University of Houston launches innovation lab focused on the shopping experience

customer innovation

The University of Houston's College of Technology is looking to optimize the shopping experience. Photo via UH.edu

A new AI-powered lab at the University of Houston will supply real-time intelligence about the behavior of retail shoppers to help spur development of new technology for the retail industry.

The University of Houston College of Technology and Houston-based Relationshop announced the launch of the AI Retail Innovation Lab on November 10. Relationshop provides digital engagement and shopper loyalty technology to customers like Albertsons, United Supermarkets, Save On Foods, Market Street, and Big Y Foods.

The cloud-based lab, located at the College of Technology building in Sugar Land, will enable students, faculty, and industry professionals from across the U.S. to sift through in-store and online shopper data and then come up with new technology for the retail sector.

"This academic and commercial partnership with Relationshop accelerates the understanding and advancement of applied technology to keep pace with the unparalleled growth of digital retail as a result of COVID," Anthony Ambler, dean of the UH College of Technology, says in a news release.

The news release indicates new technology arising from the lab-supplied data "will optimize the shopper journey through more personalized and curated digital interactions across all forms of digital engagement and commerce … ."

Randy Crimmins, president of Relationshop, says his company will work alongside UH faculty and data science teams to advance the use of AI and big data in the retail sector.

"We see this partnership as a perfect blending of our strengths, with great synergy in the incredible work they are doing in academia, and our key areas of focus and experience in the retail marketplace," Crimmins says.

The AI lab, part of the College of Technology's Advanced Technology Innovation & Research Center, also will be a hub for industry training, undergraduate and graduate studies, and other initiatives.

The lab's activities will be carried out in concert with the AI Innovation Consortium, a think tank of IT and advanced technology thought leaders. Aside from UH, members of the consortium include Pennsylvania State University, Louisiana State University, and the University of Louisville.

The UH announcement comes two days after the official debut of a retail innovation lab at McGill University in Montreal. The lab, which includes a "fully frictionless" Couche-Tard Connecté convenience store, fosters collaboration among key players in the retail, emerging technology, and startup communities.

"By combining artificial intelligence and retail management, this retail innovation lab at the Bensadoun School of Retail Management will allow our researchers to develop new initiatives and technologies to improve the customer experience for the retail sector with the help of industry partners," says professor Morty Yalovsky, dean of McGill's Desautels Faculty of Management.

In the U.S., Alimentation Couche-Tard is the parent company of the Circle K chain of convenience stores. Circle K currently is rolling out frictionless technology, including AI-supported self-checkout systems, at stores in Tempe and Tucson, Arizona.

UH's Sugar Land campus has a new innovation hub focused on machine learning in the energy industry. Photo via UH.edu

University of Houston launches new AI lab geared toward oilfield tech

The University of Houston at Sugar Land is now home to an innovative lab that will work to find new ways to use artificial intelligence in the oilfield.

Dubbed the Artificial Intelligence Industry Incubator and Digital Oilfield Lab at the University of Houston, the facility will allow faculty, students, and energy professionals to develop technologies and solutions to increase efficiency and boost oil field safety through machine learning, according to a release from UH.

The lab opened in late 2020 and is part of the College of Technology's Advanced Technology and Innovation Laboratory. It represents a partnership with the UH College of Technology and the AI Innovation Consortium based in Louisville, Kentucky.

The consortium also includes Pennsylvania State University, the University of Louisville, Louisiana State University, and a number of corporations.

According to the release from UH, several companies have already agreed to work with the lab on projects that will find ways to use AI for predictive analytics, visual inspection, and health and safety measures.

"This incubator program emphasizes the need to build projects grounded in clear business value, with technologically rich and hands-on initiatives, and an engaging industry/academia partnership," Konrad Konarski, chair and director of operations at AIIC, says in a statement. "This allows us to focus on the most relevant AI technologies that have immediate impact and value to the oil and gas industry."

Too, the lab aims to provide students with valuable experiences that they can likely leverage into a job upon graduation.

"The laboratory and incubator will allow our students to contribute to the various applied research and proof of concept work currently underway and in the future," David Crawley, professor of practice in the College of Technology, says in a statement. "This includes working with the AIIC's commercial partners to create opportunities to move their incubator experience and advanced academic background into jobs at participating operations."

