3 Houston companies land on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 list

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Three Houston companies ranked on Deloitte's annual list, with two cracking the top 100. Photo via Getty Images

Three Houston companies have made this year’s Deloitte North America Technology Fast 500 list.

The report ranks the fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies in North America. The Houston companies to make the list, along with their revenue growth rates from 2021-2024, include:

  • No. 16 Action1 Corp., a provider of cybersecurity software. Growth rate: 7,265 percent
  • No. 92 Cart.com, a commerce and logistics platform. Growth rate: 1,053 percent
  • No. 312 Tellihealth, a remote health care platform. Growth rate: 244 percent

“Houston’s unique blend of entrepreneurial energy and innovation continues to strengthen the local business community, and I’m thrilled to see Houston companies honored on the 2025 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list. Congratulations to all the winners,” said Melinda Yee, managing partner in Deloitte’s Houston office.

Action1 is no stranger to lists like the Deloitte Technology Fast 500. For instance, the company ranked first among software companies and 29th overall on this year’s Inc. 5000, a list of the country’s fastest-growing private companies. Its growth rate from 2021 to 2024 reached 7,188 percent.

Mike Walters, president and co-founder of Action1, said in August that the Inc. 5000 achievement “reflects the dedication of Action1’s global team, who continue to execute against an ambitious vision: a world where cyberattacks exploiting vulnerabilities are entirely prevented across all types of devices, operating systems, and applications.”

Atlanta-based Impericus, operator of an AI-powered platform that connects health care providers with pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, topped the Deloitte list with a 2021-24 growth rate of 29,738 percent.

“Our mission is to set the standard for ethical AI-powered physician connections to pharma resources, accelerating and expanding patient access to needed treatments,” said Dr. Osama Hashmi, a dermatologist who’s co-founder and CEO of Impiricus. “As we continue to innovate quickly, we remain committed to building ethical bridges across this vital ecosystem.”

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Inc. magazine has identified the fastest-growing companies in Houston. Nick Bee/Pexels

These are the 5 fastest-growing companies in Houston, according to a recent report

ready, set, grow

Bellaire-based startup Instafuel is pumping up its revenue in a big way.

Among the 250 fastest-growing companies in Texas identified by Inc. magazine, Instafuel tops the group of businesses based in the Houston metro area and ranks fifth statewide. Houston-based companies make up 68 of the state's fast-growing companies — eight Houston companies make up the top 25 list.

Instafuel, whose official corporate name is Fuel Husky LLC, provides mobile refueling services to B2B clients. The Inc. ranking, released March 13, shows Instafuel posted revenue growth of 1,353 percent from 2016 to 2018.

According to a November 2019 article published by CSP magazine, Instafuel has expanded to 30 trucks that have dispensed nearly 10 million gallons of fuel to more than 150 B2B clients in major Texas metro markets like Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Austin. CSP covers the convenience and petroleum retailing industry.

"We've been bootstrapping … in stealth mode for the last four years, just trying to grow this business one [client] by one, trying to truly understand what it means to be a mobile refueler, or what we call a compact mobile refueler, and trying to target and understand the business model for small- to medium-sized business fleets," Nour Baki, vice president and co-founder of Instafuel, told the magazine.

Ranked second in the Houston area and sixth statewide by Inc. is Spring-based Bellatorum Resources LLC, whose revenue shot up 1,261 percent from 2016 to 2018. Bellatorum, a veteran-owned and veteran-operated investment company, specializes in mineral rights and oil royalty acquisitions.

"I think our work ethic and customer service is what makes us different from our competitors," Chris Bentley, president and CEO of Bellatorum Resources, told the Oil & Gas Council in July 2018.

"Based on the feedback I consistently receive from mineral owners, they tell me that many of our competitors fail to return phone calls and emails, and sometimes even fail to treat them with common courtesy and respect during their business dealings," Bentley added. "We believe in putting the mineral owner first, which always pays off for us."

