3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Tim Neal of AmPd Labs, Sandy Guitar of HX Venture Fund, and Sahir Ali of Modi Ventures. Photos courtesy

Editor's note: In this week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to three local innovators across industries — from venture capital to manufacturing — recently making headlines in Houston innovation.

Tim Neal, CEO of AmPd Labs

Tim Neal is the new CEO of AmPd Labs, a unique additive manufacturing startup in Houston. Photo via LinkedIn

Houston entrepreneur Tim Neal joined next-generation additive manufacturing company AmPd Labs as CEO of the company. He 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.

Sandy Guitar, general partner of HX Venture Fund

Sandy Guitar shares some lessons learned from the fallout of Silicon Valley Bank. Photo via HXVF

In its third year, Venture Houston — taking place on Rice University's campus on September 7 — has a theme of "decarbonization in a digital world," but that's not the only thing different this year. The one-day conference has added on a unique event on September 6 to help engage around 50 investors with over 100 Houston startups.

The new activation is called Capital Connect, and HX Venture Fund will matchmake investors and startups for one-on-one meetings meant to spur collisions and collaboration.

"It's not a pitch competition — it doesn't have the stress of that," Sandy Guitar, general partner of HX Venture Fund, tells InnovationMap. "It's really just a way of connecting with a longer term horizon. We didn't want to limit it just to those who are currently raising, but actually include people who maybe just raised six months ago or are not going to raise for 12 more months, but might still want to be in the room." Read more.

Sahir Ali, founder and general partner of Modi Ventures

Sahir Ali is the founder and general partner of Modi Ventures. Photo courtesy of Modi Ventures

It might be cool to arrive fashionably late to a party, but Houston investor Sahir Ali likes to be early when it comes to new technologies.

"What has been a part of my success and has driven a lot of my profesional, scientific, and financial growth has been being ahead of the curve a little bit in technologies. That is really the basis of the fund," Ali, founder and general partner of Modi Ventures, says on the Houston Innovators Podcast.

"Hardware and software have come to a point where now artificial intelligence is ready to go, and I think the biggest benefactor of that is going to be health care and the health and medicine space — and that space is not easy for investors to just jump in right away," he continues. Read more.

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Tim Neal is the new CEO of AmPd Labs, a unique additive manufacturing startup in Houston. Photo via LinkedIn

Exclusive: Houston additive manufacturing startup names new CEO

at the helm

As of last week, 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.”

The AmPd Labs facility, located in the Heights, works with its industrial clients through the entire life cycle — from initial design, fit and function, and onward. Neal says that what AmPd Labs provides for its customers is this comprehensive support at a rapid pace and in a nearshore capacity.

“We see a vision of ourselves as a digital manufacturing firm for manufacturers," he says. “The ability to very rapidly hard-to-make products and save that time, but also removing obsolete parts."

Additionally, AmPd Labs has a zero-waste process and can help its industrial clients with their ESG goals. The materials the company uses can be recycled and used again, Neal says.

"A lot of large industrial firms in Houston are focused on this new energy revolution, and that requires new technologies," he explains. "Many of these parts are hard to make."

Neal says he's sat on every side of the arena at this point, and he's bringing his background, including his experience with scaling a startup, to the table.

“We are big believers in the Houston economy," he says. "While the market might disagree at times, the green economy starts in Houston — the infrastructure is here, the companies wanting and needing to make that change are here.”

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Aleece Hobson of HX Venture Fund, Denis Akhiyarov of AiKYNETIX, and Sean Harkins and Brien Beach of AMPD Labs. Photos courtesy

4 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

Editor's note: In this week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to three local innovators across industries — from additive manufacturing to venture capital — recently making headlines in Houston innovation.

Aleece Hobson, venture partner for the HX Venture Fund

Aleece Hobson of HX Venture Fund shares what people can expect from Venture Houston on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. Photo courtesy of HXVF

Today is a big day for Aleece Hobson — venture partner for the HX Venture Fund, a fund of funds investing in venture capital firms across the country that have interest in investing in Houston companies. She joined the Houston Innovators Podcast last week to discuss Venture Houston, which takes place today, and why it is so important to HXVF to showcase Houston.

"Houston is a destination for innovation — we are not a flyover city," she says on the show. Click here to read more and stream the podcast.

Denis Akhiyarov, CEO and co-founder of AiKYNETIX

Houston-based AiKYNETIX is equipping runners with high-tech tracking tools. Image courtesy of AiKYNETIX

Houstonain Denis Akhiyarov wanted to design a way to easily improve running performance. He founded AiKYNETIX uses real-time technology to provide a new option for runners on treadmills.

