Misha Govshteyn joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss the evolving electronics manufacturing industry. Photo courtesy of MacroFab

When the pandemic hit, global supply chains across industries were affected, and major corporations and consumers alike continue to be affected — especially when it comes to manufacturing.

In March, General Motors had to shutdown production at three factories due to the global shortage of semiconductors, while gaming systems like PlayStation and Xbox are dealing with a chip shortage that will affect production into next year.

Houston-based MacroFab has a solution. The company has developed a software solution and digital platform to optimize electronics manufacturing by creating a network of factories across North America. The growing business, which was founded in 2013 by Chris Church, saw a setback at the beginning of the pandemic just like most industries. But, Misha Govshteyn, CEO of MacroFab, says the company finished last year on track.

"We really reignited our growth in the second half of 2020 just as the economy started to reopen," Govshteyn says on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "We had about 100 percent growth in the second half of the year, and that really led to our ability to close our most recent round."

That round — a $15 million series B — was led by New Jersey-based Edison Partners. ATX Venture Partners also participated, along with strategic investor Altium Limited, a leader in the electronics design software space. Govshteyn says that it's an important moment for MacroFab to prove out its solution to manufacturing.

"In a lot of ways, the concepts we've been talking about actually crystalized during the pandemic. For a lot of people, it was theoretically that supply chain resiliency is important," Govshteyn says. "Single sourcing from a country halfway around the world might not be the best solution. ... When you have all your eggs in one basket, sooner or later you're going to have a break in your supply chain. And we've seen nothing but breaks in supply chains for the last five years."

For years, global manufacturers have faced supply chain challenges with tariffs, and the pandemic and its accompanying shutdowns took these challenges to a whole new level.

"Supply chains haven't recovered — if anything, things have gotten worse. It's a perfect storm of customers realizing they have to rethink the way they source products," Govshteyn says.

One of the ways to bring the logistics of the process into the modern era. Some industries, like plastics manufacturing, are already doing this, Govshteyn says, but MacroFab has a huge opportunity within electronics.

"We think everything's going to look like a cloud service in the future. Everything is going to be software-driven, and API-addressable," Govshteyn says. "We're staking a claim to electronics manufacturing being one of those areas — and we're still the only company doing so."

Govshteyn shares more about the manufacturing business and the role Houston is playing on the episode. Listen to the full interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes

Houston-based MacroFab has created the Uber or Airbnb of electronics manufacturing. Getty Images

Houston electronics manufacturing company gears up for growth

On the line

It takes an unnecessarily long time for electronic devices to get from idea to reality — and much of that is due to inefficiency in manufacturing. Just getting a prototype together takes weeks of back and forth between the engineer and the manufacturer.

"The business model for contract manufacturing hadn't changed in 30 years," Chris Church says. "It was phone calls, emails, going out and playing golf, going to lunch, and negotiating everything endlessly."

Houston-based MacroFab is addressing these antiquated and outdated ways of manufacturing and changing the way electronics manufacturing is done. For its revolutionary work, the company has consistently seen its revenue at least double — sometimes tripling or quadrupling — every year, and projects to at least triple in 2019.

Addressing an underserved market
Church — who has a background in hardware development, specifically within robotics — created MacroFab in 2013 and launched the platform in 2015. Misha Govshteyn joined the board in 2014 and became CEO last summer. The duo co-founded cloud-based security-as-a-service company, Alert Logic, in Houston in 2002.

Using its custom software, MacroFab enables customers to upload their designs through the website, where they can then receive projected timeline and pricing information from the get go. The company has its own manufacturing area in its office for prototypes and small orders, but its network of large manufacturers is a key part of the MacroFab's growth equation.

The company has about 20 manufacturing plants as partners that can pick up manufacturing jobs from MacroFab customers when the plant has space on its lines up for grabs. Rather than let available capacity go to waste, these plants can easily pick up the design and materials to start production.

"It's not dissimilar to what Uber is doing with cars — there's a lot of people with cars that could give you a ride if they knew you were out there," Govshteyn says. "It's that matchmaking function is essentially what we're doing with our customers."

The manufacturing partners benefit from jobs they otherwise wouldn't have, and the MacroFab customers get access to a plant that they didn't have to do the legwork to find. Govshteyn says a he's heard horror stories from people who had orders that were unceremoniously dropped by a manufacturer because another one of its clients just placed a large order.

"That shouldn't happen. If a factory gets too busy, it should be easy enough to take that job and move it somewhere else," Govshteyn says. "But, right now, there's not a way to do that."

Using cloud technology, the MacroFab platform can easily share the design and translate it to any given factory, Church says. They also have a technology that combine smaller orders together so there's no wasted resources, which brings down the cost for the customer.

While usually a company might have to find a new manufacturer as they scale up and start making larger orders, MacroFab customers don't have to start from scratch to find a new plant that can take their order — MacroFab will do the matchmaking for them.

"We've created and are continuing to build a marketplace for excess manufacturing capacity," Church says.

MacroFab owns the customer experience and the sales aspect — ensuring a more positive and consistent experience — while the manufacturers can just take the jobs and go.

Scaling up
The manufacturing marketplace is a newer focus for MacroFab — the company just launched it in beta this year — and is a big proponent of the company's growth. Before, the company was limited to what it could produce in its own factory taking on prototype and small orders. Now, with access to the manufacturers, the company has served 1,700 customers, building 500,000 units for about 4,000 different products. Those figures, Church says, are scaling up so rapidly as they expand to new partners.

