By: Ashlynn Rutherford
Texas A&M Innovation shared the spotlight with recent spinout, Humanate during the Brazos Valley Council of Governments (BVCOG) meeting to share how the university’s expanding innovation ecosystem is not just transforming research into impact but also laying the groundwork for shared regional growth.
Chris Scotti, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Texas A&M Innovation, led the presentation, highlighting how the office is positioning Bryan-College Station as a hub for emerging technologies, startups, and community-focused innovation.
“The core message I want to share is that Texas A&M Innovation is actively helping to convert research into real-world impact, including new companies, jobs, and investment, and much of that activity is happening right here in the Brazos Valley,” Scotti said. “Two of our highlighted programs, the Texas A&M New Ventures Competition (TNVC) and Plug & Play Texas Triangle, play a major role in this effort by attracting and accelerating high-growth startups statewide and connecting them with corporate and investor networks.”
The presentation emphasized the importance of collaboration between The Texas A&M University System and local leaders to ensure that as Texas A&M’s entrepreneurial ecosystem grows, Brazos County supports and benefits from it. The Innovation team illustrated how local investment in entrepreneurship not only drives economic development but creates a magnet for talent and opportunity.
A key example was the inclusion of Mark Benden, research faculty and co-founder of Humanate, who shared his company’s journey from research concepts to real-world impact. His story demonstrated what is possible when early-stage innovation is supported within the region.
“Humanate is a great example of the entire commercialization pipeline working as intended. It’s a Texas A&M spinout that competed in TNVC, won significant support, and is now growing its team and customer base from headquarters in the Brazos Valley. Featuring Humanate helped make the story of innovation tangible, not just statistics, but a real company creating real impact here locally,” said Scotti. “Humanate’s continued growth is also a signal to future contemplated spinouts and the research teams behind them that this region is a serious destination for innovation, where early success can translate into real traction and long-term local growth.”
Texas A&M Innovation’s approach is centered around nurturing startups, empowering faculty inventors, and connecting local resources to national markets all while keeping Bryan-College Station at the heart of it. “Texas A&M Innovation is focused on helping ensure that discoveries made in our research labs become the foundation of new companies, new products, and regional growth. We view Bryan-College Station as a launchpad for startups not just a research hub, but a place where companies can grow, hire locally, and stay rooted,” said Scotti. The takeaway? Innovation isn’t just something happening in big cities or far-off tech hubs. It’s happening here on the ground in Aggieland and it’s growing faster with every new partnership formed.
About Texas A&M Innovation
Texas A&M Innovation serves as the commercialization and innovation gateway for The Texas A&M University System, connecting world-class research with industry partners to accelerate technology deployment and societal impact. https://innovation.tamus.edu/
About Humanate
Humanate Digital LLC is a digital health company based in College Station, Texas. The company was founded by Texas A&M University Aggies and faculty with expertise in healthcare operations, informatics and ergonomics. The company has developed a Clinical Concierge Avatar (Cassandra) using the technology of Artificial Intelligence (AI). https://humanatedigital.com/about-us/
About Brazos Valley Council of Governments
The BVCOG serves more than 379,255 citizens and covers an area of 5,109 square miles. This area, known and referred to as the Brazos Valley Region consists of seven counties, which are Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson and Washington. It is our mission to benefit the citizens of the Brazos Valley Region by serving as the vehicle for their local governments to cooperatively identify needs, develop responses, implement solutions, eliminate duplication and promote the efficient and accountable use of public resources, and to improve quality of life. https://www.bvcog.org/