“Runners spend a lot of time, energy and money to run better,” says Akhiyarov, CEO and co-founder of the company. “In my personal life with training for nine marathons, I’ve seen limitations with wearables, they don’t actually track running form while running. Overall, our technology tracks not only your basic parameters but it can also analyze the human running form while in motion.”

AiKYNETIX, which was founded in January 2021, is positioned to replace power meters and can make a treadmill smarter. It has ability to plug into interactive video platforms for sports and serves as a much cheaper and more widely available analysis tool outside of motion capture labs, he says. Click here to read more.

Sean Harkins and Brien Beach, co-founders of AMPD Labs

Sean Harkins and Brien Beach opened AmPd Labs' space in the Heights last month. Images via ampdlabs.llc

Last year, Sean Harkins introduced his friend Brien Beach to the world of additive manufacturing, and together the duo saw a business opportunity not only for themselves — but also for all of Houston.

Harkins had been working in 3D printing and additive manufacturing — the process of creating an object by building it one layer at a time — for the last decade and studied industrial design at the University of Houston. Working together, Harkins and Beach launched AmPd Labs, Houston’s next-generation additive manufacturing facility for industrial design and production.

“There is a hill to climb with market acceptance, but we want to be the champions of that and Houston is just a great place to start this because it's the largest industrial city in America and there's so much industry here and there's tons of engineers in this community,” says Beach. “Houston is such a business-forward place. A ‘how can I help you’ type of business place.” Click here to read more.

Two innovators are bringing additive manufacturing opportunities to Houston. Image via Getty Images

New venture brings next-generation additive manufacturing to Houston

new to hou

Last year, Sean Harkins introduced his friend Brien Beach to the world of additive manufacturing, and together the duo saw a business opportunity not only for themselves — but also for all of Houston.

Harkins had been working in 3D printing and additive manufacturing — the process of creating an object by building it one layer at a time — for the last decade and studied industrial design at the University of Houston. Working together, Harkins and Beach launched AmPd Labs, Houston’s next-generation additive manufacturing facility for industrial design and production.

“I met Brien through a mutual friend and we started discussing this idea of an additive manufacturing center in Houston,” says Harkins, president of AmPd Labs.

AmPD Lab’s focus is to break down traditional engineering design constraints, forcing the question “can this be additively manufactured?” The facility uniquely enables the printing of metals through metal binder jetting technology.

Last week, the company opened its first dedicated space near the Heights that was built to be the production studio as well as a place to bring in potential partners interested in additive manufacturing.

“There is a hill to climb with market acceptance, but we want to be the champions of that and Houston is just a great place to start this because it's the largest industrial city in America and there's so much industry here and there's tons of engineers in this community,” says Beach. “Houston is such a business-forward place. A ‘how can I help you’ type of business place.”

In addition to the launch of the new facility, Beach and Harkins visualize they will soon create a trade-school-type concept of “Digital Craftsmen” for additive manufacturing and offer an educational platform to help build a skilled workforce in this space.

“AM is not a fit for everything, but by working together, we can find those parts and products in which an AM solution can give you an operational or competitive advantage,” says Beach. “We will work with you through the design process, provide samples for testing, work through parts quality and qualification, and eventually find some products that you can permanently implement into your business.”

AmPd Labs will focus its business on these dedicated areas of impact:

  • Manufacturing technology choice
  • Part design
  • Material selection
  • Material performance
  • Assembly and workflow assessment
  • Business model impact
  • Supply chain impact
  • Increased data generation
  • Sales and marketing approach

Sean Harkins and Brien Beach opened AmPd Labs' space in the Heights last week. Images via ampdlabs.llc

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Here’s where wages grew the most in Houston since 2021, according to new report

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Bolstered by a thriving manufacturing sector, Waller County—the country’s second-fastest-growing county—leads all Houston-area counties for the growth of pay from 2021 to 2026, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by personal finance website SmartAsset, found average pay in Waller County rose 48 percent from 2021 to 2026. The county’s average weekly pay climbed from $891 to $1,323 during that period.

Manufacturing ranks as the No. 1 employment sector in Waller County, accounting for about 4,500 workers, according to Executive Pulse. Those workers earn an average pay of $77,442 per year.

Waller County powers up its manufacturing hub

Waller County’s manufacturing economy keeps expanding, almost certainly contributing to the 48 percent spike in average pay from 2021 to 2026.

Grundfos, the world’s largest producer of water pumps, broke ground in June on a manufacturing plant at its Brookshire campus. The Danish company’s U.S. headquarters is in Brookshire. In conjunction with the groundbreaking, Grundfos opened the Grundfos Academy Americas training center.

The new 143,000-square-foot facility will make pump systems and water technology, primarily for water utilities and commercial real estate landlords.

