Houston expert: How early tech exposure can prepare the future workforce

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Getting children interested in technology is more important than ever before. Photo via Getty Images

In our ever-evolving digital landscape, there's no better time to embrace technology than now. This is evident by a fascinating prediction from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: a whopping 100,000 tech-related jobs are projected in the next decade. Intriguing, right?

What does this mean for the next generation? For starters, getting children interested in technology is more important than ever before.

In the same way that parents encourage their kids to develop a knack for languages, concepts, or habits early in life, that same emphasis is now being put on kids who play video games and may be interested in coding.

Now, instead of simply playing video games, they will also be preparing for their future in the process.

By learning the ins and outs of coding, the next generation will not just understand the technology we use every day, but also how it factors into the daily controls of our ever-advancing world.

Through coding classes, kids develop their own video games while honing in on skills such as critical thinking and problem solving. This emphasizes the use of setting clear learning goals, designing activities and assessments that allow students to achieve those goals in any field they decide to pursue a career in.

Children are provided an outlet that encourages creativity in a fun community-like environment that shows them to push their limits to think outside the box as they develop STEM skills. By providing a creative community, students are able to understand that it is important to share and listen to other ideas as a team.

Kids ultimately walk away with an appreciation for experimenting with new ideas and a sense of ownership and control over their work.

That creative mindset is key in allowing students to explore the ultimate forms of self-expression, exploration and discovery, which are all pivotal in their development towards future career success.

Beyond coding, kids who code also learn to use their skills to benefit their communities, from app development to innovative web solutions that help solve local problems. This helps provide another sense of self pride for the children.

While coding is at the core of what kids learn, the skills being taught transcend it. Every opportunity to code is a step toward molding resilient, innovative, and logical thinkers.

So, whether your kid wants to pursue a world in the technology industry, or just wants to be successful, coding will challenge them and prepare them for future success.

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Dave Gandhi is owner of Missouri City Code Ninjas.

MD Anderson Cancer Center is a top place to work in the U.S. and Texas. Photo by F. Carter Smith/courtesy of MD Anderson

These Houston startups and companies clock in as the top employers in the U.S.

best of the rest

Whose boss is doing something right in Houston? Forbes set out to find out.

New rankings from Forbes identified the top employers in Houston and beyond, and that included both bigger companies and the country’s best startup employers. In Houston, the startups ranked as top employers are:

No. 120 — Imbuit
No. 310 — Code Ninjas (Pearland)
No. 353 — Axiom Space
No. 462 — Liongard

When it comes to more traditional businesses, Dr. Pete Pisters, CEO of MD Anderson Cancer Center, continues his reign. He was named a top boss in 2021. Now, the cancer treatment facility/research center he leads has been named one of the best employers in a new report.

MD Anderson Cancer Center ranked No. 10 among the country’s best large employers in the country. Staffing some 22,000 employees, the world-renowned cancer center also landed at No. 25 in Forbes list of America's Best Employers in 2021.

Other Houston-area companies on the list include: Houston Methodist (No. 37), Waste Management (No. 245), Sysco (No. 314), Shell Oil (no. 361), Halliburton (No. 389), Schlumberger (No. 403), ExxonMobil (No. 440), and BP (No. 487).

Other Texas employers ranked among the best large employers in the U.S. are:

  • No. 10 — MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
  • No. 37 — Houston Methodist, Houston
  • No. 38 — H-E-B, San Antonio
  • No. 135 — USAA, San Antonio
  • No. 140 — Keller Williams Realty, Austin
  • No. 143 — Dell Technologies, Round Rock
  • No. 214 — Texas Tech University, Lubbock
  • No. 245 — Waste Management, Houston
  • No. 279 — University of Texas at Austin
  • No. 314 — Sysco, Houston
  • No. 318 — Daikin Industries, Waller (North American operations hub for manufacturing, marketing, research, R&D, and customer support)
  • No. 324 — Whole Foods Market, Austin
  • No. 361 — Shell Oil, Houston
  • No. 389 — Halliburton, Houston
  • No. 403 — Schlumberger, Houston
  • No. 440 — ExxonMobil, Houston
  • No. 487 — BP, Houston (North American headquarters)

Elsewhere in Texas, Dallas reigns as the capital of Texas when it comes to the best big and small employers, according to Forbes, which put University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas at No. 9 among the country’s best large employers in the country and Dallas-based life insurance platform Bestow at No. 16 among the country’s best startup employers.

