With increased awareness in need for connected medical devices, this Houston startup fills the gap

Houston innovators podcast episode 41

Chris Dupont, CEO of Galen Data, has seen his share of challenges and opportunities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo via galendata.com

For decades, medical device innovation has been improving the way patients are cared for, but only recently are innovators enabling important connectivity applications.

"Most legacy medical devices are not connected to the internet," says Chris DuPont, CEO and founder of Galen Data Inc. "All the new companies that are coming to us — the emerging wearable tech — connectivity is vital in their product roll out."

But with this internet connectivity, adhering to safety regulations adds costly and challenging obstacles for medical device companies. That's where Galen Data comes into play, and the Houston startup is seeing more of a need for its medical device cloud services now more than ever.

"COVID-19 has created all kinds of challenges — and I think in the long run, a lot of opportunities for Galen," DuPont shares on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "I think there will be a heightened awareness for the need for connected medical devices."

Galen Data's technology enables better communication between the device, the patient, and the medical provider, and DuPont equates it to being able to have a system similar to a check engine light on your vehicle.

"Wouldn't you want to know if your drug pump was starting to have problems or if the electro mechanical systems were starting to fail?" DuPont asks on the podcast.

The company's technology also provides important medical data and information that can be crucial for detecting trends and predictability.

"There's far greater risk in not having access to certain critical data to that device," DuPont says when asked about the hesitation some people have regarding medical data in terms of privacy.

DuPont shares more about his company's recent growth, his most recent partnership with an Austin-based medical device company, and how he's observed Houston emerging medical device innovation ecosystem evolve over his decades of experience. Listen to the full interview below — or wherever you get your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.


AvidXchange executives explain why a crisis like the pandemic can provide opportunities for growth or realignment. Photo via Getty Images

Overheard: Fintech company with Houston ties sees opportunity for growth in new work-from-home age

Eavesdropping in Houston

From esports to telemedicine, some technologies are having a major moment during the COVID-19 crisis. As many businesses are operating remotely with work-from-home policies in place indefinitely, payments automation is another technology that's seen an opportunity amid the pandemic.

AvidXchange, which has invoice and payment processes automation software for mid-market businesses, is one of the companies in this payment automation space that's seen growth in spite of the economic downturn caused by the virus. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company was founded in 2000 and went on to acquire Houston-founded Strongroom Solutions Inc. in 2015.

Since the acquisition, AvidXchange has quadrupled its presence in Houston and does a good deal of business locally. Equipping companies with tools for remote work is crucial — now and especially in light of Houston's propensity for challenges. Tyler Gill, vice president of sales for AvidXchange based in the Houston office and former CEO of Strongroom, joined Houston Exponential on a virtual panel to discuss this topic.

"We've had a history of disasters in Houston. Any time we can help businesses move to a more cloud-based infrastructure is going to be better," Gill says on the livestream. "I think working from home is maybe the new normal for a lot of employees — so how do we enable this?"

Gill and his colleague, Chris Elmore, senior sales performance director at AvidXchange, joined Joey Sanchez of HX for the talk about the acquisition, the pandemic, and growth for the company. If you missed it or don't have time to stream the whole conversation, here are some impactful moments of the chat.

“Economic downturns have a tendency to put a very bright light on a feature set or a product or a service that’s underperforming."

— Elmore says on how the pandemic affects innovation and startups. "My hope is that entrepreneurs will see this as a real time to get focused on their business — what's working well and what's not working well — and my hope is that they'll say, 'I need to fix that,' not 'I wish this was better,'" he says.

“For a young entrepreneur looking to build a business, make sure you’re looking for the people who are germane to your business.”

— Gill says about starting his business in Houston. At first, he was trying to find investors in oil and gas, but he found more success working with companies with a background in finance technology. "Houston has a history and density in fintech — I just had to find it."

“The fact that Strongroom owned the automated payment process in HOA that made them so attractive to AvidXchange because we didn’t.”

— Elmore says on the 2015 acquisition. He explains that AvidXchange had set up a presence in multifamily and commercial real estate, while Strongroom had a hold on homeowner's association, or HOA, business. The two companies competed for a while, and if Strongroom hadn't had their HOA specialty that made the company ideal for acquisition, Elmore says the two companies would still be competing today.

