AUSTIN, April 29, 2025: The Texas Venture Gala & Forum, is a second annual statewide high-powered and high-end gathering for the Texas investor & entrepreneur community, presented in partnership with the Texas Association of Business (the Texas State Chamber of Commerce). Today we announced the speaker keynotes and highlights for the event taking place May 28th and 29th, 2025 at the W Austin downtown, a newly renovated and impressively sophisticated hotel. These two big days will welcome: venture capital firms, allocators, emerging managers, incubators, accelerators, angel networks, universities, family offices, successful CEOs, and chamber of commerce and economic development corporations with funds.

This one-of-a-kind experience convenes hundreds of Texans who are part of the ecosystem of entrepreneur support, from already nearly 20 different cities from around the state. Topics presented are: Texas & Texas-Sized Innovation; TX Investors (Angels, Venture Capitalists, & Growth Equity), Global & Local Family Office / High Net Worth Trends, Accelerators, Incubators & Studios; Texas’ University Innovation; Dual Use for VCs 101, Future of Startup Investing; TXHQ: Texas Reincorporations; Texas Venture Showcase, US & Texas Venture Legislation, Next-Level Community Building & Ecosystems, and more.

A Special Pre-Event Welcome: The Wednesday evening (28th) before the Texas Venture Gala & Forum (29th), guests arriving early may join an exclusive "Texas Capitol & Capital, Private Tour" where 3 private guides will show our group inside the most historic and powerful building in the state, the Texas State Capitol. This is a never-before offered experience to our statewide community thanks to our partners, USLege. Following the tour, the Texas Economic Development Corporation will help to host with Texas Association of Business on their rooftop, a reception to welcome our group with a special message from both CEOs.

Texas Venture Forum Breakfast Keynote the following morning features the Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Executive Director, Adriana Cruz, returning from kicking off the inaugural experience last year. The Texas Venture Forum Lunchtime Keynote features Presidential Cabinet Member & US Administrator of the Small Business Administration, Kelly Loeffler. The Texas Venture Gala Dinner Headline Keynote features the United States Senator & Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Technology, Ted Cruz interviewed by the Texas Association of Business (the Texas State Chamber of Commerce) President & CEO; and Texas Venture Alliance Chairman, Glenn Hamer. To help kickoff the Gala, Texas State Representative & Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee Vice Chair, Salman Bhojani will present a Texas Venture Gala Special Message, followed by the Texas Crystal Boot Awards & Texan’s Choice Awards, presented by Alvie's Boots, where we’ll recognize Texans taking big steps honoring the: Texas Investor of the Year, Texas Innovator of the Year, Texas Legislator of the Year, and Texas Venture Fest of the Year.

Presenting a lineup of keynotes and highlighted speakers driving innovation at the national, state, and local levels:

• Presidential Cabinet Member & U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator, Kelly Loeffler

• U.S. Senator, & U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Technology Chairman, Ted Cruz

• Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott; Texas Economic Development & Tourism Executive Director, Adriana Cruz

• Texas State Representative & Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee Vice Chair, Salman Bhojani

• Texas Economic Development Corporation, President & CEO, Aaron Demerson

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce EVP & Chief Policy Officer, Neil Bradley

• Texas Association of Business (the Texas State Chamber of Commerce) President & CEO, Glenn Hamer

• Former Mayor of Austin & Commonweal Ventures Senior Advisor, Steve Adler

• Former Silicon Labs CEO, & Circuit CEO, Tyson Tuttle

• Deep Eddy Vodka, Sweet Leaf Tea, Waterloo Sparkling Water & Asto Consumer Partners Founder, Clayton Christopher

• High Net Worth & Family Office Global Conferences, by DC Finance CEO, Denny Chared

• Booz Allen Ventures Managing Director, Travis Bales

• Moneta Ventures Cofounder & Partner, Aasim Hasan

• SpaceFund Cofounder & Partner, Meagan Murphy Crawford

• Tiger21 Austin Chapter Chair, & Sage Partners Principal, Michele Skelding

• EarthxCapital Senior Director; Family Office Managing Director; American Resilience Partners CEO, Vikram Agrawal

• Ionic Partners Partner, Tanner Cerand

• UT Dallas Senior Advisor of Venture Development, Steve Guengerich

• Austin Technology Council CEO, Thom Singer

• Arizona Chamber of Commerce President & CEO, Danny Seiden

• Memphis Chamber of Commerce President & CEO, Ted Townsend

• Full speaker lineup here.

