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

where to be

Here are over 10 can't-miss events for Houston innovators in September. Photo via Getty Images

From energized tech conferences to informative speaker series, September is filled with opportunities for Houston innovators. Here's a roundup of events you won't want to miss out on so mark your calendars and register accordingly.

Go ahead and add the Houston Innovation Awards on November 14 to your agenda as well — and submit a nomination of a deserving Houston startup or innovator online.

Note: This post may be updated to add more events.

September 4-5 — EcoEngineers' Life-Cycle Analysis Academy

A life-cycle analysis (LCA) is a systematic and comprehensive method for evaluating the environmental impact of a product, service, or system from its inception to its end-of-life.

EcoEngineers has performed more than 1,000 carbon LCAs since 2015 and will guide attendees through the leading industry trends and regulations impacting LCAs. The LCA Academy provides an opportunity for industry leaders and practitioners across all sectors to gain hands on experience in a workshop environment.

This event is Wednesday, September 4, and Thursday, September 5, from 8 am to 5 pm at Petroleum Club. Click here to register.

September 5 — Leading Successful Projects: Managing Risk and Uncertainty with New Technology Implementations

Join RCEL at the Ion for an informative discussion on managing risk and uncertainty in new technology projects. Register to attend and enjoy refreshments, along with an opportunity for networking and discussion following a seminar on navigating risks and uncertainties in new technology applications.

During this seminar, Dr. Claudia Zettner, a Rice University professor will provide real-world examples of new technology implementations and how realized risks affected overall project outcomes.

This event is on Thursday, September 5, from 4 to 5:30 pm at the Ion. Click here to register.

September 9-13 — Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week

Greentown Labs, Halliburton Labs, and The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship are joining forces to launch the inaugural Houston Climate and Energy Startup Week 2024. This week will bring together leading energy and climate investors, industry leaders, and startups from across the globe to showcase and discuss innovative and promising companies and technologies that are transforming the energy industry and driving a sustainable, low-carbon energy future.

This event begins Monday, September 9, at 3:30 pm and runs through, Friday, September 13. Click here for the full schedule and to register.

September 9-13 — Houston Energy and Climate Week

Allies in Energy, a 501c3 non-profit, was formed in Texas to address energy education and climate literacy, and will be hosting their inaugural Houston Energy & Climate Week. This week brings together major cities in creating the national conversations and actions around a net zero future and Houston's leading role in driving solutions. The program themes are energy, innovation, industry, food, environmental justice, health, finance, workforce, community engagement, and policy.

This event begins Monday, September 9, at 7 am and runs through September 13. Click here for the full schedule and to register.

September 11 — Houston Methodist Clinician Speaker Series - Dr. Jordan Dale

Houston Methodist's next clinician speaker is Dr. Jordan Dale, the chief medical information officer. Dale will speak about digital transformation at Houston Methodist, the role of artificial intelligence in healthcare, and the importance of responsible AI use.

This event is Wednesday, September 11, from 4:45 to 6 pm at the Ion. Click here to register.

September 12 — Future of Automated Science Symposium

The Future of Automated Science Symposium is the inaugural annual event focused on automated science. As a new and emerging field, bringing together AI, infrastructure at scale, and high-throughput experimentation, Automated Science can offer new paradigms for scientific investigation.

Hear from academic and industry leaders from Carnegie Mellon University, Emerald Cloud Lab, and Opentrons. Learn about the exciting future of Automated Science and network with like-minded scientists and engineers.

This event is on Thursday, September 12, from 8:30 am to 4:15 pm at TMC Helix Park. Click here to register.

September 13 — 17th Annual Advances in Neurology Symposium

There have been significant advances in the diagnosis and treatment of many neurological diseases. Attempts to cover these scientific advances have been made through peer-reviewed journals, national and international society meetings, and consensus statements. This program will emphasize evidence-based strategy for the current treatment of neurological disorders and cutting-edge research in novel therapeutics.

This event is on Friday, September 13, from 8 am to 5:15 pm at Houston Methodist Research Institute. Click here to register.