UT Southwestern isn’t the only Dallas-Fort Worth employer to pop up on the Forbes list of the best large employers. Richardson-based software company RealPage sits at No. 49; Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, No. 56; Plano-based Toyota North America, No. 253; Plano-based Cinemark, No. 370; Dallas-based Jacobs, No. 375; Dallas-based Topgolf, No. 394; Dallas-based Primoris Services, No. 399; Irving-based Fluor, No. 422; Dallas-based CBRE, No. 423; Irving-based McKesson, No. 429; Fort Worth-based American Airlines, No. 446; and Plano-based Keurig Dr Pepper, No. 483.

Dallas-based software company Slync.io, holding the No. 290 spot for best startups.

What follows are the other Texas employers ranked among the best startup employers in the country.

Austin

No. 104 — Apty
No. 121 — Homeward
No. 169 — SparkCognition
No. 186 — Outdoor Voices
No. 255 — Outdoorsy
No. 323 — ICON
No. 324 — The Zebra
No. 330 — TrustRadius
No. 335 — Innovetive Petcare (Cedar Park)
No. 387 — AlertMedia
No. 400 — Iris Telehealth
No. 410 — Wheel
No. 455 — Billd
No. 460 — Aceable
No. 470 — Shipwell

Forbes teamed up with data and research company Statista to develop the rankings of the best large employers and best startup employers.

Three Houston companies are among the best startups for employees. 10'000 Hours/Getty Images

3 Houston companies plug into Forbes' first-ever best startup employers list

FORCES IN THE WORKFORCE

Three businesses based in the Houston area appear in Forbes magazine's inaugural ranking of the best startup employers.

Forbes teamed up with market research company Statista to identify up-and-coming companies that are liked most by those who work there. Researchers evaluated 2,500 U.S. businesses with 50 or more employees on three criteria: employer reputation, employee satisfaction, and growth. The result: Forbes' first-ever ranking, released March 10, of the country's 500 best startup employers.

To create the ranking, Statista looked at articles, blogs, and social media posts about each employer; employee reviews on job websites like Glassdoor and Indeed; and website traffic and employee headcounts for each startup over a two-year span.

The three Houston-area startups that are ranked are: Houston-based 2nd.MD (No. 280), Pearland-based Code Ninjas (No. 350), and Houston-based Onit (No. 463).

San Francisco-based footwear retailer Allbirds snags the No. 1 ranking on the Forbes list, and the Dallas-Fort Worth leads Texas metro areas for the most startups on the list with its 13 startup companies.

Ranked 25th, the highest in Texas, Fort Worth-based Koddi garners the top ranking among all Texas startups. The company provides marketing software for advertisers in the travel industry. In 2019, the Digiday Worklife Awards program named Koddi the tech company with the most collaborative culture.

"Koddi gives its employees the ability to shape the direction of their own careers and empowers them to succeed," Zachary Rector, associate director of account services, said in a 2017 release. "Every day at Koddi offers a unique challenge to overcome and the opportunity for personal growth. All of your coworkers are fully committed to one another's success and help each other learn. Koddi is a fast-paced, ever-changing, and engaging place to work."

Here are the 12 other Dallas-Fort Worth startups that appear in the Forbes ranking:

  • No. 50 — Bestow, Dallas
  • No. 59 — Veryable, Dallas
  • No. 118 — Sector 5 Digital, Fort Worth
  • No. 149 — Stryve Biltong, Plano
  • No. 231 — PestRoutes, McKinney
  • No. 265 — Titus Industrial, Dallas
  • No. 275 — Student Success Agency
  • No. 271 — Meritize, Frisco
  • No. 272 — Defi Solutions, Westlake
  • No. 305 — Crystal Clear Concepts, Grand Prairie
  • No. 325 — WellKept, Arlington
  • No. 411 — Tap Water Watch, Dallas

Meanwhile, Austin had a dozen startups on the list. At No. 87, Austin-based SchooX is the top-ranked startup in the Central Texas region. The company provides a workplace learning platform.

"Working at SchooX provides an awesome environment with great people that changes the way people learn," employee George Litos says on the company's website. "SchooX is shaping the future of e-learning, and I'm proud to be a part of it."

Here are the 11 other Austin-area companies that claim spots in the top 500:

  • No. 97 — Iris Telehealth, Austin
  • No. 201 — Jungle Scout, Austin
  • No. 226 — RigUp, Austin
  • No. 301 — TrustRadius, Austin
  • No. 315 — Shipwell, Austin
  • No. 399 — AlertMedia, Austin
  • No. 430 — Everlywell, Austin
  • No. 451 — Innovetive Petcare, Cedar Park
  • No. 457 — SubjectWell, Austin
  • No. 463 — ScaleFactor, Austin
  • No. 478 — Outdoorsy, Austin
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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

From Houston inventors being recognized to Chevron's latest investment, here's what innovation news you need to know. Photo by Dwight C. Andrews/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

Chevron makes another investment, Houston researchers nationally recognized, and more innovation news

Short Stories

Houston's innovation news hasn't quite slowed yet for the holidays. This most recent news roundup includes lots of money raised, a new contract for a Houston startup, innovators recognized and more.