“When Strongroom was added to AvidXchange, our culture improved. By the way, we went from 40 employees to 1,000 within 14 months, and Strongroom was right at the beginning of that.”

— Elmore says on growth following the acquisition. The company now has 1,500 employees across seven offices and just closed a $128 million round of fundraising in April.

“Customers don’t care how big you get or how much money you raise from investors. They care about if your service is still doing the things they need to operate their business.”

— Gill says, reminding entrepreneurs to always prioritize and be focused on the client experience — through mergers or acquisitions, fundraising rounds, growth, etc.

“When you replace human interaction with technology, what you have to do, is to now move that person on to something more impactful and more important for the business. I don’t like tech for tech’s sake.”

— Elmore says on the importance of automation. "When you automate something, the output of automation is time," he adds.

“Houston couldn’t be a better place to build a business — I found great investors and employees here. It’s a city that’s used to risk. But it’s got to be you, the entrepreneur, that’s got something festering — that’s how you know it’s a great idea.”

— Gill says on inspiring future innovators. "What kept me motivated was I wanted to win. I felt like we had a great product, and we had a big market to serve. … I wanted to build something lasting and build a great team."

“We continue to be a great Houston story — some of my angel investors in Houston are still benefiting."

— Gill says on AvidXchange's presence in Houston. He adds that he's proud of how his former Strongroom team members have risen through the ranks of the company following the acquisition and that he sees the company, which is still privately held, moving toward IPO.

Houston-based Galen Data is collaborating with an Austin health device company on a cloud-based platform that monitors vital signs. Photo via galendata.com

Houston startup teams up with Austin company on medical device amid COVID-19 crisis

texans teaming up

Two Texas companies with NASA roots are joining forces on a technology that can be used to monitor vital signs of seniors or others that are at-risk of contracting COVID-19.

Houston-based Galen Data Inc., which has developed a cloud platform for medical devices, and Austin-based Advanced TeleSensors Inc., the creator of the Cardi/o touchless monitor. Together, the two health tech companies are collaborating to take ATS's device and adding Galen Data's cloud technology.

"We wish we had found Galen Data sooner. We had been building our own cloud for six months, thinking a custom solution would best meet our needs," says Sajol Ghoshal, CEO and president of ATS, in a news release. "Getting up-and-running with them was very easy, and it allowed us to focus on our core competency — which is data-signal processing."

ATS's technology uses radio frequency in its remote, touchless monitoring. The company's founders developed the core technology at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. Initially, the technology was intended for assisted living facilities. Now, amid the COVID-19 crisis, monitoring isolated seniors or at-risk patients is even more relevant.

Galen Data, which launched in 2016, also has NASA roots as the founders met as software contractors working on NASA's safety systems. The company has developed and marketed its cloud-based platform for connecting medical devices to the internet, including pacemakers and glucose monitors.

Chris DuPont, co-founder and CEO, has led the company to meet compliance standards set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA), cybersecurity organizations, and others.

"We knew that our platform would be a great fit for Cardi/o," Chris DuPont, CEO of Galen Data, says. "Speed was critical, accentuated by the COVID-19 crisis. We were well positioned to address ATS' needs, and help those at-risk in the process."

Sajol Ghoshal (left), CEO and president of ATS, and Chris Dupont, (CEO of Galen Data), are bringing together their technologies. Photos courtesy

Google has signed a lease for a full floor in Buffalo Heights One, a mixed-use development anchored by H-E-B. Photo via buffaloheightsdistrict.com

Amazon and Google to open new locations in Houston

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Within the same week, two tech giants have announced plans to enter or expand in Houston. Amazon has began building out a robotic distribution center in Fort Bend County, and Google will open its first office in Houston focused on cloud technology sales.

Dallas-based real estate developer Trammell Crow Company has began construction on Amazon's ecommerce fulfillment center in Richmond, Texas, located on 93.5 acres at 10507 Harlem Road. The 850,000-square-foot facility will open in 2021.

"We're delighted to continue our growth and investment in Texas, with our new fulfillment center in Richmond," says Alicia Boler Davis, Amazon's vice president of global customer fulfillment, in a news release. "This new fulfillment center will create more than 1,000 new full-time jobs, in addition to the more than 20,000 current employees across the state, who receive industry-leading pay and benefits starting on day one."

According to the news release, the new fulfillment center will be equipped with Amazon robotics technology just like the company's North Houston distribution center.

