Artificial intelligence is changing Houston — one industry at a time. Photo via Getty Images

Artificial intelligence is the buzzword of the decade. From grocery shopping assistance to personal therapy apps, AI has sunk its teeth into every single industry. Houston is no exception to the AI boom. Enterprise-level companies and startups are already flocking to H-town to make their mark in AI and machine learning.

Since the world is generating more data every minute — 1,736 terabytes to be exact — Houston-based companies are already thinking ahead about how to make sense of all of that information in real-time. That's where AI comes in. By 2021, 80 percent of emerging technologies will have AI foundations — Houston is already ninth on the list of AI-ready cities in the world.

AI and machine learning can process large amounts of data quickly and use that data to inform decisions much like a human would. Here are three ways Houston-based companies are using these emerging technologies to revolutionize the city's future.

Health care

The health care industry is primed for AI's personalization capabilities. Each patient that doctors and nurses encounter has different symptoms, health backgrounds, and prescriptions they have to remember. Managing that amount of information can be dangerous if done incorrectly. With AI, diseases are diagnosed quicker, medications are administered more accurately, and nurses have help monitoring patients.

Decisio Health Inc., a Houston-based health tech startup has already made its mark in the healthcare industry with its AI software helping to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Their software, in collaboration with GE Healthcare Inc, allows health care providers to remotely monitor patients. By looking at data from ventilators, patient monitoring systems, health records, and other data sources, doctors can make better decisions about patients from a safe distance.

Climate change

Climate change isn't solved overnight. It's an issue that covers water salinity, deforestation, and even declining bee populations. With a problem as large as climate change, huge amounts of data are collected and need to be analyzed. AI can interpret all of that information, show possible future outcomes, track current weather patterns, and find solutions to environmental destruction.

One Houston-based company in the energy tech industry, Enovate Upstream, has created a new AI platform that will help digitize the oil and gas sector. Their AI-powered platform looks at data from digital drilling, digital completions, and digital production, to give oil companies real-time production forecasting. Their work will hopefully make their oil production more efficient and reduce their carbon emission output. Since oil drilling and fracking are a major cause for concern around climate change, their work will make a difference in slowing climate change and make their industry as a whole more climate-conscious.

Energy

Energy is an industry rich with data opportunities—and as Houston's energy sector grows, AI has become a core part of their work. Houston's large influence in the energy sector has primed it for AI integration from startups like Adapt2 Solutions Inc. By using AI and machine learning in their software, they hope to help energy companies make strategic predictions on how to serve energy to the public efficiently. Their work has become especially important in the wake of COVID-19 and the resulting changing energy needs.

Another Houston-based company using AI to influence the energy industry is the retail energy startup Evolve Energy. Their AI and machine learning system help customers find better prices on fluctuating renewable resource—helping them save money on electricity and reducing emissions. The positive feedback from the public on their AI model has shown how energy companies are using emerging technologies like AI in a positive way in their communities.

The bottom line

Houston is more primed than most cities to integrate AI and machine learning into every industry. While there are valid concerns as to how much we should lean on technology for necessary daily tasks, it's clear that AI isn't going anywhere. And it's clear that Houston is currently taking the right steps to continue its lead in this emerging AI market.

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Natasha Ramirez is a Utah-based tech writer.

Houston is a top city for female entrepreneurs, according to a recent study. Getty Images

Houston named top city for female entrepreneurs, 2 local startups collaborate, and more innovation news

Short stories

Houston's innovation ecosystem has been booming with news, and it's likely some might have fallen through the cracks.

For this roundup of short stories within Houston innovation, Houston is recognized for its female-friendly business community, Texas ranks as top for gig economy, the latest Chevron investment is in nuclear energy, and more.

Houston named among top cities for female entrepreneurs

Houston ranked No. 11 on a new study on top cities for female business owners. Via fundera.com

According to a new study from Fundera, Houston ranks among the top 15 cities for female entrepreneurs in the United States. The Bayou City came in at No. 11 based on data pulled from The American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau as well as the Tax Foundation. Metrics included:

  • Percent of self-employed business owners who are women — 18 percent of total score.
  • Percent of women employed in their own business — 18 percent of total score.
  • Earnings gap between male and female business owners — 18 percent of total score.
  • Housing cost as a percent of earnings for female entrepreneurs — 18 percent of total score.
  • Percent of residents with bachelor's degree, denoting high-skilled workforce — 9 percent of total score.
  • Job growth — 9 percent of total score.
  • Tax rates — 9 percent of total score.

"One of the most diverse cities in the country, Houston is also good to its women entrepreneur population," the study reads. "Its biggest strength here, however, may be in its job growth numbers, which were likely impacted by 2020's coronavirus pandemic. It remains to be seen whether the city's strong economic numbers will continue in the years to come."