At No. 3 in the Houston area and No. 8 statewide is Houston-based Sarvicus LLC. Sarvicus, an IT services and utilities provider, grew revenue by 1,048 percent from 2016 to 2018.

"Whether it's a process, piece of equipment, or a tool, we try to optimize its efficiency. When we are successful, that often translates to benefits for our customers," Sarvicus co-founder and CEO Marc Packard told CIOReview magazine.

Houston-based SIA Solutions LLC appears at No. 4 among Houston-area companies and No. 9 among Texas companies. From 2016 to 2018, revenue at the professional services engineering and consulting firm soared 1,030 percent.

"Because of our client-first philosophy, we're willing to take on tough challenges and deliver. It's in our culture. It's natural to us," CEO Srini Neralla told the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship at Texas A&M University's Mays Business School in November 2019. We put together strong teams comprising of firms our size or larger, including universities, in order to deliver what our clients want."

With a 2016-18 growth rate of 824 percent, Houston-based Zahroof Valves Inc. nails down the No. 5 spot among Houston-area companies and No. 14 among Texas companies. Zahroof Values makes and markets specialized valves for reciprocating gas compressors. Its investors include Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures LLC, the investment arm of oil giant Saudi Aramco.

In an August 2019 release, Zahroof Valves CEO Tony Gioffredi said: "Our commitment to driving positive change [in] the oil and gas industry is shown through our innovative products … ."

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Eli Lilly breaks ground on $6.5B pharmaceutical factory in Houston

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Leading pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly broke ground today, Sept. 21, on its $6.5 billion manufacturing site at Houston's Generation Park.

The 236-acre, state-of-the art factory is expected to come online in 2030 and will manufacture Foundayo, the company's first synthetic oral GLP-1 medication, as well as other advanced therapeutics.

"We are thrilled to break ground on our latest ‘medicines made in America’ site in the great state of Texas," David Ricks, Lilly chair and CEO, said in a prepared statement. "This $6.5 billion investment will help change the game for tens of millions of people suffering from overweight, obesity and its consequences like diabetes. We will make and ship Lilly’s latest products from Texas to people here at home and around the world.”

Houston was up against more than 300 locations in the U.S. for the factory, as part of Lilly’s $50 billion investment in domestic medicine production that has launched 10 manufacturing sites since 2020. Lilly first announced Houston had been selected for the site last September.

Photo via gov.texas.gov

As Abbott mentioned, the site is expected to create hundreds of jobs, and will hire engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians once up and running. It will create 4,000 construction jobs while being built.

In an effort to support workforce development, Lilly also announced a $12.5 million commitment to Houston's San Jacinto College in addition to a $2.5 million charitable donation to the San Jacinto College Foundation. The funding will go toward hands-on training, equipment and facilities to support future technicians, operators, maintenance professionals, and other manufacturing talent, according to Lilly. The charitable donation will fund scholarships for students.

"This relationship will build a strong, sustainable talent pipeline for Lilly while creating meaningful, high-demand career opportunities across our region,” Brenda Hellyer, chancellor of San Jacinto College, said in the release.

"When you invest in a place like Houston, you invest in its people first," Edgardo Hernandez, executive vice president and president of Lilly Manufacturing Operations, added. "This facility will run on the talent of this community, powered by our relationship with San Jacinto College. We're hiring across the greater Houston area to help residents build careers close to home."

Rendering courtesy Eli Lilly

Lilly previously said it chose Generation Park, a 4,300-acre, master-planned commercial district near Lake Houston, because of factors such as financial incentives, access to utilities and transportation and the region’s business-friendly environment. Generation Park is home to campuses for San Jacinto College and Lone Star College.

Since Lilly first announced plans for the site, another fellow pharma giant has made plans to move into Generation Park. Bristol Myers Squibb Co. announced last month that it would build a $2.3 billion factory in the district. The site is expected to manufacture small molecule, biologic and antibody-drug conjugates and will also come online around 2030. Read more here.