Grundfos expects construction to be completed by Q3 2027, with the first production lines planned to start in Q4 of next year.

“Our growing presence in Brookshire reflects both our confidence in the U.S. market and our long‑term commitment to investing where our customers and partners need us most,” Grundfos CEO Poul Due Jensen said in a release.

Another manufacturer, TMEIC Corporation America, recently opened its third U.S. plant at Twinwood Business Park in Brookshire. The 280,000-square-foot facility, which eventually might employ 500 people, makes uninterruptible power supply units and medium-voltage power drives. The $65 million plant includes a customer training center and tech development labs.

The Twinwood facility is the largest of TMEIC’s 13 factories around the world.

TMEIC’s two other U.S. manufacturing plants are in the Houston area. The company’s North American headquarters is in the Houston Energy Corridor.

Perhaps the biggest recent manufacturing prize for Waller County: Austin-based electric vehicle maker Tesla’s new 1.65 million-square-foot factory at Brookshire’s Empire West Industrial Park. The $200 million plant, expected to employ up to 1,500 people by 2028, produces utility-scale batteries for energy storage.

Other major manufacturers in Waller County include Daikin North America and Igloo.

Pay growth around the region

Here’s a rundown of 2021-26 pay growth in the Houston metro’s eight other counties, according to SmartAsset.

  • Austin County — 42 percent
  • Chambers County — 37 percent
  • Harris County — 33 percent
  • Liberty County — 31 percent
  • Montgomery County — 29 percent
  • Fort Bend County — 28 percent
  • Galveston County — 26 percent
  • Brazoria County — 23 percent

Statewide, Dickens County, outside of Lubbock, saw the most significant growth in wages. According to the study, wages grew by 212 percent over the five years, from $707 per week in 2021 to $2,204 per week in 2026.

Among all Texas counties, Waller was ranked No. 44 on the report.

Small counties in the High Plains and West Texas regions saw the largest percent changes in average weekly wage, according to the report. See the full findings here.

Houston team’s breakthrough device leads innovation news to know

Trending Topics

Editor's note: September brought exciting headlines across the Houston innovation sector — from a breakthrough device for spinal injury treatment, to a pharmaceutical giant's Houston groundbreaking. Below, catch up on the five biggest innovation stories published on InnovationMap from September 16-30, 2026.

Houston researchers develop breakthrough device that could bypass spinal injuries

Scientists at Houston Methodist have announced a significant leap forward for spinal cord injury recovery. The researchers have developed a device that essentially bypasses spinal injuries, allowing signals from previously “lost” functions to reach the brain, a new study published in Nature Communications shows. Continue reading.

Eli Lilly breaks ground on $6.5B pharmaceutical factory in Houston

Leading pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly broke ground September 21 on its $6.5 billion manufacturing site at Houston's Generation Park. The 236-acre, state-of-the art factory is expected to come online in 2030 and will manufacture Foundayo, the company's first synthetic oral GLP-1 medication, as well as other advanced therapeutics. Continue reading.

Abbott assembles expert team to help lure U.S. Space Academy to Texas

State Rep. Greg Bonnen of Friendswood has been tapped to lead a new team that will promote Texas as the future home of the U.S. Space Academy. Bonnen, a neurosurgeon, chairs Houston Physicians’ Hospital and the powerful Texas House Appropriations Committee. His House district is close to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed the seven-member team. Continue reading.

5 must-know fall application deadlines for Houston innovators

As fall reaches full swing, Houston's innovation scene is calling on the latest batch of founders and startups looking to make a difference. A number of accelerators have opened applications. See which might be a good fit for you or your venture, and take careful note of the deadlines. Continue reading.

Houston college joins inaugural workforce accelerator supported by Google

Houston City College (HCC) is one of 15 community colleges from around the country to be selected for the first-ever Workforce Futures Accelerator. The accelerator focuses on helping colleges embed virtual, employer-sponsored training opportunities into short-term workforce training programs, giving participants access to opportunities that they might otherwise receive through internships or other "work-based learning" stints. Continue reading.

10+ can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for October

where to be

Editor's note: Healthcare and energy conferences headline this month's slate of innovation events in Houston. But there's also time for family-friendly gatherings and pickleball socials. Here’s what not to miss in October and how to register. Please note: this article may be updated to add more events.

Oct. 2 — Joy in Medicine Initiative Symposium

The Houston Methodist Joy in Medicine Initiative Symposium will explore the power of connection in enhancing professional fulfillment for clinicians and healthcare teams, this year with the theme of "Forging New Paths: Leadership, Connection & Innovation to Sustain Joy in Medicine." Hear from Dr. Shlomit Schall, Houston Methodist Physician Organization president and CEO and chief physician executive; Houston Methodist CEO Marc Boom; and Dr. Albert Wu, from Johns Hopkins, author of Therefore, Let us Rejoice: Sustaining Joy in Medicine. Stick around for a networking happy hour.

