Houston's 311 is going virtual. Image courtesy of the City of Houston

Houstonians who've been occasionally frustrated by having to call the city's 311 service for the simplest of issues are now in luck. The City of Houston has launched an innovative new virtual 311 platform.

Now, locals can address needs and create individual cases via a newly created, cloud-based "Virtual Agent." This means residents should only need to dial into the 311 call centers for the most complicated cases, which promises to reduce call volumes and wait times.

The new system officially launched on June 26; city technology and data teams have stabilized the process as the city transferred over 10 years of data into the new system, a press release notes.

Why upgrade now? Each year, the 311 Call Center receives roughly 2.2 million contacts and creates approximately 450,000 service requests, the city estimates. The 311 system was crucial during the Tax Day Flood, Hurricane Harvey, and Winter Storm Uri. This system refresh assures a more responsive and minimal wait time during times of crisis, press materials note.

Residents can now create a service request by an app (Apple and Google), web portal via the Virtual Agent, and through call taker in the 311-call center.

Some of the new functionality improvements include:

  • A customer self-service portal with a virtual agent, allowing residents to create service requests on their own
  • The ability to re-classify a case instead of having to close it and create another one
  • Cases being routed to a team, instead of an individual minimizing case inactivity due to staff being out of office
  • Cases created via web portal, app, or call taker all have the same service request numbers and, when not confidential, are searchable on all platforms
  • Prior to service requests being created, there will be a proximity search performed to ensure no duplication of cases created (e.g., pothole cases being flagged as 1000 Main St. and at the corner of Main Street and Texas Street)

"The new, innovative system is a significant accomplishment for the City of Houston," Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a press release.

"Last fiscal year, we prioritized the development of a new 311 system by funding it through the CIP process. In nine short months, HITS and ARA were able to take that investment and develop a 311 system that modernizes 20-year-old technology and creates a platform that equips the City to better handle increased demand."

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Houston universities launch summer 2025 accelerators for student ventures

summer session

OwlSpark, a startup and small business accelerator for Rice University-affiliated ventures, has named the latest 11 companies to its program that focus on challenges across technology, health care, consumer products and other sectors. The program is hosted in tandem with the University of Houston’s RED Labs and will take place at the Ion.

The early-stage accelerator runs for 12 weeks and culminates at The Bayou Startup Showcase on July 31.

According to a news release from Rice, “the accelerator cultivates a vibrant environment where founders are empowered to build, test, and scale their ideas in a setting built for entrepreneurship.”

The program is divided into two tracks: one for high-growth tech startups and another for small businesses.

The latest OwlSpark class includes:

  • Web and mobile platform EasilyBEE, which boosts family and community engagement in K-12 schools
  • Diagnos, a wearable-integrated wellness platform that monitors health and prevents injuries in college athletes
  • Johnnie, an AI-powered records management software for rural and midsize first responder agencies
  • JustKindHumility, which offers faith-based travel journals
  • Klix, whichautomates early-stage clinical trial management from document screening to AI-driven patient outreach and eligibility checks
  • Lizzy’s Gourmet Gains, which offers high-protein, flavor-forward dips and dressings
  • NextStep, an AI-powered multilingual assistant helping underserved communities navigate resources for health care
  • A catheter-integrated sensor device PeriShield, which detects early infection in peritoneal dialysis patients
  • Right Design, which connects creatives with vetted employers, mentors and projects via job matching and commissions
  • UCoreAlly, which provides business support for biotech startups in marketing, business development, customer support, human resources and accounting
  • Ultrasound-based ablation system VentriTech that treats ventricular arrhythmias

The Owl Spark accelerator has supported 229 founders and launched 104 ventures with participants raising more than $116 million in funding since 2013, according to Rice.

UH also shared the 9 teams that will participate in RED Labs' latest cohort.

The latest RED Labs class includes:

  • BLEED, an art agency that helps artists commercialize their work by connecting art collectors to original artwork and artists
  • Brain Haven, which is developing nasal inhalers designed to stimulate the emotional and memory processing centers to preserve neuroplasticity and delay cognitive decline
  • Candi Wands Automated Cotton Candy, which has developed a continuously operating cotton candy machine to help entertainment venues boost passive revenue
  • ChériCollectible, a series of in-person events where Gen Z and collectors can buy, sell, and trade modern collectibles
  • JobRadar, a job board that uses AI to analyze and categorize positions in real-time and then apply candidates instantly
  • Stage Select LLC, a supplementary talent booking service that partners with multi-stage venues to help fill gaps in programming and increase profitability by finding and booking local talent for their "second stage."
  • P-LEGS, a pediatric lower-limb exoskeleton that reduces physical strain on therapists while delivering customizable gait training.
  • Roll ‘N’ Reel Photo Booth, an interactive event-based equipment rental business
  • Stayzy, which automates guest communication and handles maintenance issues with an AI-powered software for short-term rental companies that manage 20-plus rentals

Tesla's robotaxi service 'tentatively' to launch in Austin in June, Musk says

Tesla Talk

Elon Musk says Tesla is “tentatively” set to begin providing robotaxi service in Austin on June 22.

In a post on his X social media platform, Musk said the date could change because Tesla is “being super paranoid about safety.”

Investors, Wall Street analysts and Tesla enthusiasts have been anticipating the rollout of the driverless cabs since Musk said earlier this year that the service would launch in Austin sometime in June.

Last month, Musk told CNBC that the taxis will be remotely monitored at first and “geofenced” to certain areas of the city deemed the safest to navigate. He said he expected to initially run 10 or so taxis, increase that number rapidly and start offering the service in Los Angeles, San Antonio, San Francisco and other cities.

Musk has been promising fully autonomous, self-driving vehicles “next year” for a decade, but the pressure is on now as Tesla actually begins to operate a self-driving taxi service.

Sales of Tesla’s electric vehicles have sagged due to increased competition, the retooling of its most popular car, the Model Y, and the fallout from Musk’s turn to politics.

The Austin rollout also comes after Musk had a public blowup with President Donald Trump over the administration’s tax bill. Some analysts have expressed concern that Trump could retaliate by encouraging federal safety regulators to to step in at any sign of trouble for the robotaxis.