Top Texas Biotech VC Firms
Texas is home to more than 6,100 biotech and life sciences firms and ranks third in the country for total biotech-related establishments. In the last five years the state has added more than 700 new biotech-related establishments and nearly 9,500 new jobs in the sector, anchored by three major clusters: Houston, Austin, and Dallas-Fort Worth.
The top Texas biotech and life sciences VC firms right now are Sante Ventures, S3 Ventures, PTV Healthcare Capital, the Texas Medical Center Venture Fund, and Portal Innovations. Between them they cover early-stage biotech and medtech (Sante Ventures, TMC Venture Fund, Portal Innovations), healthcare technology and medical devices (S3 Ventures), and late and expansion-stage life sciences (PTV Healthcare Capital), across Austin and Houston, the state's two biggest biotech hubs.
Texas is also home to a broader pool of angel investors worth knowing if you are raising a smaller round before you are ready for institutional VC.
The Top 5 VC Firms in Texas That Fund Biotech and Life Sciences Startups
VC Firm | Focused Sectors | Funding Stages | Notable Investments | Location | Fund Size / Check Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Biotechnology, Medical Technology, Digitally-Enabled Healthcare | Early Stage | Farapulse (acquired by Boston Scientific), TVA Medical (acquired by Becton Dickinson) | Austin | $330M Fund V (2026); $1B+ under management | |
Business Software, Healthcare Technology, Medical Devices | Seed through Series B | Alkami Technology, Interplay Learning | Austin | $250M Fund VIII; typically $100K to $5M, up to $20M+ over a company's life | |
Life Sciences, Healthcare, Medical Devices | Late and Expansion Stage | Apollo Endosurgery, Intersect ENT, Idev Technologies | Austin | 47 investments to date | |
Biotech, Medtech, Digital Health | Early Stage | CrossBridge Bio (acquired by Eli Lilly for $300M) | Houston | $50M fund; 16 portfolio companies | |
Biotech, Medtech, Bioinformatics | Seed to Series A | ARase, Cardiosense | Chicago-headquartered, with a Houston lab and office at TMC Helix Park | $100M life sciences fund (closed 2025) |
Sante Ventures
- Website: Sante Ventures
- Focused Sectors: Biotechnology, Medical Technology, Digitally-Enabled Healthcare
- Funding Stages: Early Stage
- Present in: Austin, Texas (also Boston, MA)
- Notable Investments: Farapulse (acquired by Boston Scientific), TVA Medical (acquired by Becton Dickinson), Molecular Templates
- Total Investments: Five funds since founding, $1B+ under management
Sante Ventures was founded in 2006 and is one of the most active dedicated biotech and life sciences investors headquartered in Texas. In February 2026, the firm closed its fifth and largest fund at $330 million, exceeding its original $300 million target, bringing total capital under management to more than $1 billion.
The firm invests early, backing companies developing new biotechnology, medical technology, and digitally-enabled healthcare services, and it has a track record of exits to large strategics including Boston Scientific, Becton Dickinson, Bristol Myers Squibb, and IBM.
If your startup falls under biotechnology or life sciences and you are still building your target list, Sante Ventures is one of the few Texas-based funds that specializes exclusively in this space.
S3 Ventures
- Website: S3 Ventures
- Focused Sectors: Business Software, Healthcare Technology, Medical Devices, AI
- Funding Stages: Seed, Series A, and Series B
- Present in: Austin, Texas (invests nationally)
- Notable Investments: Alkami Technology, Interplay Learning
- Total Investments: 75+ startups since founding
S3 Ventures was founded in 2005 by Brian R. Smith and is one of the largest and longest-running venture capital firms in Texas. In December 2025, on its twentieth anniversary, the firm announced its eighth fund at $250 million, taking total assets under management past $1 billion.
S3 is not a pure biotech investor. Business software is its largest focus area, but healthcare technology and medical devices are a consistent second pillar of the portfolio, which is why it belongs on a Texas life sciences list alongside more specialized firms. The firm typically writes initial checks between $100,000 and $5 million, with the ability to invest up to $20 million or more in a company over time.
Since its founding, S3 Ventures has backed more than 75 startups that have collectively raised over $3.5 billion.
PTV Healthcare Capital
- Website: PTV Healthcare Capital
- Focused Sectors: Life Sciences, Healthcare, Medical Devices, Diagnostics
- Funding Stages: Late and Expansion Stage
- Present in: Austin, Texas (invests across the U.S.)
