Houston startup, Meta sign agreement that significantly expands geothermal power in US

big tech

The Meta and Sage Geosystems project is reportedly the first next-generation geothermal project located to the east of the Rocky Mountains. Rendering by Sage Geosystems and Meta

A Houston company has signed a new agreement with Meta Platforms Inc. — Facebook's parent company — to power the tech giant's data center growth.

Houston-based Sage Geosystems agreed to deliver up to 150 megawatts of new geothermal baseload power to Meta. The companies made the announcement this week at the United States Department Energy’s Catalyzing Next Generation Geothermal Development Workshop.

The deal is significant because it's the first next-generation geothermal project located to the east of the Rocky Mountains, the companies report in a news release.

“This announcement is the perfect example of how the public and private sector can work together to make the clean energy transition a reality,” Cindy Taff, CEO of Sage Geosystems, says in the release. “We are thrilled to be at the forefront of the next generation of geothermal technology and applaud the DOE for supporting the commercialization of innovation solutions.

"As energy demand continues to grow, the need for reliable, resilient and sustainable power is paramount and our partnership with Meta underscores the critical need for innovative and sustainable energy solutions like ours,” she continues.

The project's first phase will aim to be operating in 2027. The plans reflect how geothermal is being recognized as a growing carbon-free energy source in the country, and how Meta is committed to clean energy initiatives.

“The U.S. has seen unprecedented growth in demand for energy as our economy grows, the manufacturing sector booms thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, and new industries like AI expand,” U.S. Energy Deputy Secretary David Turk says. “The Administration views this increased demand as a huge opportunity to add more clean, firm power to the grid and geothermal energy is a game-changer as we work to grow our clean power supply.”

Sage's technology — called Geopressured Geothermal System — works deep in the earth to develop energy storage and geothermal baseload power.

“Meta thanks the Department of Energy’s leadership on promoting and supporting the exploration of new energy sources like geothermal," Urvi Parekh, head of renewable energy at Meta, says. "That leadership supports Meta’s goal to enable the addition of reliable, affordable, and carbon-free power to the grid with this geothermal energy deal. We are excited to partner with such an innovative company like Sage Geosystems that is a proven leader in geothermal development on this project and beyond.”

Sage recently teamed up with a utility provider for an energy storage facility in the San Antonio metro area to build its three-megawatt EarthStore facility.

The company is also working on an exploratory geothermal project for the Army’s Fort Bliss post in Texas, which is the third U.S. Department of Defense geothermal initiative in the Lone Star State.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

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Houston’s 10 most valuable startups revealed in new report

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The Greater Houston Partnership has released its list of the 10 most valuable startups that are fueling the city’s growth and entrepreneurial energy, including industry giants like Axiom Space and Fervo Energy.

Currently, Houston hosts more than 1,300 startups in industries such as energy, life sciences, manufacturing and aerospace, according to the GHP. The list ranks its top 10 startups by valuation based on the company’s last private funding round, reflected in Pitchbook data, as of Oct. 20 of this year.

The top 10 list includes:

10. NXTClean Fuels

Valuation: $530 million

NXTClean Fuels builds biofuel refineries that produce renewable fuel by using feedstocks like cooking oil and recycled organic materials.

9. Homebase

Valuation: $660 million

HR tech company Homebase provides employee management software that helps manage and optimize timesheets, payroll and more, with over over 100,000 small businesses and 2 million hourly workers using its product.

8. Zolve

Valuation: $800 million

Zolve is a banking platform that provides customers with access to financial products that aim to be accessible, flexible, and affordable than other financial platforms.

7. Stramsen Biotech

Valuation: $807 million

Stramsen Biotech develops plant-based drug therapies that target both infectious and noninfectious diseases, which include cancer, diabetes, HIV, kidney disease and neurological issues.

6. Octagos

Valuation: $843 million

Healthtech company Octagos has developed a remote cardiac monitoring software driven by AI that helps consolidate patient data in real-time, assisting healthcare professionals in providing quicker, easier and more accurate care.

5. Fervo Energy

Valuation: $1.4 billion

Pioneering geothermal company Fervo Energy combines horizontal drilling and fiber-optic sensing to produce electricity. The company is developing its flagship Cape Station geothermal power project in Utah. The first phase of the project will supply 100 megawatts of power beginning in 2026

4.Cart.com

Valuation: $1.7 billion

Cart.com is an e-commerce giant and logistics solutions provider that was founded in 2020 and obtained unicorn status within just three years.