Meanwhile, Google has signed a lease with BKR Memorial for an entire floor at One Buffalo Heights building (3663 Washington Ave.), which is anchored by H-E-B. The office won't have any technology-focused employees, rather will be a regional hub for Cloud Enterprise Sales. The location will deliver in early 2021.

"Google is a major player, not just as a driver of innovation and economic transformation, but also as an engaged member of the community," says Russell Gordy, CEO of BKR, in a news release. "We are pleased they chose Buffalo Heights when they were making a commitment to Houston."

Last year, Google invested in offices across the state, including two additional offices in Austin and a $600 million data center in Midlothian — which is 25 miles southwest of Dallas. Google first opened an office in Austin in 2007.

"Texas continues to be an innovation hub for the south," says Lauren Lambert, head of public policy and government relations in Texas, in the release. "The state's culture, diversity and strong emphasis on community makes it a perfect fit for Google and we look forward to calling Texas home for years to come."

Google's nonprofit arm recently donated $100,000 to go toward aiding families in Houston that were impacted by COVID-19. Over 100 families will receive $1,000 in direct cash payments.

"Houston is a hub for innovation and technology and the digital universe," says Mayor Sylvester Turner in the release. The new office "is crucial for the long-term health and resiliency of our city. The goal is to grow top-paying jobs for residents and new arrivals. Companies like Google see what we already know about our city: the greatest and most creative minds live and work in Houston."

Travis Parigi, founder and CEO of LiquidFrameworks, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss how he's navigating both a global pandemic and an oil downturn. Photo courtesy of LiquidFrameworks

Houston entrepreneur is helping his oil and gas clients get 'out of the paper world'

HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 36

Travis Parigi isn't afraid of an oil downturn. His company, LiquidFrameworks, provides cloud-based, mobile field operations management solutions to oil and gas, environmental, and industrial service companies, and he usually expects drilling numbers to slow every five to seven years or so. In fact, he plans on it and prepares accordingly.

"We've seen these types of challenges in the past within the oil and gas space — it is cyclical based on commodities," Parigi explains on thi week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "We're well positioned to weather these storms."

But Parigi couldn't have foreseen the effect on demand a global pandemic could cause the oil and gas industry, and while he says he's keeping a close eye on the market, he also is trying to communicate with customers and potential customers how his software is even more important in times like these.

"What we're really focused on doing is making sure that our customers charge for everything that they have contracted with their customer and make sure there are no mistakes or errors in the billings and invoices that they send out," Parigi says. "Ultimately it increases their cash flow and makes them more efficient — it gets them out of the paper world."

Parigi shares his biggest concerns about the oil and gas market and how he's looking into partnering with another Houston energy tech startup, Data Gumbo, on the episode. Listen to the full interview below — or wherever you get your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.


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Mark Cuban calls AI ‘the greater democratizer’ for young entrepreneurs

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Texas billionaire Mark Cuban—whose investment portfolio includes Houston-based Holliball, a startup that makes and sells large inflatable holiday ornaments—believes AI is leveling the playing field for budding low-income entrepreneurs.

At the recent Clover x Shark Tank Summit in Las Vegas, the Shark Tank alum called AI “the greater democratizer.”

Cuban told Axios that free and low-cost AI tools enable disadvantaged teenagers to compete with seasoned professionals.

“Right now, if you’re a 14- to 18-year-old and you’re in not-so-good circumstances, you have access to the best professors and the best consultants,” Cuban said. “It allows people who otherwise would not have access to any resources to have access to the best resources in real time. You can compete with anybody.”

While Cuban believes AI is “the great democratizer” for low-income young people, low-income workers still face hurdles in navigating the AI landscape, according to Public Works Partners, an urban planning and consulting firm. The firm says access to AI among low-income workers may be limited due to cost, insufficient digital literacy and infrastructure gaps.

“Without adequate resources and training, these workers may struggle to adapt to AI-driven workplaces or access the educational opportunities necessary to acquire new skills,” Public Works Partners said.

Texas 2036, a public policy organization focused on the state’s future, reported in January AI jobs in Texas are projected to grow 27 percent over the next decade. The number 2036 refers to the year when Texas will celebrate its bicentennial.

As for the current state of AI, Cuban said he doesn’t think the economy is witnessing an AI bubble comparable to the dot-com bubble, which lasted from 1998 to 2000.