Lubbock, the only other Texas city to crack the top 15, came in at No. 13.

Galen Data and Zibrio team up with new partnership

A Houston company's balance tracking technology is tapping into another Houston company's cloud technology. Photo courtesy of Zibrio

Houston-based tech companies, Galen Data and Zibrio, have announced a new medical device partnership. Zibrio's SmartScale, which can measure and track physical balance to identify an person's chance of falling, will be able to leverage the Galen CloudTM in order to securely connect data from the device with a patient's physician to support remote patient care.

"Our partnership with Zibrio is a case study in helping an early stage medical device company focus on what they do best," says Galen Data CEO Chris DuPont in a news release. "Galen Data provided outside expertise that has saved Zibrio the needless cost and burden of designing a cloud solution from scratch."

According to the release, the CDC reports that 28 percent of individuals over 65 fall each year, and falls are the leading cause of accidental death in those over 65. Amid the pandemic, the Australian PT Association found an increase in fall right of up to 30 percent.

"With COVID-19 impacting activities of older adults, it was even more critical to find a cost-effective solution to better track, manage, and analyze balance data from our SmartScale," says Zibrio founder and CEO, Katharine Forth, in the release.

IGNITE Madness startup applications close Sept. 4

Ignite Healthcare Network, a health tech startup group that promotes and advances female entrepreneurs, is closing startup applications for its October 22 and 29 event, Ignite Madness. The competition mimics a March Madness-style bracket and will be judged by 10 judges.

The brackets include:

  1. Mental /Behavioral Health
  2. Telemedicine/Remote Patient Monitoring
  3. Medical Devices
  4. Patient Engagement
  5. Employee Wellness
  6. Population Health/Analytics
  7. Femtech/Women's Health
  8. WILDCARD: Other Disruptive Solutions
Apply online for up to $300,000 in cash and prizes.

Texas named the 6th best state for freelance and gig workers

Gig workers are welcome in Texas. Screenshot via directlyapply.com

A job discovery platform, DirectlyApply, has identified the best gig economies to work in and Texas ranked as No. 6. The study looked at nine cost and job opportunity factors, which included the cost of living, the number of restaurants and attractions, the number of advertised gig roles, etc.

Texas has a reported 4,859 gig jobs and 16 gig companies operating locally, and the state sports an average gas price of $0.63 a liter and $1,422 a month to rent an apartment. New York, Florida, California, Ohio, and Illinois ranked ahead of Texas, respectively. The full study is available online.

Adapt2 Solutions recognized with award

Jason Kram is the executive vice president of Adapt2 Solutions. Photo courtesy of Adapt2 Solutions

Houston AI software company, Adapt2 Solutions, has been selected as the winner of the "Best AI Solution for Big Data" award in the 2020 AI Breakthrough Awards program conducted by AI Breakthrough. The awards recognize artificial intelligence and machine learning innovation. This year, the contest saw more than 2,750 nominations from over 15 different countries throughout the world, according to a news release.

"Energy enterprises are dealing with an increasingly complex and ever-changing landscape, including increased renewables, volatile markets, and increased pace of technology innovation for each of the commodity market," says James Johnson, managing director of AI Breakthrough, in the release.

"Adapt2 Solutions is in a unique position to support energy companies with powerful artificial intelligence technology to help their operations to automate, optimize and maintain a competitive advantage. We want to recognize this achievement by awarding them with 'Best AI Solution for Big Data' and we extend a hearty congratulations to the entire Adapt2 team on their well-deserved industry recognition."

The win comes at a strategic time for the company. Adapt2's predictive analytics models forecast unexpected fluctuations in power capacity. Amid the pandemic, this technology enables energy companies to map out demand at a time when they're balancing strained revenue and squeezed spending is paramount, Executive Vice President Jason Kram previously told InnovationMap.

"In times of disruption, big data can inform decision-making for energy companies to optimize energy-market operations with timely and reliable data," Kram says.

Houston Methodist introduces contactless temperature screening

Houston Methodist has set up over a hundred contactless temp checks across its facilities. Photo courtesy of Houston Methodist

Houston Methodist has incorporated new technology from care.ai, an AI-powered temperature monitoring platform, to conduct contactless temperature checks for visitors across 100 locations throughout eight hospitals and 36 physician clinics.

Upon entrance to designated areas, visitors stand in front of a tablet that scans an individual's temperature through the use of thermal technology aimed at the forehead. The technology aims to speed up screening measures and free up staff from the checkpoints. Should a visitor have an elevated skin temperature out of normal range, Methodist staff is contacted.

Chevron invests in nuclear fusion startup

The latest investment from CTV is in nuclear energy. Photo via chevron.com/technology/technology-ventures

Chevron's investment arm, Chevron Technology Ventures, recently announced an investment in Seattle-based Zap Energy Inc., which is working on a modular nuclear reactor. CTV sees nuclear energy as a promising avenue for innovation "across the globe access to affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner energy," according to a news release.