"This is the first quarter where more gets produced outside of our factory than inside of it," Govshteyn says. "By this time in Q1, 75 percent of our revenue will [come from outside manufacturing plants.]"

Since manufacturing plants haven't historically collaborated, Govshteyn says the reception from manufacturers has been "cautiously optimistic." But then they realize they are getting customers for free — all they have to do is meet the requirements and deliver on time, he says.

"It's great for them to see that their factory is only half used, but then they can fill it up with jobs from MacroFab," Govshteyn says.

Houston has been a great city for MacroFab with its port manufacturing and logistics, two things Govshteyn says MacroFab is focusing on.

"At the end of the day, we're a manufacturing company, and I think we'll dabble in logistics," he says. "There's a lot worse places to start a logistics-heavy company."

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Intuitive Machines to acquire NASA-certified deep space navigation company

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Houston-based space technology, infrastructure and services company Intuitive Machines has agreed to buy Tempe, Arizona-based aerospace company KinetX for an undisclosed amount.

The deal is expected to close by the end of this year, according to a release from the company.

KinetX specializes in deep space navigation, systems engineering, ground software and constellation mission design. It’s the only company certified by NASA for deep space navigation. KinetX’s navigation software has supported both of Intuitive Machines’ lunar missions.

Intuitive Machines says the acquisition marks its entry into the precision navigation and flight dynamics segment of deep space operations.

“We know our objective, becoming an indispensable infrastructure services layer for space exploration, and achieving it requires intelligent systems and exceptional talent,” Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus said in the release. “Bringing KinetX in-house gives us both: flight-proven deep space navigation expertise and the proprietary software behind some of the most ambitious missions in the solar system.”

KinetX has supported deep space missions for more than 30 years, CEO Christopher Bryan said.

“Joining Intuitive Machines gives our team a broader operational canvas and shared commitment to precision, autonomy, and engineering excellence,” Bryan said in the release. “We’re excited to help shape the next generation of space infrastructure with a partner that understands the demands of real flight, and values the people and tools required to meet them.”

Intuitive Machines has been making headlines in recent weeks. The company announced July 30 that it had secured a $9.8 million Phase Two government contract for its orbital transfer vehicle. Also last month, the City of Houston agreed to add three acres of commercial space for Intuitive Machines at the Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport. Read more here.

Japanese energy tech manufacturer moves U.S. headquarters to Houston

HQ HOU

TMEIC Corporation Americas has officially relocated its headquarters from Roanoke, Virginia, to Houston.

TMEIC Corporation Americas, a group company of Japan-based TMEIC Corporation Japan, recently inaugurated its new space in the Energy Corridor, according to a news release. The new HQ occupies the 10th floor at 1080 Eldridge Parkway, according to ConnectCRE. The company first announced the move last summer.

TMEIC Corporation Americas specializes in photovoltaic inverters and energy storage systems. It employs approximately 500 people in the Houston area, and has plans to grow its workforce in the city in the coming year as part of its overall U.S. expansion.

"We are thrilled to be part of the vibrant Greater Houston community and look forward to expanding our business in North America's energy hub," Manmeet S. Bhatia, president and CEO of TMEIC Corporation Americas, said in the release.

The TMEIC group will maintain its office in Roanoke, which will focus on advanced automation systems, large AC motors and variable frequency drive systems for the industrial sector, according to the release.

TMEIC Corporation Americas also began operations at its new 144,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Brookshire, which is dedicated to manufacturing utility-scale PV inverters, earlier this year. The company also broke ground on its 267,000-square-foot manufacturing facility—its third in the U.S. and 13th globally—this spring, also in Waller County. It's scheduled for completion in May 2026.

"With the global momentum toward decarbonization, electrification, and domestic manufacturing resurgence, we are well-positioned for continued growth," Bhatia added in the release. "Together, we will continue to drive industry and uphold our legacy as a global leader in energy and industrial solutions."

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

2 Texas cities named on LinkedIn's inaugural 'Cities on the Rise'

jobs data

LinkedIn’s 2025 Cities on the Rise list includes two Texas cities in the top 25—and they aren’t Houston or Dallas.

The Austin metro area came in at No. 18 and the San Antonio metro at No. 23 on the inaugural list that measures U.S. metros where hiring is accelerating, job postings are increasing and talent migration is “reshaping local economies,” according to the company. The report was based on LinkedIn’s exclusive labor market data.

According to the report, Austin, at No. 18, is on the rise due to major corporations relocating to the area. The datacenter boom and investments from tech giants are also major draws to the city, according to LinkedIn. Technology, professional services and manufacturing were listed as the city’s top industries with Apple, Dell and the University of Texas as the top employers.

The average Austin metro income is $80,470, according to the report, with the average home listing at about $806,000.

While many write San Antonio off as a tourist attraction, LinkedIn believes the city is becoming a rising tech and manufacturing hub by drawing “Gen Z job seekers and out-of-state talent.”

USAA, U.S. Air Force and H-E-B are the area’s biggest employers with professional services, health care and government being the top hiring industries. With an average income of $59,480 and an average housing cost of $470,160, San Antonio is a more affordable option than the capital city.

The No. 1 spot went to Grand Rapids due to its growing technology scene. The top 10 metros on the list include:

  • No. 1 Grand Rapids, Michigan
  • No. 2 Boise, Idaho
  • No. 3 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  • No. 4 Albany, New York
  • No. 5 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • No. 6 Portland, Maine
  • No. 7 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
  • No. 8 Hartford, Connecticut
  • No. 9 Nashville, Tennessee
  • No. 10 Omaha, Nebraska

See the full report here.