Three Pittsburgh-based startups are in Houston to compete in a multi-day challenge that describes itself as "the world’s largest and richest intercollegiate student startup competition."
Taking place from May 11-13, the 2023 Rice Business Plan Competition, hosted by Rice University's Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, looks to offer collegiate entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their businesses, improve their go-to-market strategies and obtain the necessary knowledge and resources to bring their businesses to market.
The Rice Business Plan Competition is now in its 23rd year, which will see 42 teams from around the world compete for more than $2 million worth of cash and prizes.
Three of these 42 startups helm from Pittsburgh:
- Astria Biosciences, a startup led by students at the University of Pittsburgh, is working to develop diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for cerebrovascular disease, which can include various types of medical conditions that affect the brain's blood vessels and cerebral circulation.
- Edulis Therapeutics, makers behind a localized drug delivery system for Crohn's disease.
- Magnify Biosciences Inc., which is looking to bring low-cost nanoscale imaging tools to scientists and researchers. Both Magnify and Edulis are led by students at Carnegie Mellon University.
Back in 2017, stroke-detecting wearable device startup Forest Devices Inc., led by CMU students, brought home the first-place prize in the competition.
