Gov. Perry Announces $1.8 Million TETF Investment in 1st Detect Corp.

Gov. Rick Perry today announced that the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (TETF) is investing $1.8 million in 1st Detect Corp. for the development and commercialization of a portable mass spectrometer that detects residues and vapors from harmful substances.

"Now more than ever, companies are looking to Texas as the best state in the nation to foster and grow innovative technologies, thanks to our skilled and educated workforce and investments from the TETF," Gov. Perry said. "This investment in 1st Detect will help make the detection of harmful substances more accurate and cost efficient, and will be an important tool for a variety of industries, from security to medicine."

1st Detect's spectrometer will be able to detect explosives, chemical warfare agents, toxic chemicals and volatile organic compounds, and can be used in the security, health care and industrial sectors. The company is partnering with the University of North Texas for the design, testing and evaluation of a medical diagnostic device, and with Baylor College of Medicine to identify markers for disease detection.

"With this investment from the TETF, we will be able to continue developing a technology that has the potential to make a great impact in the safety of our troops and our nation," 1st Detect CEO John Porter said. "This technology has the potential to greatly enhance the ability of law enforcement and the military to detect chemical and explosive threats by increasing the accuracy of chemical detection by orders of magnitude."

The TETF is a $200 million initiative created by the Texas Legislature in 2005 at the governor's request, and reauthorized in 2007 and again in 2009. A 17-member advisory committee of high-tech leaders, entrepreneurs and research experts reviews potential projects and recommends funding allocations to the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House. To date, the TETF has allocated more than $128 million in funds to 99 early stage companies, and $153 million in grant matching and research superiority funds to Texas universities.