For more daily innovation news, subscribe to InnovationMap's newsletter, which goes out every weekday at 7 am.

Chevron Technology Ventures invests in Texas company

Courtesy of CTV

Houston-based Chevron Technology Ventures has contributed to Austin-based motor tech company Infinitum Electric's $12.5 million Series B round of financing. New Mexico-based Cottonwood Technology Fund and includes participation AJAX Strategies and other individual investors.

The company plans to use the funds to build out its research and development, engineering, supply chain, and production teams.

"Infinitum's mission aligns well with our goals for the Future Energy Fund," says Barbara Burger, president of CTV, in a release. "The purpose of the Future Energy Fund is to invest in breakthrough energy technologies that reflect Chevron's commitment to lower emission energy sources and that are integral to low-carbon and efficient value chains."

4 Houston researchers named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors

ideas

Getty Images

The National Academy of Inventors named 168 academic innovators to NAI Fellow status — and four conduct their research right here in Houston. The program "highlights academic inventors who have demonstrated a spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society," reads the news release.

The four Houston inventors and their institutions are as follows:

List ranks Houston's fastest growing companies

Chart via Grojo.com

Growjo named the 100 fastest-growing companies in Houston for 2019, and, while the study notes the city's large oil and gas and medical industries, also acknowledges its growing tech and software scene. The companies were selected by a myriad of factors.

"Our algorithm is based on multiple datasets including employee growth, estimated revenue growth, valuations, quality and quantity of funding, hiring announcements, current job openings, leadership team announcements, and numerous other growth triggers," reads the website.

The top five companies on the list are:

  1. Midcoast Energy, which has 183 employees and a 17 percent employee growth rate.
  2. ibüümerang, which has 528 employees, and a 633 percent employee growth rate.
  3. Arion, which has 136 employees and a 216 percent employee growth rate.
  4. GoExpedi, which as 59 employees and a 119 percent employee growth rate.
  5. Code Ninjas, which has 338 employees and a 63 percent employee growth rate.

For the full list, visit Growjo.com.

TMCx company wins awards 

Image via abilitechmedical.com

Abilitech Medical, which recently completed the TMCx program, has taken home some wins in Minnesota, where it's based. The company was named named among the state's topmed tech companies by the Minnesota High Tech Association at the 2019 TEKNE awards and 2019, as well as the grand prize winner and top woman-led business by the University of Minnesota's business school at its 2019 Minnesota Cup competition.

The medical device company's technology includes the Abilitech™ Assist, which assists patients with Multiple Sclerosis, rehabilitating from stoke, or other conditions with eating, drinking, and using a computer.

"We've met so many people whose lives will be changed with this innovation," says CEO and founder Angie Conley in a news release. "Through the Texas Medical Center accelerator, we met Dr. Hany Samir who championed our upcoming stroke study."

Samir is a cardiac anesthesiologist at Houston Methodist. He lost his ability to work and perform simple daily functions after a stroke debilitated his left arm.

"I'm unable to practice the medicine I love. I want to hold my wife again with two hands and enjoy dinner with her, without having her cut my food. I want to have a cup of coffee without asking for help," says Samir in the release. "Regaining function in my arm will restore my life."

Pandata Tech receives Department of Defense contract

Photo courtesy of Pandata Tech

Houston-based ​Pandata Tech secured a contract with the United States Department of Defense from the Rapid Sustainment Office of the the United States Air Force last month. The Phase II contract will allow the company to work with Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska to develop a scalable data quality platform.

The access to data will aid in natural disasters, per the release. The goal of the contract would be for a Phase III contract and an opportunity to scale the technology into other branches of military. The company also had a Phase I contract signed in August before securing the Phase II in November.

"Pandata Tech's proprietary DQM software was built during a development partnership with one of the world's largest offshore drilling companies. Because the technology was tested and built with offshore drilling data, the shift to aircraft carriers would be smooth," explains Gustavo Sanchez, co-founder of Pandata Tech, in a news release.

Houston company receives Department of Energy funding

Photo via aerominepower.com

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory — with funding from the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Wind Energy Technologies Office — selected a Houston company for its Competitiveness Improvement Project.

