The Woodlands Mall shoppers can schedule virtual test drives, complete purchases, schedule deliveries of vehicles and meet with staff at this new high-tech store. Photo courtesy of JLL

The Woodlands-based online pre-owned car purveyor evrdrive has opened its flagship Customer Experience Center, or CXC, at The Woodlands Mall.

Designed by JLL Design Solutions, the modern space will allow shoppers to virtually tour the company's fleet of vehicles through its evrViewTM 3D hologram technology. According to a release, the technology can show evrdrive's full inventory of SUVs, cars, trucks, or other body styles and can display the vehicle's model specifications and history.

From the storefront, shoppers can also schedule virtual test drives, complete purchases, schedule deliveries of vehicles and meet with staff.

"We believe evrdrive is the future of automotive retail, and we are committed to providing our customers with a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience," Brian Singh, CEO of evrdrive, said in a statement.

evrdrive was founded in 2022, according to LinkedIn, and is part of Foundation Automotive Corp, a Houston-based company that owns car dealerships in the U.S. and Canada.

The company also runs a 55,000-square-foot Reconditioning Hub in the Houston area where vehicles are inspected and refurbished.

A number of new innovative auto ventures have rolled into Houston in recent months.

Self-driving ridehailing service Cruise expanded into Houston with its all electric, driverless cars in early May. The company launched services in Austin at the start of the year.

Uber Technologies, Inc. and Nuro also partnered last September to provide autonomous, electric vehicles for food deliveries in Houston. That same month, Drvn, a global on-demand chauffeur service, began operating in the Bayou City.

Drvn offers tech-savvy service, high-end cars, and various ride options. Photo courtesy of drvn

New tech-enabled chauffeur service stretches into Houston with upscale ride options

stay classy

Discriminating Houstonians who opt for luxury/executive car services (and who don’t, unfortunately, have a limo and driver of their own) now can choose an innovative, tech-savvy option.

Drvn, a global chauffeur service, has just rolled into Houston. Customers can look forward to on-demand rides — 24 hours a day — in various, upscale vehicles. Options start with first class; cars offered include sedans (Mercedes S Class, BMW 7 Series, or similar); SUVs (Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator, or similar); and even vans (such as the Mercedes 1500).

Business class also offers sedans (Cadillac XTS, Lincoln Continental, or similar); SUVs (Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Expedition, or similar); and also vans (Ford Transit or similar).

Private charters for posh parties or travel parties include Grech minibuses (or similar) that can seat up to 36 passengers. Limousines are available upon request and subject to availability. All vehicles are black, for a more classic touch.

Just in time for society/gala season, drvn offers locals rides to events all around Greater Houston, as well as both major airports. (Drvn’s CEO David Medina tells CultureMap that the service is a hit in its Coral Gables, Florida headquarters, where well-heeled customers use it for event travel.)

Other service areas include port transfers to and from the Port of Galveston; drvn’s long-distance car service to Dallas; Oklahoma City; Shreveport, Louisiana; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; and beyond. Drvn staff expects major demand for events, conventions, and conferences, plus executive car service for business clients.

Currently, those interested can book rides via the drvn site. Medina notes that a customer app is scheduled for later this year.

As for the cost: A simple search from the Memorial Park area to Bush Intercontinental Airport yielded point-to-point rides starting at around $226 in an executive class sedan. Users can also schedule and even request special cars and opt for hourly service (perfect for weddings, occasions, and that visiting celebrity friend).

Aiming to separate itself from local high-end car services, drvn promises “five-star, white-glove transportation” options, cutting-edge booking technology, and drivers who meticulously train and even undergo secret rides from drvn staff to assure quality control. Drvn hopes to entice business/executive car service clients with tech such as God’s view and GPS tracking (to keep tabs on the boss’s car), a live manifest, and uniform billing and communication.

Medina also hopes to separate his company by redefining what luxury actually means when it comes to car service.

“‘Luxury’ does not mean luxury for high-end private car service,” he says. “Luxury is a Flying Spur or a Bentayga, not a Mercedes S Class or an Escalade. But, a Bentley is not what is in the mind of professionals who seek ‘luxury’ private car service. It is a state of being. It is knowing, without saying, that your chauffeur not only has your best interests in mind, he has your experience in mind. It is part of his duty of care to know what you expect and deliver it with elegance and with no visible exertion. It is through the simplicity of this balance that drvn’s chauffeured service delivers a ‘luxury’ experience. Not the Bentley.”

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

NuVinAir ReKlenz-X is safe for use in vehicles and can be used without damaging the interior. Photo courtesy of NuVinAir

New product sold in Houston gets EPA approval as eco-friendly, coronavirus-killing car cleaner

IN-CAR TECH

With the onset of COVID-19, the public is more aware than ever of cross-contamination, which extends from your home to your business to your car, and beyond.

NuVinAir announced that its latest product, ReKlenz-X, has gotten approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an eco-friendly disinfectant. The company's Houston affiliate, Brian Ross, is selling the product.

ReKlenz-X kills 99.9 percent of germs, bacteria, and viruses in a vehicle's interior without compromising the integrity of the cabin. The product is on the EPA's "List N", which includes disinfectants for use to combat SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19."NuVinAir has proudly been at the forefront of helping ensure healthier commutes to drivers and passengers since launching in 2015. Adding this EPA-approved, oxygen-infused product that actually kills what's behind the coronavirus gives us an exciting extension to our 'Total Health' application," says Kyle Bailey, NuVinAir Global's CEO and founder.