UH Health names leader of new digital health institute

new exec

Recently launched UH Health has named the first-ever executive director of its new Institute for Digital Healthcare Transformation at the University of Houston.

Beto López has been tapped to lead the new initiative that aims to help develop and commercialize health care technologies centered around university research.

Launched in August, the Institute for Digital Healthcare Transformation leans on experts from UH’s engineering, medicine, business, law and other departments and will connect with industry partners. It will initially focus on mobile health applications, sensors, wearables and artificial intelligence, according to UH.

“Most digital health initiatives and commercialization efforts start with the technology and hope adoption follows. But the translation gap isn't a science problem — it’s a scaffolding problem between researchers, the community and the market,” López said in a news release. “I've spent the past 10 years building that scaffolding in places that weren’t wired for it, and I'm looking forward to building it here at UH to help ensure new health care technologies reach the people and communities that can benefit from them most.”

López previously spent 10 years at San Francisco-based innovation consultancy company IDEO, where he led over 100 projects for Fortune 500 companies and public agencies. He co-founded and served as managing director of the Design Institute for Health at UT Austin’s Dell Medical School; and also co-founded a social venture studio/venture capital fund focused on health care innovation. He worked alongside Houston’s Legacy Community Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Beto understands that breakthrough technology alone doesn't transform health care — it has to be designed around the needs of patients, providers and communities and have a clear path into practice,” Jonathan McCullers, vice president for health affairs at UH, added in the news release. “His experience spanning academic health care and venture capital equips him to bring together researchers, health care organizations, entrepreneurs and investors. This makes him uniquely suited to lead this institute and help turn the university's innovation into solutions that improve people's lives.”

The University of Houston launched UH Health, its new cross-disciplinary academic venture, in July. It aims to bring together the university's health-related education, research and community impact under one umbrella.

ExxonMobil gets approval for $5B Texas Gulf Coast carbon capture project

CCS Expansion

Spring-based ExxonMobil has won approval from the Texas Railroad Commission for a $5 billion carbon capture and storage project in East Texas.

Dominic Genetti, senior vice president of CCS at ExxonMobil, told The Financial Times, which broke the news, that the Railroad Commission’s action is a “major milestone” that lets the company keep expanding along the Gulf Coast. In a 2-1 vote, commissioners authorized a carbon sequestration permit for the project.

“The Railroad Commission clearly recognizes the important role carbon capture and storage can play in meeting growing global demand for lower-carbon products while supporting new jobs and economic growth,” Genetti said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved ExxonMobil’s Rose CCS project last year.

The project will enable the company to inject about 53 metric tons of industrial customers’ carbon emissions into three underground wells it drilled in the Beaumont-Port Arthur area. Over a 13-year period, ExxonMobil plans to inject about 4 million metric tons per year into the Fleming and Upper Frio rock formations, according to Carbon Herald.

ExxonMobil says it owns the world’s first and largest CCS system, comprising 1,300 miles of CO2 pipeline and secure storage sites. Seventy percent of the pipelines are along the Gulf Coast.

The company ramped up its CCS business in 2023 with the $4.9 billion purchase of Denbury, which owned about 1,000 miles of CO2 pipelines.

“Our expertise, combined with Denbury’s talent and CO2 pipeline network, expands our low-carbon leadership and best positions us to meet the decarbonization needs of industrial customers while also reducing emissions in our own operations,” ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Darren Woods said when the deal closed.

In January, Genetti wrote in a post on ExxonMobil’s website that the company is committed to CCS “for the long haul.”

“CCS is not new technology, but it’s flown relatively under the radar compared with the attention that production of hydrocarbons commands,” he wrote. “Now, as the world becomes more aware of the need to reduce emissions, CCS finally has a brighter spotlight and a broader runway to scale up.”

The company also announced this week that it has begun CCS operations at a direct reduced iron facility in Convent, Louisiana. The project will capture, transport and store up to 800,000 metric tons of CO2 per year, according to the company.

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This article first appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

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