Westergaard Solutions, founded by Houstonian Carsten Westergaard, was named among the 2019 CIP Awardees. Among the company's assets is AeroMine, which competed in the most recent Houston cohort in MassChallenge Texas. The company "will implement an innovative building-integrated wind generation concept with no external moving parts, moving from a preliminary conceptual design to a pre-production prototype design that is ready for testing," according to the release.

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Houston doctor aims to revolutionize hearing aid industry with tiny implant

small but mighty

“What is the future of hearing aids?” That’s the question that led to a potential revolution.

“The current hearing aid market and technology is old, and there are little incremental improvements, but really no significant, radical new ideas, and I like to challenge the status quo,” says Dr. Ron Moses, an ENT specialist and surgeon at Houston Methodist.

Moses is the creator of NanoEar, which he calls “the world’s smallest hearing aid.” NanoEar is an implantable device that combines the invisibility of a micro-sized tympanostomy tube with more power—and a superior hearing experience—than the best behind-the-ear hearing aid.

“You put the NanoEar inside of the eardrum in an in-office procedure that takes literally five minutes,” Moses says.

As Moses explains, because of how the human cochlea is formed, its nerves break down over time. It’s simply an inevitability that if we live long enough, we will need hearing aids.

“The question is, ‘Are we going to all be satisfied with what exists?’” he asks.

Moses says that currently, only about 20 percent of patients who need hearing aids have them. That’s because of the combination of the stigma, the expense, and the hassle and discomfort associated with the hearing aids currently available on the market. That leaves 80 percent untapped among a population of 466 million people with hearing impairment, and more to come as our population ages. In a nearly $7 billion global market, that additional 80 percent could mean big money.

Moses initially patented a version of the invention in 2000, but says that it took finding the right team to incorporate as NanoEar. That took place in 2016, when he joined forces with cofounders Michael Moore and Willem Vermaat, now the company’s president and CFO, respectively. Moore is a mechanical engineer, while Vermaat is a “financial guru;” both are repeat entrepreneurs in the biotech space.

Today, NanoEar has nine active patents. The company’s technical advisors include “the genius behind developing the brains in this device,” Chris Salthouse; NASA battery engineer Will West; Dutch physicist and audiologist Joris Dirckx; and Daniel Spitz, a third-generation master watchmaker and the original guitarist for the famed metal band Anthrax.

The NanoEar concept has done proof-of-concept testing on both cadavers at the University of Antwerp and on chinchillas, which are excellent models for human hearing, at Tulane University. As part of the TMC Innovation Institute program in 2017, the NanoEar team met with FDA advisors, who told them that they might be eligible for an expedited pathway to approval.

Thus far, NanoEar has raised about $900,000 to get its nine patents and perform its proof-of-concept experiments. The next step is to build the prototype, but completing it will take $2.75 million of seed funding.

Despite the potential for making global change, Moses has said it’s been challenging to raise funds for his innovation.

“We're hoping to find that group of people or person who may want to hear their children or grandchildren better. They may want to join with others and bring a team of investors to offset that risk, to move this forward, because we already have a world-class team ready to go,” he says.

To that end, NanoEar has partnered with Austin-based Capital Factory to help with their raise. “I have reached out to their entire network and am getting a lot of interest, a lot of interest,” says Moses. “But in the end, of course, we need the money.”

It will likely, quite literally, be a sound investment in the future of how we all hear the next generation.

Forbes and Fortune spotlight Houston innovators and more news to know

Trending news

Editor's note: It's time to look back at the top trending innovation news in April. Forbes and Fortune magazines put the spotlight on Houston, plus a Houston startup makes its rodeo debut and a state-of-the-art facility opens in the Energy Corridor. Here are the five most-read InnovationMap stories for the first half of April 2025.

1. Google teams up with Rice University to launch AI-focused accelerator

The new Rice Nexus is partnering with Google Public Sector and Non Sibi Ventures to support high-potential AI-focused startups. Image via Rice University.

Google Public Sector is teaming up with Rice University to drive early-stage artificial intelligence innovation and commercialization via the new Rice AI Venture Accelerator, or RAVA.

RAVA will use Google Cloud technology and work with venture capital firm Non Sibi Ventures to connect high-potential AI-focused startups with public and private sector organizations. The incubator will be led by Rice Nexus, which launched earlier this year in the Ion District as an AI-focused "innovation factory.” Continue reading.

