Editor's note:Another week has come and gone, and it's time to round up the top headlines from the past few days. Trending Houston tech and startup news on InnovationMap included the latest roundup of can't miss events, a unique new lab at UH, and more.
10+ can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for September
Check out these conferences, pitch competitions, networking, and more all happening in September. Photo via Getty Images
From networking meetups to pitch competitions, September has a smorgasbord of opportunities for Houston innovators.
Here's a roundup of events you won't want to miss out on so mark your calendars and register accordingly. Read more.
Exclusive: Houston additive manufacturing startup names new CEO
Tim Neal is the new CEO of AmPd Labs, a unique additive manufacturing startup in Houston. Photo via LinkedIn
As of this month, Tim Neal has a new job.
The Houston entrepreneur joined next-generation additive manufacturing company AmPd Labs founded by Sean Harkins and Brien Beach. Neal now serves as CEO of the company. He formerly served as co-founder and CEO of GoExpedi, a Houston-based industrial procurement solutions company.
Neal tells InnovationMap that he'd always been interested in the additive manufacturing sector, and sees a lot of potential for AmPd Labs in the industrial world in Houston — now more than ever.
“Within additive manufacturing, a lot of people focus on the medical and the aerospace sectors, but the industrial sector has been largely overlooked. Being in Houston, that really resonates,” Neal says. “The technology is now at a place that it can be at this production scale.” Read more.
Houston regenerative medicine company opens new lab at UH
FibroBiologics is opening a unique new lab at the University of Houston's Technology Bridge. Photo by Natalie Harms/InnovationMap
Pete O’Heeron wants you to know that “Bohemian Rhapsody” was originally released as a B-side. What does this nugget about Queen have to do with regenerative medicine? For O’Heeron and his company, FibroBiologics, it means everything.
That’s because most scientists consider stem cells the A-side when it comes to the race to curing disease. But FibroBiologics has set its sights on fibroblasts. The most common cell in the body, fibroblasts are the main cell type in connective tissue.
“Everyone was betting on stem cells, and we started betting on fibroblasts,” says O’Heeron, who started the company in 2008 as SpinalCyte. “I think what we're going to see is that fibroblasts are going to end up winning, there are more robust, more that are lower cost cell, they have higher therapeutic values, higher immune modulation. They're just a better overall cell than the than the stem cells.” Read more.
Houston AI startup raises $1.5M seed round of funding
Industrial Data Labs announced the close of its $1.5 million seed round of funding. Photo via Getty Images
A Houston startup that's on a mission to transform and expedite data processing for its industrial clients has raised seed funding.
Industrial Data Labs announced this week that it's closed a $1.5 million seed round of funding. The company has created an applied artificial intelligence technology for the pipe, valve, fitting, and flange, or PVF, industry's inside sales team. The terms of the seed round were not disclosed.
"Our groundbreaking AI-Powered Inside Sales Copilot is transforming the way inside sales teams operate in the PVF industry," Marty Dytrych, co-founder and CEO of Industrial Data Labs, says in a news release. "By embedding our solution into existing BOM and MRO workflows, we empower teams to achieve unmatched efficiency, accuracy, and sales performance.” Read more.
3 heroic Houston high schools rank among top 100 in America, says U.S. News
Houston is home to a few of the highest-ranked high schools in the nation. Getty Images
Three Houston high schools are continuing their streak of top appearances on a prestigious annual list of the country's best public high schools.
The 2023 rankings from U.S. News & World Report, released August 29, put Houston ISD’s Carnegie Vanguard High School at No. 35 nationally (up from No. 40 last year) among the country’s best high schools. The school also ranks No. 248 nationally among the best STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) high schools and No. 12 among the best magnet high schools.
Also in the top 100 are two other Houston ISD high schools. Read more.