"Our science-backed ReKlenz-X disinfectant cleans, protects, and disinfects safely and effectively — it's everything our automotive partners need in guaranteeing their customers' confidence in a safer, healthier vehicle," he continues.

To clean, the proprietary product uses an oxygen-enriched formula to quickly kills bacteria and viruses by destroying their cell walls through a process called oxidation. According to NuVinAir, ReKlenz-X contains no harsh chemicals, sticky residue, or dangerous volatile organic compounds. The result is a disinfected vehicle with no chemical smell.

ReKlenz-X is available in 32-ounce spray bottles through automotive dealerships, detail shops, rental-car companies, service centers, and vehicle fleets.

"Until now, any possible solution for killing the coronavirus was wrought with harmful chemicals, expensive equipment, and residue-leaving application devices that destroy the vehicle's interior," said Troy Blackwell, Chief Operating Officer for NuVinAir Global. "As a disinfectant and sanitizer, it can be applied to all interior vehicle surfaces using a microfiber towel. Paired with our premier detailing solution, ReNuSurface, as well as our patented Cyclone treatment, it takes deep cleaning to a whole new level for our automotive partners and their customers."

Dallas, Texas-based NuVinAir sells their products through a franchise system, similar to Line-X's business model.

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This article originally ran on AutomotiveMap.

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German biotech co. to relocate to Houston thanks to $4.75M CPRIT grant

money moves

Armed with a $4.75 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, a German biotech company will relocate to Houston to work on developing a cancer medicine that fights solid tumors.

Eisbach Bio is conducting a clinical trial of its EIS-12656 therapy at Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center. In September, the company announced its first patient had undergone EIS-12656 treatment. EIS-12656 works by suppressing cancer-related genome reorganization generated by DNA.

The funding from the cancer institute will support the second phase of the EIS-12656 trial, focusing on homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) tumors.

“HRD occurs when a cell loses its ability to repair double-strand DNA breaks, leading to genomic alterations and instability that can contribute to cancerous tumor growth,” says the institute.

HRD is a biomarker found in most advanced stages of ovarian cancer, according to Medical News Today. DNA constantly undergoes damage and repairs. One of the repair routes is the

homologous recombination repair (HRR) system.

Genetic mutations, specifically those in the BCRA1 and BCRA1 genes, cause an estimated 10 percent of cases of ovarian cancer, says Medical News Today.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) says the Eisbach Bio funding will bolster the company’s “transformative approach to HRD tumor therapy, positioning Texas as a hub for innovative cancer treatments while expanding clinical options for HRD patients.”

The cancer institute also handed out grants to recruit several researchers to Houston:

  • $2 million to recruit Norihiro Goto from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to MD Anderson.
  • $2 million to recruit Xufeng Chen from New York University to MD Anderson.
  • $2 million to recruit Xiangdong Lv from MD Anderson to the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

In addition, the institute awarded:

  • $9,513,569 to Houston-based Marker Therapeutics for a first-phase study to develop T cell-based immunotherapy for treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer.
  • $2,499,990 to Lewis Foxhall of MD Anderson for a colorectal cancer screening program.
  • $1,499,997 to Abigail Zamorano of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston for a cervical cancer screening program.
  • $1,497,342 to Jennifer Minnix of MD Anderson for a lung cancer screening program in Northeast Texas.
  • $449,929 to Roger Zoorob of the Baylor College of Medicine for early prevention of lung cancer.

On November 20, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute granted funding of $89 million to an array of people and organizations involved in cancer prevention and research.

West Coast innovation organization unveils new location in Houston suburb to boost Texas tech ecosystem

plugging in

Leading innovation platform Plug and Play announced the opening of its new flagship Houston-area location in Sugar Land, which is its fourth location in Texas.

Plug and Play has accelerated over 2,700 startups globally last year with corporate partners that include Dell Technologies, Daikin, Microsoft, LG Chem, Shell, and Mercedes. The company’s portfolio includes PayPal, Dropbox, LendingClub, and Course Hero, with 8 percent of the portfolio valued at over $100 million.

The deal, which facilitated by the Sugar Land Office of Economic Development and Tourism, will bring a new office for the organization to Sugar Land Town Square with leasing and hiring between December and January. The official launch is slated for the first quarter of 2025, and will feature 15 startups announced on Selection Day.

"By expanding to Sugar Land, we’re creating a space where startups can access resources, build partnerships, and scale rapidly,” VP Growth Strategy at Plug and Play Sherif Saadawi says in a news release. “This location will help fuel Texas' innovation ecosystem, providing entrepreneurs with the tools and networks they need to drive real-world impact and contribute to the state’s technological and economic growth."

Plug and Play plans to hire four full-time equivalent employees and accelerate two startup batches per year. The focus will be on “smart cities,” which include energy, health, transportation, and mobility sectors. One Sugar Land City representative will serve as a board member.

“We are excited to welcome Plug and Play to Sugar Land,” Mayor of Sugar Land Joe Zimmerma adds. “This investment will help us connect with corporate contacts and experts in startups and businesses that would take us many years to reach on our own. It allows us to create a presence, attract investments and jobs to the city, and hopefully become a base of operations for some of these high-growth companies.”

The organization originally entered the Houston market in 2019 and now has locations in Bryan/College Station, Frisco, and Cedar Park in Texas.