September 17-20 — Gastech Conference

The Gastech Conference is an essential forum for energy professionals to shape the future of the industry. It sets the industry's critical agenda by driving energy security and transitions. More than 1,000 speakers will discuss the real-world strategies and business models that deliver energy security, shape climate actions for industry-wide decarbonization, and support a sustainable, affordable, and reliable multi-faceted energy system.

This event begins Tuesday, September 17 at 10 am and runs through Friday September 20 at George R. Brown Convention Center. Click here for the full schedule and to register.

September 19 — Carbon to Value Initiative Year 4 Kickoff

The Carbon to Value (C2V) Initiative is a multi-year collaboration between The Urban Future Lab (UFL), Greentown Labs, and Fraunhofer USA. This partnership is driving the creation of a thriving innovation ecosystem for the commercialization of carbontech—technologies that capture, convert and store carbon dioxide (CO₂) into valuable end products or services.

Celebrate the kickoff of Year 4 of the Carbon to Value Initiative, meet the startups that were selected for this year’s cohort, and hear from industry experts.

This event is on Thursday, September 19, from 5:30 pm to 8 pm at Greentown Labs. Click here to register.

September 24 — TMC Cappucino Connections

Mingle with the Texas Medical Center community and learn about exciting upcoming projects while enjoying complimentary cups of coffee.

This event is on Tuesday, September 24 from 8:30 to 10:30 am at TMC Innovation Factory. Click here to register.

September 25-27 — Innovation for Day One

Innovation for Day One is a conference organized by the Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies and the maternal newborn health community to explore groundbreaking tools and approaches for healthy outcomes for mothers and babies in resource-limited communities.

This event is from Wednesday, September 25 through Friday, September 27, at the Bioscience Research Collaborative on Rice University's campus. Click here to register.


Scott Gale, executive director of Halliburton Labs, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to share his call to action for Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week. Photo courtesy of Halliburton Labs

Houston innovator calls for collaboration from energy tech community

HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 226

Scott Gale will be the first to admit that hosting a week of curated events targeted to a group of individuals within the tech and energy space isn't a novel idea — Climate Week NYC has been taking over Manhattan for over a decade. But Gale believes Houston deserves to have its own time to shine.

Earlier this month, Halliburton Labs, Rice Alliance, and Greentown Houston announced the inaugural Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week 2024 to take place in September, but Gale, executive director of Halliburton Labs, says he hopes this is just the beginning of Houston organizations coming together to collaborate on the initiative.

"I think we have a really awesome initial coalition. Whether your the fifth company or organization to raise its hand to do something that week or the 50th — it really doesn't matter," Gale says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "It really is an open invitation — and I want to make that super clear."



Gale says that he's looked at some of the successful week-long events — like SXSW and others — and the key factors are calendar coordination and cross promotion. Now that Houston has the week set — September 9 to 13, 2024 — it's time for everyone to fill that week with a density of events anywhere around Houston to showcase the city's innovative energy community.

Those interested can learn more or submit their event information online.

The initiative falls in line with how Gale has led Halliburton Labs from its early days in 2020 to now with a focus on community. While the corporate world always needs eyes on its return on investment, supporting the innovation ecosystem has been a bit of a leap of faith – and it always will be.

"There's always this idea of having a line of sight to the outcomes (of your investment). And when you're interfacing with or investing in the startup community, you don't have the benefit of line of sight. A lot of the things that are being solved for are just too early stage. And that can be really hard for corporates to wrap their heads around," Gale says.

"One of the things that we got to was this idea that you can invest in the startup community, and you don't know where the returns will come from, but you know they will come," he continues.

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3 Houston incubators and accelerators fueling the growth of local startups

Meet the finalists

It takes a village to launch a business. That's where Houston's network of incubators and accelerators can step in, providing the resources, mentorship and community needed to push a fledgling company forward.

As part of our 2026 Houston Innovation Awards, the Incubator/Accelerator of the Year category honors a local organization that is championing and fueling the growth of Houston startups.

Three incubators and accelerators have been named finalists for the 2026 award. They support startups ranging from hard-tech companies to food and youth concepts.

Read more about these organizations below. The 2026 winners will be announced on InnovationMap.com in mid-November.

Activate

Hard tech incubator Activate supports scientists in "the outset of their entrepreneurial journey." The Houston hub was introduced in 2024, and joins others in Boston, New York, and Berkley, California—where Activate is headquartered. It named its third Houston cohort this summer.