This event is Friday, Oct. 2, from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at Thompson Houston on Allen Parkway. Find more information here.

Oct. 6-7 — Hydrogen Americas Summit and Exhibition

Hydrogen Americas delivers an unparalleled opportunity to explore how hydrogen integrates with CCUS and other energy solutions under the new U.S. and Americas energy paradigm. This event moves to Houston in 2026, providing unmatched access to industry leaders and opportunities. The summit will include CCUS-dedicated sessions integrated directly into the conference programming, providing deeper insights into carbon capture, utilization and storage. Look forward to networking opportunities to connect with global suppliers, regional developers and key policymakers.

This event begins Oct. 6 at George R. Brown Convention Center. Register here.

Oct. 6-7 — Annual Energy Summit — Energy, Risk, and Geopolitics

The 10th annual energy summit is co-hosted by Baker Botts and the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University's Baker Institute. This year's summit, “Energy, Risk, and Geopolitics,” will explore how a changing geopolitical landscape and shifts in supply chain risks are impacting investment, innovation and market dynamics. The two-day program will include discussions spanning petroleum and LNG markets, critical minerals, electricity reliability, AI and power demand.

This event begins Oct. 6 at 7:30 am at James A Baker III Hall. The event will also be livestreamed. Register here.

Oct. 7 – Rockets Get You to Orbit. Culture Gets You to Stay

The Ion will host a morning discussion exploring humanity’s future in space. The event will feature Rick Tumlinson, author of Why Space? The Purpose of People; Scott Solomon, author of Becoming Martian; and David Alexander and Alexander Regier of Rice University’s new Space Humanities Initiative. The conversations will be moderated by EarthLight Foundation Director Junaid Mian.

This event is Wednesday, Oct. 7, from 8:30-11 a.m. at the Ion. Register here.

Oct. 8 — Greentown Labs’ Fall Pickleball Social

Greentown Labs hosts its fall social at Pickle Lab HTX this month. Enjoy friendly matches, networking and light bites. All skill sets are welcome.

This event is Thursday, Oct. 8, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Pickle Lab HTX. Register here.

Oct. 10 – Ion Family Tech Festival

Bring the whole family out to the second Ion Family Tech Festival. Kids will get to participate in hands-on STEAM workshops and learn more about STEAM-related careers.

This event is Saturday, Oct. 10, from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Ion. Register here.

Oct. 13 – Mercury Fund Day at the Ion

Don’t miss the latest installment of Mercury Fund Day at the Ion, previously known as Software Day. The recurring monthly event features office hours (by application), a keynote and networking opportunities.

This event is Tuesday, Oct. 13, from 3:30-7 p.m. at the Ion. Register here.

Oct. 14 — Future of Global Energy Conference

This October, the sixth annual Future of Global Energy Conference kicks off, convening influential leaders from across energy, technology, finance and public policy who will come together to explore the forces defining the next era of global energy and Houston’s role in shaping it. Ryan Lance, Executive Chairman of ConocoPhillips and 2027 Chair of the Greater Houston Partnership’s Board of Directors, is the keynote speaker for this year’s conference, bringing a global perspective on rising demand, market volatility and Houston’s role in the next era of energy growth.

This event takes place Oct. 14 at the Marriott Marquis. Register here.

Oct. 17 — Energy Day 2026

Energy Day Houston is the nation’s largest free, family-friendly STEM festival. It features over 50 interactive exhibits and live demonstrations focused on traditional and emerging energy career paths to power up your curiosity.

This event begins at 11 a.m. on Oct. 17 at Sam Houston Park. Get details here.

Oct. 22 — Rice360 Innovation for Healthcare Access Conference

Researchers and innovators from Rice University, the Texas Medical Center, non-profit organizations, healthcare providers and others will come together to explore gaps in healthcare at the Innovation for Healthcare Access Conference. The event will feature speakers, workshops and case study presentations and will focus on innovations for the health of women and children in underserved rural and urban communities across Texas.

This event is Thursday, Oct. 22, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Rice University BioScience Research Collaborative (BRC). Register here.

Oct. 28-29 – TiECon 2026

TiE Houston, TiE Dallas and TiE Austin are joining forces to host TiEcon Texas 2026 at the Ion this month. The event will focus on how automation, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies are reshaping Texas industries, the economy and daily life. The conference will feature keynotes, panels, fireside chats and the TiE Hatch Pitch Competition.

This event starts Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Ion. Register here.

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