As many tech companies and billionaires have migrated to Texas, Houston has seen a boom in venture capital investment activity (though not as much as Austin). Several notable startups and unicorns were founded in Houston, such as Sysco, High Radius, , and Axiom Space. There are 11 active venture capital funds headquartered in Houston. Texas as a whole has experienced 20.1% annual growth in VC investment, with around $760.55 million invested in Houston in the first six months of 2024.
As part of our going series of free fundraising resources and investor lists for founders, this article explores the top 15 active VC firms and investors based in Houston, including details regarding their fund size and history:
1. Mercury
With over $500 million under management and $8 billion of value creation since inception, Mercury focuses on entrepreneurs and startups across Middle America. Our investment themes target SaaS, cloud, and data platforms enabling the digital transformation of markets, industries, and customer relationships.
- Founded: 2013
- Fund Size: $200M
- Website: mercuryfund.com
2. Chevron Technology Ventures
Chevron Technology Ventures champions innovation, commercialization and integration of emerging technologies within Chevron. Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) helps Chevron embrace emerging technologies to create new commercial opportunities, reduce costs and improve performance. CTV serves as one of the company’s most important technology scouts, always searching for emerging technologies that could enhance Chevron’s strategies. CTV identifies, acquires, tests, validates, and, if appropriate, helps integrate those technologies into the company’s core businesses. Alternatively, technologies may be studied then shelved for future consideration.
- Founded: 1999
- Fund Size: $180M
- Website: chevron.com
3. Texas HALO Fund
Texas HALO Fund is an investment company that specializes in investing in early-stage businesses with promising growth prospects and exceptional management teams. Its investment approach identifies compelling businesses from multiple sources and without regard to the industry or geographic location. Quite simply, it seeks the best opportunities, locally, regionally, and nationally, in order to generate the highest returns for the investors with the lowest possible risk. The firm was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
- Founded: 2012
- Fund Size: $437K
- Website: texashalofund.com
4. Cathexis Ventures
Cathexis Ventures is the venture arm of Cathexis Holdings, a single family office based in Houston Texas. Minimum check size $100k, max $10M for seed stage companies. Typically $250k checks.
- Founded:
- Website: cathexis.ventures
5. Scotia Capital
Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas with diversified operations serving high quality growth markets. The Bank provides a broad range of banking services including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, and capital markets. The Bank has competitive scale in its core markets in the Americas which drives growth.
- Founded: 1999
- Website: gbm.scotiabank.com
6. Fitz Gate Ventures
Fitz Gate Ventures is a seed and pre-seed venture capital fund that invests a majority of its capital in companies from the Princeton ecosystem. A portion of its capital is available to be invested more broadly. Initial checks of $500K, reserving for follow-ons. $25 million under management
- Founded: 2016
- Fund Size: $25M
- Website: fitzgate.com
7. Seed Round Capital
Seed Round Capital helps startup founders fund and scale their businesses with management guidance from seasoned entrepreneurs. In addition, founders receive training on proven business methods specially formulated by Seed Round Capital, and access to funding. Whereas most accelerator programs guide startups for about 12 to 18 weeks, our firm is committed to a long-term approach, where we provide guidance for up to 18 months. This longer mentorship ensures a greater chance of success for startups. Once startups are selected by Seed Round Capital, they receive mentoring from an experienced entrepreneur, startup business training, and funding opportunities with Seed Round Capital’s network of investors. With the breadth of our entrepreneurial experience and selective vetting process.
- Founded: 2020
- Website: seedroundcapital.com
8. The Artemis Fund
The Artemis Fund invests in female-founded, tech-enabled companies that help people build wealth and allow people to care for their families and communities in a more sustainable way.
- Founded: 2019
- Website: theartemisfund.com
9. GOOSE Capital
GOOSE is an investment firm comprised of Fortune 500 executives, successful entrepreneurs, industry titans, and global super-connectors investing in deep tech and tough tech startups. GOOSE Capital invests around $10 million per year across a variety of industries, but with a focus on breakthrough, proprietary technologies.
- Founded: 2005
- Website: goose.capital
10. Quantum Energy Partners
Quantum works with entrepreneurs to build companies that provide the sustainable energy the modern world needs. Through hands-on support from our team of cross-disciplinary experts, we help our partners enhance operational performance and accelerate progress so they can win in the fast-evolving Sustainable Energy Ecosystem. Solving the world’s biggest energy challenges will require new ways of thinking. Quantum’s deep experience investing across the entire Sustainable Energy Ecosystem sets us apart. We invest strategically to help ensure a sustainable energy future using private equity, credit & structured capital, and venture capital to keep advancing today’s energy for tomorrow’s world.
- Founded: 1998
- Fund Size: $13B
- Website: quantumep.com
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