10+ can't-miss virtual business and innovation events in Houston for May

Where to be online

Here's what interactive, virtual events to log on to this month. Getty Images

While some things in Houston are starting to open back up, society hasn't yet established a timeline for when groups of more than 10 people will be allowed to safely gather. But, the programming must go on.

With that in mind, here are over 10 Houston innovation events you can attend virtually via online meetings. Be sure to register in advance, as most will send an access link ahead of the events.

May 4: Post-COVID Fund: Venture Investing in the Post-COVID World

Join Alumni Ventures Group for a webinar that explores how changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic will create profound change—as well as unique opportunities for new ventures that tackle these challenges.

Details: The event is at 3 p.m. on Monday, May 4. Learn more.

May 5 — Sell Your Science: Developing a Non-Confidential Pitch for in Person and Virtual Presentations

Learn tricks in preparing a non-confidential pitch deck along with tips that are aimed to help you sell your science at in person meetings or virtually.

Details: The event is at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 5. Learn more.

May 6 — Impacting Public Health: How Can My Idea Be A Part of the Solution?


When a pandemic hits, as a start-up company you may find that your technology can be aligned to help. However, now your timeline is expedited with a global health emergency and you need to get your technology into the market. How do you start to connect with the right players to get your technology into the U.S. market to make an impact on public health safety and security?

Details: The event is at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6. Learn more.

May 6 — Virtual Event with Cindy Eckert - Expert Entrepreneur with Over $1B Exits

Cindy Eckert is an expert entrepreneur with over $1B in Exits, CEO of Sprout Pharmaceutical, and Founder of The Pink Ceiling. Attend the virtual fireside chat between Cindy Eckert and Femtech Focus founder Dr. Brittany Barreto.

Details: The event is at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6. Learn more.

May 6 — Curious About Starting a Career in Tech?

One thing we know is that web developers come from different backgrounds. From teaching to consulting, design to accounting, and they're here to tell you about making that transition. Hear from professional developers in the field about how their careers lead them what they're working on now, how they got there, and how their past experiences apply to the work they do currently. Join General Assembly if you are curious about starting a career in tech, but not sure exactly where to begin.

Details: The event is at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6. Learn more.

May 7 — Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Day

Originally scheduled to be hosted at OTC, Rice Alliance Energy Venture Day will now be a virtual event to allow startups to connect with investors and energy companies. The event will showcase about 40 promising energy technology companies. These companies have initial funding and are seeking their A, B, C, or later rounds with technology validation, field trial experience, and/or initial company revenue. The event offers a great opportunity for viewers to learn more about innovative technologies and provides companies with access to potential partners and investment opportunities.

Details: The event is at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 7. Learn more.

May 8 — Lunch & Learn: Startup Funding Rounds

Seemingly every company wants to raise venture capital, but few founders are equipped to navigate the tangled mess of rounds, investment types, and investor expectations. At the end of this presentation, you will have a better handle on whether venture capital is right for your business and what it'll take to navigate from angels to exit.

Details: The event is at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 8. Learn more.

May 12 — Lunch and Learn with Asian Pacific American Entrepreneurs

According to New American Economy, Asian Pacific American entrepreneurs account for nearly a million of our nation's businesses. Whether it's apps, restaurants, social services, or consumer products, it's obvious that the entrepreneurial spirit is high in our nation. Let's hear it from our AAPI small business owners who will walk us through the triumphs and challenges they've faced while running their business and how they're making it work during a shaky period.

Details: The event is at noon on Tuesday, May 12. Learn more.

May 13-14 — 2020 Texas A&M New Ventures Competition

TNVC 2020 will be entirely virtual this year. This event is the culmination of a yearlong effort to identify and provide support to Texas-best technology ventures. There will be several private semi-finals judging rounds on May 13, with an Entrepreneurial Perspectives panel and Q&A with past winners and successful entrepreneurs. The finals will be on the 14th, followed by elevator pitches and an awards ceremony, all of which are open to the entire audience.

Details: The event is on Wednesday, May 14, and Thursday, May15. Learn more.

May 15 — How to Land a Job at a Tech Startup

Join General Assembly for this online event where a panel of tech startup talent acquisition professionals will take you through what types of opportunities exist in today's talent market, how the experience at a startup will make you more marketable in the long run, what talent acquisition professionals are actually thinking while reading resumes, advice for remote interviewing, and more.

Details: The event is at noon on Friday, May 15. Learn more.

May 29 — Mothers in Tech Breakfast

In celebration of Mother's Day, join General Assembly for a virtual breakfast featuring hard-working mothers that are also succeeding in their respective industries. A few incredible mothers will share their insights on how they reached their level of success, advice on navigating the workplace as a working mom, and how we can help the next generation of mothers in tech. Get ready for an honest, vulnerable, and insightful conversation.

    Details: The event is at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 29. Learn more.​

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    Report: Houston reclaims top 10 ranking among America's best cities

    Houston has made a triumphant return to America's 10 best cities for 2026, certifying the city is a cornerstone of the country's growth and economic prosperity.

    Houston ranks No. 9 nationwide in the annual "America's Best Cities" report from Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing firm Resonance Consultancy. Each year, the report ranks the relative qualities of livability, cultural "lovability," and economic prosperity in 393 American cities with metropolitan populations of 500,000 or more.

    Dallas surpassed H-Town as the No. 8 best city in America, and the Lone Star State boasts a strong presence among the top 25. Austin and San Antonio, respectively, were named the 11th and 24th best American cities this year.

    Previously, Houston was dubbed the 13th best American city in 2025, down from its No. 10 ranking in the 2024 report.

