Fannin Innovation Studio

Fannin Innovation Studio (FIS) is a seed accelerator firm focused on developing medical technologies developed in Houston's Texas Medical Center and NASA's Johnson Space Center. The firm, which is based in Houston, Texas, was founded in 2005 as AlphaDev, LLC. In 2014, the firm announced the change of name to Fannin Innovation Studio.

Business model

FIS's business model is a Life Sciences Studio. This is a hybrid of traditional venture capital, business incubator and seed accelerator with some unique elements. Like seed-stage venture capital firms, FIS screens and invests in technologies coming from research laboratories. Similar to business incubators, FIS provides office accommodations and back-office support. FIS funds development of its portfolio companies with a heavy focus on non- or lightly-dilutive funding, such as grant support from governmental and philanthropic sources and also accesses angel investor networks and other sources of funding when appropriate.

Portfolio companies

Current portfolio companies include Acelerox, Apaxis, BreviTest, New Heart, Procyrion and Pulmotect

Leadership

Leo Linbeck III is the chairman of Fannin Innovation Studios.

Associate program

FIS has an ACTIVE associate program which attracts interns from the Texas Medical Center, including institutions such as the University of Houston, the MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Baylor College of Medicine, , the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and Texas A&M University. In an interview with the Houston Business Journal, John Osborne, one of the managing partners of Fanning Innovation, accepted m said that he recruits young Ph.D. candidates from the life sciences and provides them with entrepreneurial training so that they can then act as bridge leadership of a startup.