This Houston startup has cut out the middleman to provide businesses quick, cost-efficient deliveries through a tech-optimized platform. Photo via tuyatech.com

A Houston startup is set to disrupt the same-day delivery sector with its innovative marketplace platform technology that connects businesses and delivery professionals, enhancing customer experience and reducing costs for clients.

Houston-based TUYA Technologies is transforming the B2B same-day delivery industry by connecting businesses with delivery professionals with the recent launch of their proprietary digital platform that cuts out the middleman and increases efficiency in same-day deliveries.

"We're interested in building technology that makes the movement of packages, parcels, and pallets of things move expeditiously across the city of Houston, not the next day, or second day like some of our competitors," says TUYA's CEO and co-founder, John Oren. "Our technology is focused on delivering packages in one or two hours and connect businesses directly to delivery professionals that own the equipment."

The company has launched in Houston and is used locally by more than 300 registered customers and 70 independent delivery professionals with more than 1,500 deliveries per week.

TUYA plans to continue to expand in the Texas market as they continue to raise capital, closing their most recent funding round at $16.9 million in September 2019. They are planning to launch their technology in the San Antonio market in a week quickly followed by their expansion into Dallas and Austin after that. Their goal is to expand its services across the 21 major cities in the U.S.

"Our management team is geared to bring our business plan to reality by expanding and introducing our new technology to new markets," says Oren.

TUYA has simplified the process by removing middlemen and adding new technology. To order, businesses can use the TUYA website or the TUYA Shipper App, removing the need for customer service representatives to take orders. There they can also select preferred delivery professionals to deliver their orders. The technology allows the client to get upfront pricing, real-time delivery tracking updates and even speak with drivers directly.

"In today's world, we all want our stuff delivered, conveniently, efficiently, and most importantly economically," says Oren. "The business that is able to develop the cheapest cost will beat the competition. Our technology is geared to extract this locked up value by removing added logistics costs involved in getting something picked up in one business and delivered to another."

The TUYA platform also provides drivers with the flexibility to drive at their own schedule and work multiple deliveries at once, reducing their downtime and increasing the number of deliveries. This added freedom allows delivery professionals to choose the deliveries they want without restrictions while using TUYA's optimized routes for efficiency.

TUYA Technologies began in 2015 after Oren realized the necessity to update the B2B delivery sector to the low-cost and speed-driven delivery needs of the 21st century. Oren, who started his own delivery business more than 40 years ago says he saw little innovation in the market, with companies wasting valuable time and efficiency.

"The waste inherent model of the 1970s was still being applied to today's industry, thus wasting time, effort and resources," says Oren. "I knew that integrating the right technology could turn the same-day delivery industry on its head."

TUYA co-founders invested $12.5 million of their own capital, along with an additional $20 million. After a period of market research, they began acquiring local delivery companies such as Hot Shot Delivery and Primer Delivery Services, providing same-day delivery to retailers, supply companies, and wholesale distributors among others.

GoPuff is a combination of concierge service and errand runner. Photo courtesy of goPuff

New delivery service speeds into Houston

There's an app for that

Everyone knows how hard it is to manage to get everything done in a single 24-hour period. Errands to run, groceries to pick up, food to buy, prescriptions to get. To-do lists seem never-ending, and for busy professionals, can be absolutely overwhelming.

Enter goPuff, a Philadelphia-based retailer that has just launched in the Bayou City. Think of it as a combination of concierge service and errand runner. The company stocks more than 2,500 products across eight categories. Those items, ranging from snacks to beverages to household essentials to pet needs, are housed in centrally located facilities in Houston.

When customers need something, they log into their goPuff account, select what they want, and the company's delivery drivers bring it straight to their door. Delivery hours are from noon to 4:30 am, seven days a week, with a flat delivery charge of $1.95.

Founded in 2013, goPuff is now available in more than 90 cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. "Customers have been asking us to come to Houston since we first launched the concept, and we are thrilled to now bring that experience to the area and deliver the moments that matter most to this vibrant community," said Rafael Ilishayev, goPuff co-founder and co-CEO, in a statement announcing the expansion to Houston.

In Houston, the company will cover the enormity of the city, from the Texas Medical Center to Northeast Houston, Independence Heights to the Fifth Ward. Customers will place their orders on the goPuff app, the same way they would for other delivery services. Then, goPuff team members head out, collect what's needed, and deliver it.

The company touts its speed of delivery as a main selling feature; because the products are housed at goPuff facilities, drivers don't need to head all over town to collect needed items, and there are no third parties to work with. But what about cold treats like ice cream?

"Because we warehouse product inventory at our own facilities, we can quickly pack orders in our special insulated bins and pass them off to our driver partners for fast deliveries, keeping the ice cream cold," Liz Romaine of goPuff tells CultureMap.

Given the furious speed at which live in the Bayou City moves, goPuff should find a pretty warm welcome here in Houston.

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This story originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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

eyes on AI

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.”

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.