    Rather than profiling each individual city like in past reports, the 2026 edition focuses on regional and state prosperity. Texas' economic dominance is second only to Florida's, and the state's growth is solidified by the Dallas-Houston-Austin "triangle," where each metro has its own distinct economic identity, but when combined "form one of the most formidable regional economies in the world."

    "In our 2026 survey, Dallas ranks third nationally as the place Americans believe offers the best job opportunities, Austin fifth, and Houston seventh," the report's author wrote. "That concentration of perceived economic opportunity in a single state is unmatched, and the GDP data confirms it isn’t just perception."

    After being named one of the best places to start a business or a career earlier in 2026, Houston has continued to punch above its weight with its success in tourism, education, and housing growth.

    Overall, the report found a correlation between a city's population growth and its latest ranking, with bigger cities appearing higher up on the list. The top three best American cities — New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago — are coincidentally the three largest metros, while Dallas and Houston are the fourth and fifth largest but appear eighth and ninth on the list.

    "Scale compounds at the large city level — more people generate more economic activity, more cultural infrastructure, more employer presence, which attracts more people," the report said.

    The top 10 best cities in America for 2026 are:

    • No. 1 – New York
    • No. 2 – Los Angeles
    • No. 3 – Chicago
    • No. 4 – Miami
    • No. 5 – San Francisco
    • No. 6 – Seattle
    • No. 7 – Las Vegas
    • No. 8 – Dallas
    • No. 9 – Houston
    • No. 10 – Boston

    New probe into Tesla after vehicle slams into Houston-area home at high speed

    Tesla Talk

    The top U.S. auto regulator opened an investigation Monday, June 22, after a Tesla using an automated driving feature slammed into a Texas home at high speed and killed a 76-year-old woman standing inside.

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it's opening a special investigation into the Tesla Model 3 crash on Friday near Houston, a significant probe because the car was using technology that Elon Musk considers key to the company's future.

    The Tesla CEO is rolling out robotaxis using automated software in several U.S. cities this year and plans to invite Tesla owners to put their cars into the fleet using the same system across the country.

    The driver told the Harris County Sheriff's Office that he was using the technology, according to a police report on the crash, but it's not clear what role, if any, it played in the incident.

    Tesla did not respond to a request for comment but the head of the company's artificial intelligence efforts suggested on social media later Monday that the self-driving feature was not to blame.

    “In this case, the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accel pedal in this residential area,” wrote Ashok Elluswamy on X, the platform that is now part of Musk's rocket company, SpaceX. “They reached a speed of 73 mph during the crash, and had the accelerator pressed even after the crash.”

    The police report noted that the driver was not drunk and is cooperating. It identified the woman killed as Martha Avila.

    Video obtained by KHOU-TV shows the car traveling at top speed over the front lawn of a brick home in Katy, then ramming into a front room. The next shot shows the car encased in the home amid piles of crumbling plaster, split beams and bits of furniture.

    The auto safety regulator, known as NHTSA, has launched several investigations into Tesla, including one late last year into 58 incidents in which Teslas reportedly violated traffic safety laws while using self-driving technology, leading to more than a dozen crashes and fires and nearly two dozen injuries.

    A few months earlier, the NHTSA opened an investigation into why Tesla apparently had not been reporting crashes promptly as required.

    As for special crash investigations, the NHTSA has opened 46 involving Teslas using self-driving or driver-assistance technology over the past decade, according to the agency's records. In more than a dozen of those crashes, at least one person — a driver, passenger or pedestrian — was killed.

    Tesla stock fell sharply early last year as car sales plunged amid a boycott of Musk after he waded into politics, leading President Donald Trump's budget-cutting Department of Government Efficiency initiative and embracing European extremist candidates.

    Musk has since shifted the Tesla story to one less about car sales and more about AI and robotaxis, and done so successfully. The stock is up 16% in the past year.

    Intuitive Machines lands $1M grant to expand robotics operations

    Expansion mode

    Houston-based Intuitive Machines is expanding its operations around the country.

    The space tech company—which has offices and labs in Texas, California, Arizona, Colorado and Maryland—announced that it has received a $1 million grant from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore through the state's Build Our Future Grant. The funding will go toward expanding Intuitive Machines’ Super Cislunar Robotics Assembly Building (Supa-CRAB) Mechanisms and Robotics Center of Excellence in Anne Arundel County.

    The company will move into a 69,000-square-foot facility and build out additional lab and office space. It will also procure equipment that will allow for in-house Assembly, Integration and Test (AI&T) activities, according to a news release. Intuitive Machines says the expansion will take place this fall.

    “This collaboration shows how industry, state programs, and education can reinforce one another,” Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, said in the release. “Maryland invests in innovation, companies grow and hire, students gain experience, and communities benefit from new opportunities and long-term career pathways. Together with Governor Moore, the state of Maryland, and Anne Arundel County leaders, we are building a permanent path to long-term lunar operations, an advanced robotics and mechanisms center of excellence, and a technology edge for our nation.”

    Intuitive Machines first launched operations in Maryland in 2021 and has since expanded five times in the state. The company officially opened its robotics and mechanisms facility in 2024.

    The Maryland team has built robotics and mechanisms for the Nova-C landers and IM-1 and IM-2 missions. In the future, Intuitive Machines expects the Maryland team to work on its IM-3 Rover Deployment Mechanism (RDM), a 360 pan-tilt camera for panoramic views, the Main Engine Gimbal (MEG), and the company's first data relay satellite, known as Altus-1.

    Intuitive Machines moved into a new $40 million headquarters at the Houston Spaceport in 2023. The company announced an expansion of its lease last year.

    The company announced a $175 million equity investment to fuel growth in March. It's since landed a $180 million NASA CLPS award to deliver seven payloads to the moon's Mons Malapert on the IM-5 mission.

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