Hardtech startup moves into Houston area with new Conroe facility, eyes tests in space

LEADING TECH

FluxWorks, a hardtech startup, opened its new home-base in Conroe, Texas. Photo courtesy FluxWorks

FluxWorks, a hardtech startup, recently opened its new base of operations in Workhub Developments’ Conroe location.

Founded in College Station by CEO Bryton Praslicka, FluxWorks specializes in making contactless magnetic gears for use in extreme conditions. At 9,000 square feet, the new Conroe facility is a result of discussions with Governor Greg Abbott's office and the Greater Houston Partnership, who introduced the company’s leadership to the Conroe Economic Development Council, encouraging their move, Praslicka tells InnovationMap.

“The pieces of the puzzle were all there, and with the support of the local, state, and federal government, we were thrilled to move to Conroe,” Paslicka says.

CEO Bryton Praslicka founded the company in College Station. Photo courtesy FluxWorks

The enterprise recently won the MassChallenge’s technology in space prize, allowing them to test four gears at the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory in 2026. The prize is funded by Boeing and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, or CASIS which runs the ISS. Praslicka says their new offices will expand their manufacturing capacity by having all levels of production on-site.

"Since our inception, FluxWorks has been fragmented, having an office in one location, manufacturing in another location, and testing in a third location," Praslicka explains. "This is a new chapter for us to begin having the entire process, from design to testing and validation and then shipping to customers, all under one house.”

The magnetic gears FluxWorks makes are suited to space applications because they do not require lubricants, which can be difficult to control at harsh temperatures and in microgravity, to minimize friction. Through their partnership with the ISS, Praslicka says FluxWorks has strengthened their connections to other space tech companies including Axiom and Boeing, and it's opened the door to collaborations with the new Texas Space Commission.

“Now the NASA Johnson Space Center is even officially supporting our proposal to the Texas Space Commission as a proposed teaming partner,” Praslicka says.

The new facility received special security certification from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, increasing FluxWorks’ opportunities to work with NASA and defense contractors. The Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center awarded FluxWorks for “outstanding innovation” during its recent ribbon cutting ceremony.

The company, named a finalist for the 2024 Houston Innovation Awards, cleaned up in the 2023 Rice Business Plan Competition with a $350,000 investment prize from Houston group, Goose Capital.

FluxWorks has moved into its 9,000-square-foot facility in Conroe. Photo courtesy FluxWorks

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At a research facility just outside of Houston, scientists have found a plant that has COVID-19 treatment potential. Photo courtesy of iBio

Houston-area company is harvesting plant technology for treatment of chronic diseases and COVID-19

growing a cure

The original version of this story included some factual inaccuracies due to misinformation from a source. The story below has been corrected.

In a 130,000 square-foot facility outside of Bryan-College Station, iBio is growing the makings of new types of therapeutics for fibrosis, cancer, and even COVID-19.

The company, which moved its headquarters from New York to Texas in July, uses novel biopharma methods to produce the vital molecules and antigens used for vaccines and other types of medical treatments through plants in a fast, sustainable way.

Other methods of creating biopharmaceutical require scientists to engineer cells to create a desired protein, which can be one of the most time consuming parts of the process, IBio's CEO Tom Isett explains. However, through iBio's FastPharming method, the team let's the plants do most of the work.

IBio introduces an Agrobacterium carrying a desired gene to manipulate the plant's DNA.

"[The bacteria] takes over the machinery of the plant leaves and it then produces the protein of interest or the biopharmaceutical that we were going to want to make for people," Isett says.

IBio then harvests the leaves and purifies the proteins to make the biopharmaceutical of interest. The entire process can save anywhere from six to 18 months in development, he estimates.

Too, if there's demand for more of the product, through this process, all scientists need to do is grow more plants.

"We have a linear scale up, it's very straightforward," says Peter Kipp, iBio's VP of translational science and alliance management. "And using some of the other competing methodologies, as you go to a bigger scale, you have new technical problems that you have to solve, but we don't."

The team discovered that an Australian species of the tobacco plant could be one of their biggest conduits in their process.

"It just grows like a weed. And that's why we like it," Kipp says.

The plant expends most of its energy in creating its leaves, where IBio extracts most of its proteins from. The plants are grown in the company's indoor, vertical hydroponic facility and are able to be harvested about every six weeks, and (it's important to note) does not contain nicotine.

IBio used their FastPharming process to introduce two vaccine candidates and a therapeutic in about six week's time. However, Isett says they're not just a COVID-19 vaccine company.

"We're mostly focused in other areas. But when [COVID] showed up, we did want to go in and see if we could address it using the speed of our system," he says.

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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.

6 female-founded startups shaping the Houston innovation ecosystem

meet the finalists

Female-founded businesses reached a new milestone last year. According to payroll company Gusto, female founders launched 49 percent of new businesses in 2024, reaching near parity with male-founded businesses for the first time.

And though they still face challenges, with access to VC funding at the top of the list, those women-led companies are driving major impact in the startup and innovation ecosystem.

The fifth-annual Houston Innovation Awards will honor six women-led startups that are shaping Houston innovation in our Female-founded Businesses category.

The finalists for the 2025 award, selected by our esteemed panel of judges, range from a company developing natural carbon-free fuel to another launching at-home sleep apnea technology.

Read more about these innovative startups and the visionary female founders behind them below. Then join us at the Houston Innovation Awards on Nov. 13 at Greentown Labs, when the winner will be unveiled at our live awards ceremony.

Tickets are now on sale for this exclusive event celebrating all things Houston innovation.

Anning Corporation

Clean energy company Anning Corporation is working to develop geologic hydrogen, a natural carbon-free fuel, using its proprietary stimulation approaches and advanced exploration modeling. The company said that geologic hydrogen has the potential to be the lowest-cost source of reliable baseload electricity in the U.S.