The two-year program graduated its first class of Houston fellows in 2026 and saw its first alumni IPO from Houston-based Fervo Energy, which previously participated in a Berkley cohort. Nationally, it has supported 346 fellows and 276 companies since 2015. Those companies have raised more than $6 billion in follow-on funding, according to Activate. In Houston, it has supported Houston startups like Solidec, FlowCellutions and Orbital Arc. Activate Houston is led by managing director Jeremy Pitts, who co-founded Greentown Labs in Boston. It is based out of the Ion.

Impact Hub Houston

Impact Hub Houston supports early-stage ventures at various stages of development through innovative programs that address pressing societal issues. The nonprofit organization supports social impact startups through mentorship, connections and training opportunities.

There are more than 110 Impact Hubs globally with members spanning 72 countries. Launched in 2018, Impact Hub Houston says its membership tripled by the beginning of 2026. This year brought major milestones for the community, including the launch of its Ideas to Impact Accelerator, which supported 11 founders across the health, education, food systems, civic technology and workforce development sectors. It also received funding from more than 20 international Impact Hubs to develop SYNC, a collaboration platform that 25 Impact Hubs across five continents have committed to pilot. The organization has worked with local startups including Myoviva Health, The Change Lab and INNERVERSE Inc.

MarMo Innovation

Galveston-based business incubator MarMo Innovation is focused on removing barriers to entrepreneurship. It aims to provide affordable space, education, mentorship, market access, connections and real-world opportunities that help entrepreneurs move from idea to launch to sustainable growth. The "industry-agnostic" incubator was founded in 2022 and is led by Executive Director Erica Delgadillo.

This year, the organization moved from primarily serving as a coworking and community space into a more comprehensive entrepreneurial incubator by expanding its MarMo Market, MarMo Market Jr. and Lunch LineUp programs. A major focus for MarMo is food entrepreneurship. It is developing an Incubator Kitchen, which MarMo says will support programs like its Cottage to Commercial Bootcamp and Food Biz 101. The organization also expanded its board this year and says it is diversifying its revenue through memberships, events, markets, equipment and space rentals, sponsorships, grants and new entrepreneurial programming.

Baylor College of Medicine launches VC fund to invest in biotech startups

fresh funding

Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine just unveiled a new venture capital fund that backs early-stage biotech startups—and it’s already made its first investment.

BCM Legacy Fund I, funded by philanthropies, invested an undisclosed amount in Houston biotech startup Nemea Therapeutics. Nemea, a spinout of the Baylor College of Medicine and Germany’s Lead Discovery Center, is developing an oral drug to treat metastatic triple-negative breast cancer that no longer responds to currently available therapies.

This type of aggressive cancer spreads from the breast to other areas of the body, such as the bones, liver, lungs or brain. Roughly 38,000 to 57,000 Americans are diagnosed each year with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. One study showed about half of patients survive past the one-year mark following diagnosis and about one-third survive two years.

“Baylor College of Medicine’s laboratories produce discoveries with the potential to change patients’ lives, and too many of them stall where academic funding ends and private investment has not yet begun,” Dr. Jakub Tolar, president, CEO and executive dean of the Baylor College of Medicine, said in a press release. “The BCM Legacy Fund fills that gap, giving our scientists a path to advance their discoveries to patients.”

The National Institutes of Health awards more than $36 billion per year for biomedical research in the U.S., Baylor said. But some biomedical discoveries “never leave the starting line because they don’t yet fit the economics of venture capital,” the college said.

“The forefront of a new model”

The BCM Legacy Fund aggregates philanthropic capital from private foundations and donor-advised funds. It then invests in startups so they can move beyond that starting line and into later-stage investment rounds. The Greater Houston Community Foundation is the fund’s philanthropic partner.

“It’s exciting to be on the forefront of a new model for philanthropic capital,” said Houston entrepreneur and investor Burton Hanson, managing partner of the fund.

“Not only do we hope to solve a real problem by advancing these therapies to the patients who need them most, but we also hope this model will inspire others in the city and beyond toward philanthropic creativity and a posture of ‘I sacrifice; we win.’”

