have just been selected to participate in the TTU Accelerator while five others are graduating from the one-year program.

The Innovation Hub will host graduation presentations for the 2018-19 TTU Accelerator companies and a ribbon cutting ceremony for the program’s 2019-20 companies on Wednesday (June 12). Graduation presentations will be from 3-4 p.m. The graduating cohort of startup founders will share lessons they learned through TTU Accelerator and offer advice for the companies beginning the program.

At 4 p.m., Mayor Dan Pope and Texas Tech leaders will participate in the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the program’s new cohort of companies. Entrepreneurs involved with those startups also will present their business pitches and innovations.

The TTU Accelerator is designed to help faculty, students and other entrepreneurs in the region launch startup companies or discover licensing opportunities based on inventions and university technology.

Participation in the TTU Accelerator is based on a competitive application process. Each team of entrepreneurs receives a $25,000 seed grant. Startups will learn the Lean Launch program, have access to a dedicated team of iTTU Mentors and one year of collaborative workspace in the Texas Tech Innovation Hub’s Base Camp. The program is made possible with the generous support of the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance.

The public and media are invited to attend the event to hear about the companies and see their inventions. Tours of the Innovation Hub also will be available, and refreshments will be provided.

You can RSVP to the event by sending an email to innovationhub@ttu.edu or contacting Taysha Williams, program director of the Innovation Hub, at taysha.williams@ttu.edu or calling (806) 834-2134.

2018-19 TTU Accelerator Graduating Class

  • Hangio: Offers wardrobe solutions to optimize the everyday closet experience through cool, flexible, all-in-one hangers that revolutionize the way clothes are stored. 
  • Lightning Import: A new software technology tool to create efficiencies in importing product data & inventory.
  • Nemalife: A platform technology for high throughput drug discovery and toxicology in small animals.
  • iNoon: A novel diagnostics method of detecting eye diseases using a smartphone.
  • Baonano: Technology that will significantly downscale the power circuit profile and enhance the lifetime and functionality of electronic devices.

2019-20 TTU Accelerator Class

  • Envirostatus: Passive sampling and services for environmental monitoring.
  • Genisys Global: Helping livestock veterinarians and embryologists increase food sustainability by maximizing the benefits of assisted reproductive technologies in cattle.  
  • InOut Biome: A non-invasive, non-digestible capsule that can directly sample the fluid in the digestive tract.
  • Little Luminary: High-quality, organic onesies with fashionable, screen-printed designs on the front identifying baby’s monthly age and growth.
  • Performance Engineering: Provides an established legacy line of automotive styling accessories along with a new line of custom-off parts and accessories for the discriminating automotive enthusiast.
  • PomBox: A timed smartphone lockbox that allows users to physically remove their devices.
  • VxMed: Technology that transforms medical education from textbook and lecture learning into an interactive virtual reality gaming experience.

(News release from Texas Tech University)