3. Axiom Space

Valuation: $2.1 billion

Axiom Space is one of the anchor tenants at the Houston Spaceport, and has completed four missions of sending commercial astronauts to the ISS since 2022. In 2027, the company expects to see the first section of its private space station, Axiom Station, launched into low-earth orbit.

2. Solugen

Valuation: $2.175 billion

Solugen replaces petroleum-based products with plant-derived substitutes through its Bioforge manufacturing platform.

1. HighRadius

Valuation: $3.2 billion

HighRadius uses advanced technology to automate and manage accounts receivable processes for businesses worldwide.

The GHP also released its State of Houston’s Tech and Innovation Landscape, which mapped Houston’s digital and innovation sectors. Read the full report here.

Photos: Highlights from the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards

Innovation Awards Recap

The 2025 Houston Innovation Awards season came to a close on Nov. 13 at InnovationMap's annual awards program and networking event.

The fifth annual Houston Innovation Awards celebrated more than 40 innovative finalists and crowned 10 winners across prestigious categories. In the weeks leading up to the event, finalists were profiled in our editorial series spotlights. Read all about this year's winners here.

Finalists, judges, and special guests connected during an exclusive VIP reception before the doors officially opened for the evening. A full house of attendees then gathered to celebrate the best and brightest in Houston innovation right now. The night culminated in an awards program, emceed this year by Lawson Gow, Greentown Labs Head of Houston.

Scroll through the photos below for scenes from the event, including the winners, the guests, and more highlights from the program.

Special thanks to this year's sponsors for an unforgettable evening honoring Houston innovation: Houston City College Northwest, Houston Powder Coaters, FLIGHT by Yuengling, William Price Distilling, and Citizens Catering.

2025 Houston Innovation Awards Winners:

Energy Transition Business of the Year: Eclipse Energy. Photo by Emily Jaschke
2025 Houston Innovation Awards Winners:

2025 Houston Innovation Awards Winners, Continued

Minority-founded Business of the Year: Mars Materials. Photo by Emily Jaschke

2025 Houston Innovation Awards Guests 

Photo by Emily Jaschke

More 2025 Houston Innovation Awards Highlights

Photo by Emily Jaschke

Texas ranks among 10 best states to find a job, says new report

jobs report

If you’re hunting for a job in Texas amid a tough employment market, you stand a better chance of landing it here than you might in other states.

A new ranking by personal finance website WalletHub of the best states for jobs puts Texas at No. 7. The Lone Star State lands at No. 2 in the economic environment category and No. 18 in the job market category.

Massachusetts tops the list, and West Virginia appears at the bottom.

To determine the most attractive states for employment, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 34 key indicators of economic health and job market strength. Ranking factors included employment growth, median annual income, and average commute time.

“Living in one of the best states for jobs can provide stable conditions for the long term, helping you ride out the fluctuations that the economy will experience in the future,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says.

In September, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas led the U.S. in job creation with the addition of 195,600 jobs over the past 12 months.

“Texas is America’s jobs leader,” Abbott says. “With the best business climate in the nation and a skilled and growing labor force, Texas is where businesses invest, jobs grow, and families thrive. Texas will continue to cut red tape and invest in businesses large and small to spur the economic growth of communities across our great state.”

While Abbott proclaims Texas is “America’s jobs leader,” the state’s level of job creation has recently slowed. In June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas noted that the state’s year-to-date job growth rate had dipped to 1.8 percent, and that even slower job growth was expected in the second half of this year.

The August unemployment rate in Texas stood at 4.1 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Throughout 2025, the monthly rate in Texas has been either four percent or 4.1 percent.

By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate in August was 4.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2025, the monthly rate for the U.S. has ranged from 4 percent to 4.3 percent.

Here’s a rundown of the August unemployment rates in Texas’ four biggest metro areas:

  • Austin — 3.9 percent
  • Dallas-Fort Worth — 4.4 percent
  • Houston — 5 percent
  • San Antonio — 4.4 percent

Unemployment rates have remained steady this year despite layoffs and hiring freezes driven by economic uncertainty. However, the number of U.S. workers who’ve been without a job for at least 27 weeks has risen by 385,000 this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in August. That month, long-term unemployed workers accounted for about one-fourth of all unemployed workers.

An August survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a record-low 44.9 percent of Americans were confident about finding a job if they lost their current one.
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