The university has also made headway in recent months using machine learning to better the search for "super hard" materials, such as diamonds. It also launched a new drug discovery institute in November.
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Texas lands at No. 13 in WalletHub innovation study

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During a SXSW reception March 12 at the Governor’s Mansion in Austin, Gov. Greg Abbott hailed Texas as the No. 1 state for innovation. Personal finance website WalletHub doesn’t see it that way, though.

A new study from WalletHub assigns Texas a No. 13 ranking for innovation among the states and the District of Columbia. D.C. comes out on top, followed by Massachusetts, California, Colorado and Washington. Mississippi appears at the bottom of the list.

Texas earns an innovation score of 49.56, compared with 69.13 for top-ranked D.C. In two broad categories, Texas ranks 12th for human capital and 13th for innovation environment.

To identify the top places for innovation, WalletHub evaluated the 50 states and D.C. by reviewing 25 key indicators of innovation friendliness. The indicators include:

  • Share of STEM professionals.
  • Forecast for Share of STEM professionals
  • Forecast for STEM jobs
  • Eighth-grade math and science performance
  • Concentration of tech companies
  • R&D spending per capita
  • Share of science and engineering graduates age 25 and over
  • Average internet speed
  • Venture capital funding per capita

“The most innovative states are especially attractive to people who have majored in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, as they offer abundant career opportunities and investment dollars, both for jobs at existing companies and for startups,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the report.

“These states also instill young students with the skills they need to succeed in the current workforce, skills which are useful whether or not they pursue a STEM career,” he added.

Texas zeroes in on semiconductor industry

On the innovation front, Abbott and other state leaders have focused intently on growing the state’s semiconductor industry, which generates roughly $30 billion to $60 billion in economic activity per year. Texas ranks among the top states for semiconductor manufacturing, with major operations in North Texas and Central Texas.

To bolster the industry, Abbott signed the Texas CHIPS Act into law in 2023. The law established the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, which issues grants for semiconductor research, design and manufacturing, and the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium, which advises the governor and state legislators on matters related to the semiconductor sector.

Among the consortium’s appointed representatives are:

  • Joe Elabd, vice chancellor for research at the Texas A&M University System
  • David Staack, deputy vice chancellor for research at the Texas A&M University System
  • Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president for energy and innovation at the University of Houston
  • Magesh Rajan, vice president for research and innovation at Prairie View A&M University

Semiconductor companies with a presence in the Houston area include chip manufacturer NVIDIA, which is building an AI supercomputer factory in Houston; Labtopia, a tech staffing firm that does business in the semiconductor sector; Microchip USA, a distributor of semiconductors and other electronic components that opened an office in Kingwood last year; and Infineon Technologies, which designs, develops, and manufactures semiconductors.

The Greater Houston Partnership touts the Houston area’s track record as an innovation hub.

“As a home to world-changing innovations and a talented labor pool, Houston has been an attractive region for innovation and startups across all key industries for years,” the partnership says, “and as a major player as a center of activity for the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.”

Houston fuels energy innovation

As for energy innovation in the Houston area, Abbott last month announced a 455-megawatt, $617 million natural gas plant that Houston-based NRG Energy is building at its Greens Bayou facility in north Harris County is now a designated project under the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation (JETI) program. JETI offers economic incentives for qualifying projects.

The NRG plant is expected to begin generating power for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in 2028.

Other energy innovators in the Houston area include Chevron, ExxonMobil, Occidental’s 1PointFive subsidiary, Schneider Electric, Shell, AB Energy USA, Fervo Energy, Solugen and Syzygy Plasmonics.

One promising area for energy innovation in Houston is carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS). A new study from the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) and Deloitte Consulting says the Houston area is positioned to take a leading role in the development of CCUS, thanks to the region’s chemical and refining industries, energy infrastructure, energy-heavy workforce and access to global markets.

“With supportive policy, continued innovation, and strong industry partnerships, we can accelerate [CCUS] deployment, create new low-carbon value chains, and ensure Houston remains at the forefront of the global energy transition,” said Jane Stricker, HETI’s executive director and senior vice president of energy transition.