"We see fusion technology as a promising low-carbon future energy source," says Barbara Burger, president of CTV, in a release. "Our Future Energy Fund investment in Zap Energy adds to Chevron's portfolio of companies we believe are likely to have a role in the energy transition."

This Series A investment is the 10th for Chevron's Future Energy Fund, which focuses on investments in companies that enable macro decarbonization, the mobility-energy nexus, and energy decentralization.

"Our Future Energy Fund investments provide us with strategic insight into power generation markets and potentially disruptive impacts of innovative approaches, like fusion, geothermal, wind, and solar, on the conventional power value chain," says Burger.

Houston-based Adapt2 Solutions has created AI-backed technology to help energy companies make strategic predictions in these unprecedented times. Getty Images

Houston startup uses AI and data to predict energy usage across sectors

crystal ball

Among the many complications presented by the coronavirus pandemic is coping with power needs. Movie theaters, malls, schools, and stadiums are among the places where energy use has been uneven at best. And the unevenness promises to continue as a lot of locations turn the lights back on but their operating hours remain in flux.

Houston-based Adapt2 Solutions Inc. believes its software can help energy companies power their way through the pandemic-driven haziness of power demand from commercial and residential customers.

"Today's energy companies need the speed and flexibility that cloud-native technology provides to fully leverage the massive amounts of data available to them," Jason Kram, executive vice president of Adapt2 Solutions, said in a December 2019 release.

Kram says that by capitalizing on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud computing, his company's predictive analytics models forecast unexpected fluctuations in power capacity. Amid the pandemic, this technology enables energy companies to map out demand at a time when they're balancing strained revenue and squeezed spending is paramount, according to Kram.

Armed with this forecast data, Adapt2 Solutions' customers — including utility companies, energy traders, and power generators — can more easily plot power production, sales, and purchases, Kram tells InnovationMap. This data can be applied to conventional power, renewable energy, and battery-stored power.

"In times of disruption, big data can inform decision-making for energy companies to optimize energy-market operations with timely and reliable data," Kram says.

Adapt2 Solutions' load forecasting feature generates the predictive analytics models. This feature is embedded within the company's Adapt2 Bid-to-Bill flagship product, which helps energy companies manage front-office and back-office operations. Its other products are Adapt2 Green, designed for the renewable energy market, and Adapt2 Trade-to-Tag, aimed at improving management of energy trades.

"With Adapt2's AI-enabled solutions, we strive to help more customers focus on their core operations and bring business units together on a single platform to create an integrated approach," Kram says.

The company's customers include Consolidated Edison Inc. (ConEd), Duke Energy Corp., the East Kentucky Electric Cooperative, Exelon Corp., Invenergy LLC, Sempra Energy, the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Tyr Energy LLC, and Vistra Energy Corp.

Adapt2 Solutions employs about 40 people, Kram says, and plans to grow its revenue and headcount by 25 percent to 40 percent this year. He says Adapt2 Solutions has managed to turn a profit even though it hasn't taken any outside funding since Francisco Diaz founded the company in 2008.

In March, Inc. magazine placed Adapt2 Solutions at No. 222 on its inaugural list of the fastest-growing private companies in Texas. The company's revenue shot up 72 percent from 2016 to 2018.

"The growth in our business reflects a growth in our customers' business, further validating that we have taken the right steps to help energy enterprises better respond to market and technology changes," Diaz said in a March release.


Jason Kram is the executive vice president of Adapt2 Solutions. Photo courtesy of Adapt2 Solutions

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Houston hypersonic engine company lands investment from deep-tech firm

super speed

Hypersonic engine technology company Venus Aerospace announced an investment for an undisclosed amount from deep-tech investment firm America's Frontier Fund (AFF).

Venus plans to use the funds to advance its VDR2 engine has the potential to support a commercial flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo in under two hours, according to a statement.

"AFF's investment in Venus Aerospace underscores our focus on supporting American companies that are revolutionizing industries of the future," Jordan Blashek, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of AFF, said in a news release. "With recent hypersonic advancements from China and Russia, safeguarding American innovation and securing our industrial base has never been more urgent. Venus Aerospace is poised to redefine hypersonic flight and ensure America's continued leadership in aerospace innovation."

Venus plans to integrate components of its RDRE engine into the advanced VDR2 engine, increasing efficiency with air-augmentation technology capable of 2,000 pounds of thrust. This will allow the VDR2 engine to operate at wider ranges of speeds and altitudes. The company plans to ground-test the VDR2 in 2025.

Venus also plans to make history this year by conducting the first atmospheric flight of its RDRE engine, which has applications in the space and defense industries.

