AUSTIN, TEXAS, JUNE 1, 2026:‍ ‍The Texas Venture Gala & Forum hosted the third annual meeting of the Texas investor & startup community on May 26th and 27th, 2025 at the Texas State Capitol and The Headliners Club in downtown Austin. These two big days welcomed Texas’s innovation ecosystem such as: venture capital firms, allocators, emerging managers, incubators, accelerators, angel networks, universities, family offices, chambers of commerce & economic development corporations, successful startup CEOs, and industry partners.

This unprecedented convening brought together hundreds of Texans from nearly 20 cities across the state, reflecting the growing reach and connectivity of Texas’ startup and investment communities. Topics presented were: State of Texas Startups & Venture; The Texas Capital Frontier: Our State’s Rising Power Players; Texas Innovation Super Connectors & Communities; Texas Universities; Emerging Texas Cities; A History & Future of Texas Government: Texas Legislature’s Innovation & Technology Caucus; Investor Networks Across America; Federal & State Resources: U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Small Business Innovation Research, & Texas Space Alliance Tech Outreach Program'; a Special Keynote From Mayor of Arlington; International Investors & Texas-Based International Investors; ending with the tradition of “A Toast to Texas Entrepreneurs” with Texas Venture Gala & Forum Curator, CS Freeland.

As a first for this year, we included bonus experiences such as a partnership with Reuneo to provide a tech-assisted speed networking session that wrapped up the Welcome Event at the Capitol. To close out the event, guests also attended a Defense Tech Happy Hour with Q-Branch at their spectacular office space, featuring unmatched views of the city in the evening. The morning after the event, we also partnered with Pitch and Run Austin to host an investor & innovator walk/run gathering that kicked off at Capitol Cafe, looped around the Texas Capitol Building, and continued down the Congress Avenue Bridge. Additionally, we broke a record for media collaboration, partnering with several podcasts to feature interviews with award winners and other leaders across the Texas innovation community. Thank you to Texas Embassy Podcast, ChristianAlts, Pflugerville Community Development Corporation, and The Building Texas Show.

During the Texas Venture Gala Awards Dinner, the Texas Crystal Boot Awards showcased Texans taking big steps. We recognized Austin’s Rajiv Bala from Clutch VC as “Texas Investor of the Year”, Hill Country’s Katie Milton Jordan for the “Texas Venture Fest of the Year”, North Texas’s Pamela Cytron of Founders Arena as “Innovator of the Year”, and Austin’s Texas State Representative and Innovation & Technology Caucus Policy Committee Leader Donna Howard as “Texas Legislator of the Year”. We also introduced two new recognitions: “American Innovator of the Year”, Harvey Kronberg of The Quorum Report, and Christine Galib from Princeton University’s Office of Innovation as “American Venture Fest of the Year”. The national trophies were miniature monuments sponsored by More Monuments. View previous years award winners here.

Highlighted speakers & distinguished guests at the global, national, federal, state, and local levels:

• The Honorable Texas House of Representatives; Innovation & Technology Caucus Policy Committee Member, Donna Howard

• Deputy Consul General of Germany, Guest, Head of Economic, Science, and Cultural Development, Mr. Markus Hatzelmann

• The Honorable Mayor of Arlington, Jim Ross

• The Honorable Mayor of Cedar Park, Guest, Jim Penniman-Morin

• The Honorable Mayor of Lago Vista, Shane Saum

• “The Capitol’s Ultimate Insider” The Quorum Report Owner, Publisher, & Editor, Harvey Kronberg

• ClutchVC General Partner, Rajiv Bala

• S3 Ventures General Partner, Aaron Perman

• Ballistic Ventures Cofounder & General Partner, Roger Thornton

• Tiger21 Austin Chair, Gabriel Baldinucci‍

• Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Program, German Accelerator’s Global Project Leader, Annika Pierson

• US Patent & Trademark Office Partner; Patent Trademark Resource Center, Larayne Dallas

• Space Alliance Technology Program & Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, Lissa West

• Princeton University’s Office of Innovation, Christine Galib

• Texas State University Director of Venture Development, Matt Sorenson

• Texas A&M University System Director of Strategic Partnerships in Innovation, Chris Scotti

• University of Texas’s Austin Technology Incubator CEO, Richard Amato

• The Founders Arena Founder & CEO, Pamela Cytron

• Endeavor Heartland’s 412 Angels Director, Chris Erhardt

• Q-Branch Founder & CEO, Marcos Cervantes

• Founder Institute Head of Public Affairs, & ‘Startup Ecosystems’ Author, Paul O’Brien

• IA Global Ventures Managing Partner, Nikos Iatropoulos

• Pflugerville Economic Development Corporation Executive Director, Jerry W. Jones Jr.

• F.I.E.S.T.A (Founders, Investors, Entrepreneurs, Startups, Techies, Austin Newcomers) Chief Empowerment Officer, Cherie Werner

• Geek Ventures; Austin Under 40 Finalist; Texas Venture Gala & Forum and Texas Venture Fest Chief of Staff, Sarah Romanko

• Texas Venture Gala & Forum and Texas Venture Fest Curator, CS Freeland

• Full speaker lineup here.

This event was co-created by the following major partners, and our experience, media, and community collaborators: Carta, Justworks, 512 Financial, The Founders Arena, German Accelerator, Q-Branch, Geek Ventures, Princeton University, Texas State University, Pflugerville Community Development Corporation, International Accelerator, IA Global Ventures, Texas Embassy Podcast, Tales From The Pantheon, More Monuments, Reunio, The Building Texas Show, Pitch & Run Austin, MC3 Ventures, First Rate, CAD as Code, Coding IT, US India Chamber of Commerce Austin, Founder Institute Texas, Startup Communities Book, DivInc, and FIESTA.

ABOUT THE TEXAS VENTURE GALA & FORUM

The Texas Venture Gala & Forum is a Texas innovation signature experience, and part of a suite of events & resources amplifying the ecosystem of entrepreneur support. Featured in the Texas State Governor Greg Abbott’s five year economic development plan,“Bigger. Better. Texas.”‍ ‍here, we’re 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 3,500+ Texans across the state and is part of the Texas Innovation Week.