This event was co-created by the community via the following sponsors: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Texas Economic Development Corporation, Texas Association of Business, Carta, Baker Botts, Wells Fargo, Eisner Amper, Eagle Venture Labs, Pro Forma, US Lege, FinStrat Management, O’Melveny, Polsinelli, Populous Financial Group, International Accelerator, IA Ventures, Geek Ventures, and Alvies Boots. Community & Media Partners include: Silverton Partners, LiveOak Ventures, Moneta Ventures, Next Coast Ventures, S3 Ventures, Bayou City Startups, FIESTA (Founders, Investors, Entrepreneurs, Startups, Techies & Austin Newcomers), Foundation Familia, DallasMeetup, Toronto Stock Exchange, Founder Institute Texas, KerrEDC, Pflugerville Development Corporation, Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation, Round Rock Chamber, BudaEDC, Pioneers 21, Latinx Startup Alliance, The Founders Arena, Red Fridge Society, Demo Day, US Lege, Per Aspera Newsletter, and the Austin Tech Connect Podcast by the Austin Technology Council. For more information on the event including available founding sponsorship opportunities please inquire using the contact information below.

Last year’s inaugural Texas Venture Gala & Forum convened more than 300 Texans across the state innovation ecosystem and recognized excellence spotlighting: the highly revered Texas State Representative Giovanni Capriglione as “Texas Legislator of the Year”; Texas’ newest and fastest-growing unicorn startup Cart.com as “Texas Innovator of the Year”; GOOSE Capital Chairman David Gow who shaped the Houston innovation ecosystem as “Texas Investor of the Year”, and San Antonio’s Tech Bloc CEO Ileana Gonzalez for “Texas Venture Fest of the Year”. The event culminated with our Texas Venture Gala Keynote, the longest-tenured NASA Administrator, the Honorable Daniel S. Goldin; interviewed by America’s Frontier Fund Founder & COO, Jordan Blashek. View last year’s press release here.

U.S. Senator, & U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Technology Chairman, Ted Cruz: “There’s no better place in the country to build and grow a business than Texas. I’m honored to be invited to speak at the Texas Venture Gala & Forum. I look forward to celebrating the hard work of Texas entrepreneurs and continuing the conversation on how we can ensure Texas remains the innovation powerhouse that it is.”

Texas State Representative & Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee Vice Chair, Salman Bhojani:“I’m thrilled to join fellow entrepreneurs and executives at the Texas Venture Gala & Forum to discuss how we can keep Texas business friendly and the economy growing. It’s an honor to be included among so many innovators and thought leaders at this one-of-a-kind gathering of our state’s most influential champions of business.”

Texas Association of Business (the Texas State Chamber of Commerce) President & CEO; Texas Venture Alliance Chairman, Glenn Hamer: “I’m honored to chair the Texas Venture Alliance, which established the state’s largest innovation network. TAB partnered to co-host this year’s Texas Venture Gala & Forum to welcome the distinguished speakers and honorees all under one roof, and the entire experience will further elevate the Lone Star State’s competitiveness.”

Texas Venture Alliance Executive Director, CS Freeland said: "After hosting the largest venture-focused networking event in the state, Texas Venture Fest, simultaneously in 15 cities, 19 venues, 40+ venture panelists, and with 3,000+ Texans—we’re excited to co-create a great convening for the fast-growing statewide innovation network at the Texas Venture Gala & Forum. The experience has also attracted out-of-state and out-of-country interest as well, so we’re excited to give a Texas-sized welcome to our friends and neighbors. This one big day shows off cohesion between investors, startup development organizations, universities, economic development, cities, and more, bolstering the ecosystem of entrepreneur support."

ABOUT THE TEXAS VENTURE GALA & FORUM

The Texas Venture Gala & Forum is a signature experience, and part of a suite of events & resources provided by the Texas Venture Alliance amplifying the ecosystem of entrepreneur support. Featured in the Texas State Governor Greg Abbott’s five year economic development plan,“Bigger. Better. Texas.” here, Texas Venture Alliance is the largest network and only statewide association for innovation. The sister signature event to the Texas Venture Gala & Forum is the Texas Venture Fest, the biggest venture-focused experience in the state hosted simultaneously in 15+ cities, 20+ venues, and for 3,000+ Texans across the state. For more information about the Texas Venture Gala & Forum, please visit texasventuregala.com. 

CONTACT

www.texasventuregala.com/contact