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 Houston innovation events, startups starting the year with fresh funding, and more.
7 can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for January
Check out these seven innovation events in Houston this month. Photo via Getty Images
It's a new year, and it's time to look at what's on the agenda this month for Houston innovators.
Here's a roundup of events not to miss this January — like workshops, summits, meetups, and more. Read more.
Houston biotech company closes IPO in $15.25M deal
A Houston biotech startup focused on developing therapeutics for neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases has closed its IPO. Photo via Getty Images
A clinical-stage biotech company based in Houston has announced the closing of its $15.25 million IPO.
Coya Therapeutics, now trading under the ticker COYA, announced this week that its IPO — previously disclosed in December — has closed its initial public offering of 3,050,000 shares of its common stock and accompanying warrants to purchase up to 1,525,000 shares of common stock, per a news release.
The company is developing proprietary therapies to enhance the function of regulatory T cells to target systemic inflammation and neuroinflammation. Read more.
10 Houston startups start 2023 with fresh venture capital funding
Here are the 10 Houston startups that closed venture capital investment in the fourth quarter of last year. Photo via Getty Images
Houston startups saw a busy last quarter when it came to funding in 2022. From seed to series C, 10 Houston startups wrapped up the year with investment round closings.
In case you missed some of these headlines, InnovationMap has rounded up these 10 deals based on previous reporting. Scroll through to see which Houston startups are catching the eyes — and cashing the checks — of investors. Read more.
Texas population shatters records with massive new number milestone
We're welcoming more and more new Texans every day. Photo via Getty Images
The adage "everything's bigger in Texas" has never been more apropos than with this news: For the first time ever, the population of Texas officially reached 30 million.
Or 30,029,572 in July 2022, to be exact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2022 national and state population estimates, released on December 22. Read more.
Houstonian and serial entrepreneur plans to scale nonprofit fintech tool
The sky's the limit for DonateStock, Co-Founder and CEO Steve Latham says. Photo courtesy of DonateStock
Donating stock can be a smart way to offload assets and optimize a donation — but Steve Latham thought it was so cumbersome a process that it didn't even feel worth it.
"It was such a hassle that I never did it again," says Latham on the Houston Innovators Podcast.
That opportunity for innovation stuck with Latham as he advanced his career in AdTech in New York before moving back to Houston a few years ago. A serial entrepreneur, Latham was an early co-founder of the Houston Technology Center.
His latest venture is DonateStock — a tech platform that simplifies stock donation for both the donor and the beneficiary. The early version of Latham's vision was to clear up the lack of communication the original process had — nonprofits receiving stock donations were never notified about who made each donation. Read more.
The Baylor campus is next to Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park, a 37-acre project. Rendering courtesy of BCM
The Cullen Foundation donated $30 million to the project. Rendering courtesy of BCM