The company was founded by CEO Sophie Broun in 2024 and is a member of Greentown Labs. Last month, it also announced that it was chosen to participate in Breakthrough Energy’s prestigious Fellows Program. Anning raised a pre-seed round this year and is currently raising a $6 million seed round.

Bairitone Health

Bairitone Health is bringing anatomy imaging for sleep apnea to the home environment. The company's platform maps users' anatomy during natural sleep using a facial patch to determine the root cause of airway obstruction. It then offers effective therapies for each patient. The system is currently in the research and development phase and is being used in clinical trials and studies.

The company was founded in 2022 in the Texas Medical Center's Biodesign program by CEO Meagan Pitcher, CTO Onur Kilic and chief medical officer Britt Cross. It was a member of Activate Houston's inaugural cohort and has participated in numerous accelerators and incubators. It raised a pre-seed round last year of $435,000.

Brain Haven

Founded at the University of Houston, Brain Haven is developing neuroscience-based, clinically validated protocols that use sensory stimulation through smell and sound to offer a natural and non-invasive way to activate the brain and preserve neuroplasticity. The company aims to deliver an accessible and affordable way for the aging population to preserve memory, delay cognitive decline and improve quality of life.

The company was co-founded by Gail Aflalo, a graduate student in the University of Houston College of Optometry, and Jokūbas Žiburkus, an associate professor in the department of biology and biochemistry at UH. It was selected to participate in the 2024 Innov8 Cohort, where it won the cohort's Startup Pitch Day, and was included in Class 13 of UH RED Labs. Brain Haven was awarded $70,000 in seed funding from UH in June 2025 to support a year-long research initiative in adults aged 50 and above.

FlowCare

Sugar Land-based FlowCare is developing a period health platform that integrates smart dispensers, education and healthcare into one system to make free, high-quality organic period products more accessible.

The company was founded by CEO Tanu Jain, a registered nurse and product management executive, in 2024. It participated in the TiE Women Program and the Houston Community College Business Plan Competition, placing in the top five in both pitch competitions.

March Biosciences

Houston cell therapy company March Biosciences aims to treat unaddressed challenging cancers, with its MB-105, a CD5-targeted CAR-T cell therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory CD5-positive T-cell lymphoma, currently in Phase 2 clinical trials.

The company was founded in 2021 by CEO Sarah Hein, Max Mamonkin and Malcolm Brenner and was born out of the TMC Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics. The company completed a $29.6 million series A last year and also raised a $4.2 million seed round.

TrialClinIQ

Houston-based TrialClinIQ is an AI-powered clinical trial recruitment platform that helps identify, qualify and enroll eligible patients in appropriate trials faster and more accurately.

The company was founded in 2025 by CEO Jontel Pierce and Janette Obi.

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Former NASA astronaut, official joins Venus Aerospace board

astronaut appointment

Retired Air Force colonel and former NASA astronaut Pamela Melroy, who previously served as deputy administrator of NASA, recently joined the board of directors at Houston-based Venus Aerospace.

Venus Aerospace, a startup founded in 2020, develops rocket engine technology, including rotating rocket detonation engines for hypersonic flights. These engines promise higher power, greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions than conventional rocket engines or jet engines, according to the Interesting Engineering website. The global rocket propulsion market is expected to grow from $9.5 billion in 2025 to $29.9 billion by 2034, according to a forecast by ResearchAndMarkets.com.

“Advanced rocket propulsion has been of interest to me for over a decade, and Venus Aerospace’s recent achievements in demonstrating the stability of rotating detonation rocket engines represent a significant development,” says Melroy, who left NASA earlier this year and is now a self-employed consultant living in Arlington, Virginia.

Melroy, a member of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, has built an illustrious career in the aerospace sector. Aside from being a NASA official, she was:

  • One of only two female astronauts to command a space shuttle mission
  • Deputy program manager of Orion space exploration initiatives at aerospace and defense contractor Lockheed Martin
  • Senior technical adviser and director of field operations for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, where she came up with the first safety guidelines for commercial human spaceflight
  • Deputy director of the Tactical Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
  • An adviser for the establishment of the Australian Space Agency

Venus Aerospace said in a news release that as a leader at three federal agencies, “Melroy shaped America’s strategy in space, accelerated commercial space partnerships, and deepened space exploration.”

Sassie Duggleby, co-founder and CEO of Venus Aerospace, called Melroy “a preeminent leader in the world of aerospace.”

In May, Venus Aerospace completed the inaugural test flight of its rotating detonation rocket engine. The startup, whose headquarters is at the Houston Spaceport, says it’s the only company in the world that has manufactured a flight-proven, high-thrust rotating detonation rocket engine.

On the horizon for Venus Aerospace is production of Stargazer M4, a high-speed aircraft capable of two-hour global travel.

Venus Aerospace’s investors include Airbus Ventures, America’s Frontier Fund, Trousdale Ventures, and Prime Movers Lab. The startup also gets support from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFWERX), the Air Force, NASA and DARPA.

Jordan Blashek, co-founder and managing partner of America’s Frontier Fund, which backs startups creating breakthrough technologies, said his firm’s investment in Venus Aerospace “underscores our focus on supporting American companies that are revolutionizing industries of the future.”

“With recent hypersonic advancements from China and Russia, safeguarding American innovation and securing our industrial base has never been more urgent,” Blashek added. “Venus Aerospace is poised to redefine hypersonic flight and ensure America’s continued leadership in aerospace innovation.”

Since its founding, Venus Aerospace has raised $78.3 million in investments, according to PitchBook data.

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