"AFF's commitment to pioneering technological advancements aligns seamlessly with our mission to enhance American competitiveness in hypersonics,” Sassie Duggleby, CEO and co-Founder of Venus Aerospace, added in the news release. “Their deep-tech expertise and proven track record in scaling innovative companies will be invaluable as we work to achieve our goals."

Venus Aerospace believes these innovations can “strengthen U.S. leadership in aerospace, defense, and energy innovation."

Venus also aims to use its engine technology to power the Stargazer M4, the world's first Mach 4 reusable commercial aircraft and a prime example of advanced propulsion systems.

The company launched in 2020 and has gained $78.3 million in total investments, according to Pitchbook data.

Houston manufacturer names location of its $193.7 million facility

coming soon

Houston-based manufacturer of high-temperature superconducting wires MetOx International Inc. will build a major production facility in Chatham County, North Carolina, which is expected to create 333 jobs, and invest $193.7 million in the state.

MetOx is a leader in High Temperature Superconducting technology (HTS), which is an advanced power delivery technology that is capable of transmitting extremely high power at low voltage with zero heat generation or energy loss. The technology is assisting in the energy sectors like power transmission, distribution, and grid expansion.

“Establishing our new large-scale manufacturing facility in Chatham County is a pivotal step toward securing a reliable, domestic supply of HTS wire for the development of critical infrastructure in the United States,” Bud Vos, CEO of MetOx, says in a news release. “This facility will not only deliver transformative energy technologies that strengthen our grid and reduce carbon emissions but also create high-paying manufacturing jobs in a community eager to lead in innovation. We are proud to partner with North Carolina to drive forward a resilient energy future built on cutting-edge science and strong local collaboration.”

The new facility is funded in part by an $80 million investment from the United States Department of Energy, which the company announced in October. In September, the company closed $25 million in a series B extension round.

In late 2024, MetOx also announced that it received an undisclosed investment from Hawaii-based Elemental Impact, which is a leading climate-focused investment platform. As a national implementation partner for the EPA's $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, Elemental Impact has received $100 million to deploy later-stage commercialized technologies according to the company.

The funding is expected to advance the expansion of MetOx’s Houston production line and the deployment of its HTS wire, which can make transmission cables up to ten times more efficient than traditional copper cables and will be used at the North Carolina facility.

“Building domestic manufacturing capacity for critical grid technologies is essential for America’s energy future," Danya Hakeem, vice president of Portfolio at Elemental Impact, says in a news release. “MetOx’s expansion in Houston demonstrates how we can simultaneously advance grid modernization and create quality manufacturing jobs. Their technology represents exactly the kind of innovation needed to unlock the next wave of clean energy deployment.”

The project in North Carolina will be facilitated with a Job Development Investment Grant formally awarded to a new company being created by MetOx. In the 12-year term of the grant, economists in the Department of Commerce estimated the project will grow North Carolina’s economy by $987.8 million.

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This article originally was published on our sister site, EnergyCapital.

Houston Nobel Prize nominee earns latest award for public health research

Prized Research

Houston vaccine scientist Dr. Peter Hotez can add one more prize to his shelf.

Hotez — dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, co-director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) and Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics — is no stranger to impressive laurels. In 2022, he was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his low-cost COVID vaccine.

His first big win of 2025 is this year’s Hill Prize, awarded by the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST).

Hotez and his team were selected to receive $500,000 from Lyda Hill Philanthropies to help fund The Texas Virosphere Project. The endeavor was born to help create a predictive disease atlas relating to climate disasters. Because the climate crisis has ushered in changes to the distribution of diseases, including dengue, chikungunya, Zika, Chagas disease, typhus and tick-borne relapsing fever, it’s important to predict outbreaks before they become a menace.

Rice University researchers are collaborating with Hotez and his team on a project that combines climate science and metagenomics to access 3,000 insect genomes. The goal is to aid health departments in controlling disease and informing policy.

The Hill Prize, which is being awarded to six innovators for the first time, thanks to a $10 million commitment from the philanthropic organization, is intended to back ideas that are high-risk and high-reward. Each of the projects was chosen for its potential real-life impact on some of Texas's — and the world’s — most challenging situations. Hotez’s prize is the first Hill Prize to be given in the realm of public health. The additional winners are:

  • Hill Prize in Medicine: Kenneth M. Hargreaves, D.D.S., Ph.D., The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • Hill Prize in Engineering: Joan Frances Brennecke, Ph.D. (NAE), The University of Texas at Austin
  • Hill Prize in Biological Sciences: David J. Mangelsdorf, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS), UT Southwestern Medical Center
  • Hill Prize in Physical Sciences: James Chelikowsky, Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
  • Hill Prize in Technology: Robert De Lorenzo, M.D., EmergenceMed, LLC
Read about other Houston-area researchers recognized by TAMEST here.