After 42 pitches and more than 300 meetings, investors and energy corporations have selected the eight “Most Promising Companies” at the 2023 Rice Alliance Energy Venture Day.
The yearly event hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, which took place March 7 at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, brings together new energy companies with venture capitalists, corporate innovation groups, industry leaders, academics and service providers.
The 53 energy ventures participating in this year’s event come from across the country and have already raised a combined total of $257 million in funding. Prior to the companies pitching their businesses and technologies in front of attendees, they were matched with investors for one-on-one meetings.
The eight “most promising” are:
Peter Rodriguez, the Houston Endowment Dean of the Jones Graduate School of Business and the Virani Undergraduate School of Business at Rice University, has been named the 2025 Poets&Quants Dean of the Year, a national honor recognizing visionary leadership and outstanding contributions to business education.
In less than a decade, Rodriguez has transformed Rice Business in nearly every dimension. Beyond creating a thriving undergraduate offering, he has overseen a 192% increase in student enrollment. The growth stems from a doubling of MBA students and the launch of an online MBA—the university’s first online degree—along with a hybrid MBA option.
Rice University professor Mikki Hebl says job seekers’ willingness to accept lower pay and roles reflects a softer labor market and shifting values toward flexibility, balance, and meaningful work.