Uber rolls out women-only ride preferences to Houston users

Women Preferences

Houston women riders and drivers can now be matched to other women on the Uber app. The ride-hailing giant has expanded its pilot program nationwide in response to customer safety concerns.

“When women riders and drivers told us they wanted more control over how they ride and earn, we listened,” wrote Uber in a blog post announcing the move. “That feedback led to Women Preferences, features designed to give women the choice to ride with other women. Since our first pilots last summer, we’ve heard just how much that choice matters — from feeling more comfortable in the back seat to more confident behind the wheel.”

According to Uber, passengers can request to be matched with a woman driver by requesting an on-demand ride, scheduling a trip in advance, or setting a preference within the ride app. If wait times are longer than anticipated, the rider can opt to be paired with a driver of any sex.

Uber says it began offering the rides in 2019, after women in Saudi Arabia gained the right to drive. Since then, it has rolled out the program in Europe, Latin America, Australia, and Africa — although in some countries, only drivers can make the match.

The move forward on Women Preferences comes despite a pair of lawsuits aimed at Uber and its main competitor, Lyft. According to Time reporting, the plaintiff’s lawyers argue that women-only rides unfairly limit the volume of rides for male drivers and reinforce gender stereotypes about men.

Lyft rolled out its similar program, Women + Connect, in 2023. The initiative is slightly more expansive than Uber’s preferences, allowing both women and nonbinary people to participate.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

6 Houston entrepreneurs land on coveted Inc. Female Founders 500 list

the future is female

Six Houston female entrepreneurs and innovators were named to the 2026 Female Founders 500 list.

The annual list compiled by Inc. Magazine recognizes female founders based in the U.S. who have built businesses that have moved their industries forward. The group collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025 revenue and $12.2 billion in funding to date, according to Inc. Five Houstonians were named to the list last year.

"Each year, we are increasingly amazed by the extraordinary leaders on our Inc. Female Founders 500 list," Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc., said in a news release. "The honorees on this year's list include innovators in AI, beauty and wellness trendsetters winning devoted fans, and nonprofit leaders making a real impact in their communities. Together, they're showing all of us what trailblazing female leadership looks like."

The Houston founders are:

  • Sassie Duggleby, CEO and co-founder of Houston space tech and engine company Venus Aerospace. Duggleby also serves on the Texas Space Commission board of directors.
  • Stephanie Murphy, CEO and executive chairman of Aegis Aerospace, which provides space services, spaceflight product development, and engineering services. Murphy also serves as chair of the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium Executive Committee.
  • Laureen Meroueh, CEO and founder of Hertha Metals, which has developed a cost-effective and energy-efficient process that converts low-grade iron ore of any format directly into molten steel or high-purity iron in a single step.
  • LaToshia Norwood, managing partner of L'Renee & Associates (LRA), a full-service project management consulting firm.
  • Lauren Rottet, president and founding principal of Rottet Studio, an international architecture and design firm focused on corporate, lifestyle and hospitality projects
  • Nina Magon, founder and CEO of Nina Magon Studio / Nina Magon Consumer Products, a residential and commercial interior design company. She also co-founded KA Residences earlier this year.

"Grateful to be recognized again on the Inc. Female Founders 500," Duggleby said in a LinkedIn post. "The best part of building Venus Aerospace has been working with an incredible team pushing the boundaries of flight—and helping bring more women into aerospace along the way.

Meroueh, whose company emerged from stealth last year, voiced a similar push for bringing more women into the fold.

"We've seen a 7x jump in female-led IPOs over the last decade, from just two in 2014 (less than 1% of all IPOs) to 14 in 2024 (nearly 9% of all IPOs). Progress is happening," Meroueh shared in a LinkedIn post. "Yet, less than 1% of venture funding in hard tech goes to female-founded companies. But as my friend Ana Kraft says, the right man for the job may be a woman."

Twenty-nine Texas female founders made this list, including Amber Venz Box, founder of the Dallas-based LTK shopping platform, and Cheryl Sew Hoy, CEO and founder of Austin-based Tiny Health, a fast-growing at-home microbiome health platform. See the full list of winners here.

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