- Notable Investments: Apollo Endosurgery, Intersect ENT, Idev Technologies
- Total Investments: 47
Founded in 2003, PTV Healthcare Capital is a late and expansion-stage investor focused specifically on healthcare and life sciences companies with comparatively low technical, regulatory, and financial risk. It targets businesses that are already de-risked but need capital to scale commercially.
The firm has made 47 investments to date and has seen more than 20 exits, including acquisitions by strategic healthcare buyers. Because PTV invests later than most of the firms on this list, it is a good fit for Texas founders who already have commercial traction and are past the earliest, riskiest stage of biotech development.
Texas Medical Center Venture Fund
- Website: Texas Medical Center Venture Fund
- Focused Sectors: Biotech, Medtech, Digital Health, Therapeutics
- Funding Stages: Early Stage
- Present in: Houston, Texas
- Notable Investments: CrossBridge Bio, acquired by Eli Lilly for $300 million in April 2026
- Total Investments: 16 portfolio companies
The TMC Venture Fund is the venture arm of the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical complex and the anchor of Houston's life sciences ecosystem. Launched in 2017 with $25 million and doubled to $50 million in 2022, the fund invests in early-stage companies that can leverage TMC's network of hospitals, research institutions, and the CPRIT-funded Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics.
Its most notable recent result is CrossBridge Bio, an oncology company that spun out of TMC's accelerator program and was acquired by Eli Lilly for $300 million in April 2026, just two years after the company was founded. For Houston-based biotech founders in particular, a link to TMC's ecosystem is often the fastest way to get in front of this fund.
Portal Innovations
- Website: Portal Innovations
- Focused Sectors: Biotech, Medtech, Bioinformatics, Diagnostics
- Funding Stages: Seed to Series A
- Present in: Chicago (HQ), with lab and office space in Houston at TMC's Helix Park
- Notable Investments: ARase, Cardiosense
- Total Investments: 34 investments (national portfolio)
Portal Innovations is a life sciences venture firm founded in 2020 that pairs seed and Series A capital with fully equipped wet and dry lab space for early-stage biotech and medtech founders. The firm expanded into Houston in 2023, taking 30,000 square feet inside TMC's Helix Park campus, specifically to tap into the pipeline of university spinouts coming out of Rice University, UTHealth Houston, Texas A&M, and Baylor College of Medicine.
In 2025 Portal closed a $100 million fund to continue backing early-stage life sciences companies developing therapeutics, diagnostics, and medical devices. It is headquartered outside Texas, but its Houston site makes it a genuine option for Texas-based biotech founders who need lab space as much as capital.
Wrap-Up
Texas is a genuine biotech hub, anchored by Houston's Texas Medical Center and a growing life sciences cluster in Austin, but the pool of investors who specialize in biotech and life sciences specifically is smaller and more concentrated than the pool of general Texas tech VCs. Start with the firms on this list, then widen your search using AngelMatch's invetor directory tool to find additional investors by stage, market, and location as your round comes together.
FAQ: Raising Biotech Funding in Texas
How much do Texas biotech VC firms typically invest?
It varies by stage. Early-stage specialists like Sante Ventures and the TMC Venture Fund typically write smaller initial checks and reserve capital for follow-on rounds, while later-stage investors like PTV Healthcare Capital write larger checks into companies that already have commercial traction. S3 Ventures spans both ends, from roughly $100,000 up to $20 million or more over a company's life.
Is Austin or Houston better for biotech fundraising in Texas?
They serve different needs. Houston, through the Texas Medical Center, has the deeper concentration of biotech-specific capital, lab space, and clinical partnerships. Austin has more general-purpose venture capital and a strong healthcare technology and medical device investor base. Many Texas biotech founders end up raising from both cities.
Do Texas biotech investors only fund therapeutics companies?
No. The firms on this list also fund medical devices, diagnostics, digital health, and healthcare technology, not just drug discovery and therapeutics. Some investors that describe themselves as "healthcare" investors intentionally avoid early-stage, pre-revenue biotech because of its regulatory and clinical trial risk, so it is worth confirming a firm's actual investment criteria before you pitch.
How do I get introduced to a Texas biotech VC firm?
Warm introductions from other founders, university tech transfer offices, or accelerator programs like TMC's Accelerator for Health Tech tend to work better than cold outreach for biotech specifically, since these firms rely heavily on scientific and clinical diligence. A well-targeted cold email can still work if it clearly states your stage, data, and funding ask.