“The difference is, the improvement in technology basically slowed to a trickle,” Cuban said of the dot-com era. “We’re nowhere near the improvement in technology slowing to a trickle in AI.”

Houston's top innovators and startups for 2025 and more news to know

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Editor's note: We're looking back at the top Houston innovation news for the first half of October 2025, including the big reveal of our 2025 Houston Innovation Awards finalists. Here are the five most-read InnovationMap stories from Oct. 1-15, 2025:

1. Announcing the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards finalists

Meet the finalists for the Houston Innovation Awards, taking place Nov. 13. Graphic via Gow Media

InnovationMap is proud to reveal the finalists for the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards. Taking place on November 13 at Greentown Labs, the fifth annual Houston Innovation Awards will honor the best of Houston's innovation ecosystem, including startups, entrepreneurs, mentors, and more. This year's finalists were determined by our esteemed panel of judges, comprised of past award winners and InnovationMap editorial leadership. Continue reading.

2. 5 minority-founded Houston startups shine as Innovation Awards finalists

These five minority-founded businesses stood out to the judges for the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards. Photo via marsmaterials.tech

Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the nation, and that trend carries over into its innovation and startup ecosystem. As part of the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards, our Minority-founded Businesses category will honor an innovative Houston startup founded or co-founded by BIPOC or LGBTQ+ representation. Five minority-founded businesses have been named finalists for the 2025 award. The finalists range from a wearable health tech device company to a clean chemical manufacturing business to a startup with a lunar mission. Continue reading.

3. 2 UH projects named finalists for $50M fund to shape future of Gulf Coast

One project involves the innovative recycling of wind turbines into seawall and coastal habitats. Courtesy rendering

Two University of Houston science projects have been selected as finalists for the Gulf Futures Challenge, which will award a total of $50 million to develop ideas that help benefit the Gulf Coast. Sponsored by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Gulf Coast Research Program and Lever for Change, the competition is designed to spark innovation around problems in the Gulf Coast, such as rising sea levels, pollution, energy security, and community resiliency. The two UH projects beat out 162 entries from organizations based in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Continue reading.

4. 3 Houston-area companies appear on Fortune’s inaugural AI ranking

Spring-based ExxonMobil ranks within the top 10 on the new Fortune AIQ 50 ranking. Photo via Getty Images.

Three companies based in the Houston area appear on Fortune’s inaugural list of the top adopters of AI among Fortune 500 companies. The Fortune AIQ 50 ranking is based on ServiceNow’s Enterprise AI Maturity Index, an annual measurement of how prepared organizations are to adopt and scale AI. To evaluate how Fortune 500 companies are rolling out AI and how much they value AI investments, Fortune teamed up with Enterprise Technology Research. The results went into computing an AIQ score for each company. Continue reading.

5. 10+ can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for October

From the fourth annual Tejano Tech Summit to the first-ever Ion Family Tech Festival, here's what not to miss this month. Image courtesy the Ion

Houston's October calendar is packed with informative and impactful events—plus a few fun ones, too. From the fourth annual Tejano Tech Summit to the first-ever Ion Family Tech Festival, here's what not to miss and how to register.Continue reading.

CPRIT hires MD Anderson official as chief cancer prevention officer

new hire

The Austin-based Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, which provides funding for cancer research across the state, has hired Ruth Rechis as its chief prevention officer. She comes to CPRIT from Houston’s University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she led the Cancer Prevention and Control Platform.

Before joining MD Anderson, Rechis was a member of the executive leadership team at the Livestrong Foundation, an Austin-based nonprofit that supports people affected by cancer.

“Ruth has widespread connections throughout the cancer prevention community, both in Texas and across the nation,” CPRIT CEO Kristen Doyle said in a news release. “She is a long-term passionate supporter of CPRIT, and she is very familiar with our process, programs, and commitment to transparency. Ruth is a terrific addition to the team here at CPRIT.”

Rechis said that by collaborating with researchers, policymakers, public health leaders and community partners, CPRIT “can continue to drive forward proven prevention strategies that improve health outcomes, lower long-term costs, and create healthier futures for all.”

At MD Anderson, Rechis and her team worked with more than 100 organizations in Texas to bolster cancer prevention initiatives at clinics and community-based organizations.

Rechis is a longtime survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymph nodes, which are part of a person’s immune system.
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