The fund expects to invest in about 15 early-stage startups over a five-year span. Baylor declined to divulge the amount of money in the fund and the size of the investment in Nemea.

Nemea’s “world-class chemistry”

Hanson oversees the Baylor fund alongside Chicago investor Steve Lehmann, who led the University of Chicago’s Innovation Fund.

Lehmann said Nemea, the fund’s first portfolio company, “has world-class chemistry, Baylor biology, and patients with no good options. Our job is to fund the experiments that carry it to the next handoff, so that industry and later-stage investors can take it from there.”

Based at Houston’s massive Texas Medical Center, Nemea plans to start clinical trials next year in collaboration with Baylor’s Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center.

Nemea previously received $9 million from the Lead Discovery Center and a $1.6 million grant from Baylor. Last year, the startup said it was seeking $25 million to $30 million in seed and Series A funding.

Debra McCoy of Houston, a former managing director at BlackRock and former partner at Bain & Co., and Paul Thomas, co-founder and CEO of Spring-based benefits manager Luscinia Health, sit on the Baylor fund’s governing board. Dr. Paul Klotman, former president, CEO and executive dean of Baylor, is a senior strategic adviser.

How does the fund find investment targets?

The Baylor Legacy Fund relies on two tools to help unearth early-stage biotech startups:

  • High-resolution “innovation maps” of research institutions. These maps surface hidden clusters of innovation, identify rising-star researchers and tie pockets of “innovation supply” at Baylor to areas of “innovation demand” in biotech.
  • AI-enhanced due diligence. AI agents assist with due diligence of early-stage biotech startups. The fund says the platform “distills the frameworks we’ve developed over a decade of teaching and investing into a flexible … diligence environment.”

MD Anderson unveils $3.4B expansion with two new Houston cancer care facilities

major expansion

The cutting edge of cancer-fighting technology and science is getting even sharper after MD Anderson announced last week that it will open two new facilities in the Texas Medical Center within the next five years. Inspiration Tower and Prism will expand MD Anderson’s annual patient load in the TMC to 250,000 annually and will incorporate a variety of new techniques.

The $3.4 billion project will add 2 million square feet to MD Anderson's TMC footprint, bringing its total campus size to 22 million square feet by 2032. Located at the corner of Fannin Street and Holcombe Boulevard, the cancer center says the two new facilities will serve as its new "front door" to the TMC.

“Every detail of these buildings, from the technology to the treatment rooms, was designed around our patients who will receive their care in them and our employees who will work in them. The facilities will serve as a physical representation of hope for the patients and their families who will walk through the doors,” Dr. Jeffrey E. Lee, president ad interim of UT MD Anderson, said in a news release. “Inspiration Tower and Prism are the future of cancer care, and we are grateful for the longstanding support and guidance we’ve received from the UT System Board of Regents to bring these projects to life. These facilities are part of the most impactful capital expansion in UT MD Anderson’s history.”

Prism is especially exciting as it will represent fully half of the linear accelerator treatment in the TMC. Linear accelerator is a radiation treatment that uses magnetically charged fields to deliver targeted external radiation therapy, like shooting cancer with a rail gun. The treatment is safer and has fewer side effects than older radiation treatments.

In addition, Prism will contain 12 MRI machines, four CT scanners, two PET-CT units, 18 radiation vaults and seven radiation simulators. Patient comfort has also been put at a premium with multiple gardens and roof overlooks.

“Every patient we treat deserves an environment that reflects the excellence of the care they receive at UT MD Anderson,” Chris McKee, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at UT MD Anderson, added in the release. “Our new facilities will be innovative, agile, adaptable and beautiful, and they will allow us to care for more patients, more effectively – in an environment that enhances healing and well-being. We are building for our future and for every patient who will be counting on us.”

Prism is slated to open in 2030.

Inspiration Tower will have 25 floors of surgical, diagnostic, and treatment services. At 1.4 million square feet, it’s currently expected to be the largest cancer-specific treatment facility in the United States. The tower will be divided into units for specific types of cancer, making it easy to integrate the advancing research being done all over Houston.

Like Prism, Inspiration Tower is specifically designed to offer comfort and reassurance, with more garden space, terraces, and beautiful scenery to ease patient distress. It is expected to open in 2032.

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