The Ion has partnered with Austin-based MediaTech Ventures to create a new incubator program.
The new 12-week program, MediaTech at the Ion, targets early-stage media technology startups. Applications are open until Jan. 10, and 15 startups will be selected for the program.
MediaTech at the Ion will begin in January, and participants will meet once a week. The program will progress through the stages of building a business, including testing product viability, developing a business model and fundraising.
“Modern media has to continually evolve and adapt to new market channels, and with each platform comes the opportunity for innovation to leverage what is possible. It’s why Houston continues to build its market and resources for media technology entrepreneurs and startups looking to make an impact in this constantly evolving space,” said Jan Odegard, executive director at the Ion.
The program will follow several Ion initiatives launched in 2022 to expand its offerings to entrepreneurs, including the makerspace Ion Prototyping Lab, which opened in June, and a technology transfer center through a partnership with NASA that will run through 2023.
The Ion’s entrepreneur network and collaborative spaces are some of the reasons that MediaTech established the new partnership, according to Josh Sutton, MediaTech’s Houston program manager.
“Our goal is to not only tap into the Ion’s valuable innovation ecosystem both within its four walls and beyond it, but to catalyze the development of media technologies and offer more resources for entrepreneurs looking to advance modern media,” Sutton said.
MediaTech Ventures was founded by Austin entrepreneur Paul O’Brien in 2016 to launch media startups. Startups passing through the company’s programs have raised over $10 million in funds. In October 2021, MediaTech Ventures and Houston incubator The Cannon announced a partnership targeting sports media in Houston.
The Ion, located at 4201 Main St. in a renovated Sears building, opened its doors in 2021. The incubator anchors a 16-acre innovation district owned by Rice Management Co. that also includes the climate-focused incubator Greentown Labs.