2. State-of-the-art innovation hub opens in Houston Energy Corridor

Schneider Electric's new Energy Innovation Center can simulate various real-world scenarios in refineries, combined-cycle power plants, ethylene plants and other facilities. Getty Images

French multinational company Schneider Electric has opened a new 10,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art Energy Innovation Center in Houston. The new facility is located in Houston’s Energy Corridor and is designed to “foster increased collaboration and technological advancements across the entire value chain,” according to a release. The new Houston location joins Schneider's existing innovation hubs in Paris, Singapore and Bangalore.

The venue will serve as a training center for process control engineers, production superintendents, manufacturing managers, technical leads and plant operations personnel. It can simulate various real-world scenarios in refineries, combined-cycle power plants, ethylene plants, recovery boilers and chemical reactors. Continue reading.

3. 18 Houstonians land on Forbes world's billionaires list for 2025

Tilman Fertitta is the richest Houstonian, according to Forbes. Courtesy photo

The world’s richest people are wealthier now than they've ever been, and more billionaires have made it onto the 2025 World's Billionaires List than ever before, according to Forbes. This year, 18 Houston-based billionaires are among the richest people in the world, with hospitality honcho Tilman Fertitta leading as the richest Houstonian.

Fertitta, 67, ranked No. 220 overall with an estimated net worth of $11.3 billion, which steadily increased from his 2024 net worth of $9.4 billion. Continue reading.

4. 8 Houston companies earn spots among Fortune's most innovative for 2025

Health care companies dominated Fortune's America’s Most Innovative Companies report for 2025, with Houston’s top-rated company on the list falling into that sector. Photo via Getty Images

Eight Houston companies have been named to Fortune’s third annual list of America’s Most Innovative Companies, joining another 16 from the state of Texas. The group of 300 companies nationwide was rated based on production innovation, process innovation, and innovation culture, according to Fortune. In partnership with Statista, the magazine considered IP portfolios, employee, expert and customer opinions; and many other factors.

While many of the top-rated companies fell into the tech sector, Fortune reports that health care companies made up the largest portion of the 2025 list. Sixty-three honorees fell into the health care category, including Houston’s top-rated company, Houston Methodist. Continue reading.

5. Houston startup unveils its innovative leather alternative at the rodeo

Rheom Materials presented its bio-based alternative, Shorai, a 93 percent bio-based leather, at the rodeo and plans to scale it up this year. Photos courtesy Rheom Materials

Last month’s Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo stirred up another rootin’ tootin’ time for Houstonians and beyond. But before the annual event galloped into the sunset, there were quite a few memorable innovations on display, with one notably coming from Rheom Materials.

The Houston-based pioneer of next-generation materials presented its scalable, bio-based alternative known as Shorai, a 93 percent bio-based leather, through two custom, western-inspired outfits that showed off cowboy flair through a sustainable lens. Continue reading.

Houston VC funding surged in Q1 2025 to highest level in years, report says

by the numbers

First-quarter funding for Houston-area startups just hit its highest level since 2022, according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. But fundraising in subsequent quarters might not be as robust thanks to ongoing economic turmoil, the report warns.

In the first quarter of 2025, Houston-area startups raised $544.2 million in venture capital from investors, PitchBook-NVCA data shows. That compares with $263.5 million in Q1 2024 and $344.5 million in Q1 2023. For the first quarter of 2022, local startups nabbed $745.5 million in venture capital.

The Houston-area total for first-quarter VC funding this year fell well short of the sum for the Austin area (more than $3.3 billion) and Dallas-Fort Worth ($696.8 million), according to PitchBook-NVCA data.

While first-quarter 2025 funding for Houston-area startups got a boost, the number of VC deals declined versus the first quarters of 2024, 2023 and 2022. The PitchBook-NVCA Monitor reported 37 local VC deals in this year’s first quarter, compared with 45 during the same period in 2024, 53 in 2023, and 57 in 2022.

The PitchBook-NVCA report indicates fundraising figures for the Houston area, the Austin area, Dallas-Fort Worth and other markets might shrink in upcoming quarters.

“Should the latest iteration of tariffs stand, we expect significant pressure on fundraising and dealmaking in the near term as investors sit on the sidelines and wait for signs of market stabilization,” the report says.

Due to new trade tariffs and policy shifts, the chances of an upcoming rebound in the VC market have likely faded, says Nizar Tarhuni, executive vice president of research and market intelligence at PitchBook.

“These impacts amplify economic uncertainty and could further disrupt the private markets by complicating investment decisions, supply chains, exit windows, and portfolio strategies,” Tarhuni says. “While this may eventually lead to new domestic investment and create opportunities, the overall environment is facing volatility, hesitation, and structural change.”

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