New app with tips for solo women travelers takes flight from Texas

explore mode activated

Many women worry about traveling alone, but having allies can be a game-changer. Photo by Faith D on Unsplash

We all have that one friend whose office seems to be the nearest airport gate. We go to them for travel advice and hit save on their latest post for that hole-in-the-wall restaurant that had the best local food. That type of advice — especially between women — is indispensable for solo travelers, and now a new travel app based in Austin is helping organize it on a new platform without the social media noise.

Solo travel has gained a lot of momentum in the past few years, and it’s no longer just something one does during a gap year before or after college. It’s become the preferred way to travel for many, and women are at the forefront.

According to Condor Ferries, 72 percent of American women like to take solo trips, and the term “female solo travel” has increased 62 percent over the past three years across all search engines. What if there was a place where women solo travelers could get recommendations and travel itineraries created by other solo women travelers?

This concept is the backbone of Airheart, which aims to revolutionize the travel industry by offering a safe space for solo female travelers to find itineraries and travel guides that were crafted with them in mind.

"Traveling solo as a woman is an empowering act of independence," said Airheart founder Lindsey Renken in a press release. "At Airheart, we celebrate and support this journey, helping women discover new places, connections, and strengths."

The platform includes integrated planning tools, interactive maps, itineraries, and video tips all conveniently located in one place and customizable to the traveler’s preference. Once a user creates an account and accesses the site, the navigation is pretty straightforward.

There’s an explore option at the top of the home screen showcasing all the travel guides available for purchase within the platform, with destinations all over the world. At the moment, most are within the US, Mexico, Western Europe, and Asia. Once the user chooses a guide, a sidebar populates with a list of recommendations or a day-by-day itinerary. The right side of the screen is a map with all the pinned recommendations for easy navigating.

For those wanting to travel more within Texas this summer, Airheart offers a few destinations with a wide range of activities:

  • Big Bend/West Texas: For nature lovers, explore the beautiful mountain desert region of West Texas with a comprehensive guide that includes tips on how to get there and how to choose the best accommodation for your trip — something that becomes more complex in such a remote place.
  • Glen Rose: Escape to this charming small town just an hour-and-a-half Southwest of Dallas-Fort Worth, that is perfect for a weekend getaway full of outdoor adventures. These recommendations come from a local.
  • Fredericksburg: Indulge in the best wineries and restaurants that Central Texas has to offer with an itinerary crafted by a Texas native. This one is ideal for a quick day trip or a fun girls’ weekend.

Airheart, named after the pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart, is also focused on empowering female travel creators by allowing them to act as a type of modern travel agent. They can monetize both new and existing travel content by creating these guides and itineraries, while reaching a new audience on the platform.

“As an avid traveler, I’m always looking for something like this created by expert travelers. I can’t wait to be a seller and consumer,” said Tanna Wasilchak who contributed guides for Waco, Glen Rose, and Georgetown. “Solo traveling as a female can be intimidating at first, but it’s one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. Airheart is going to be such a game changer for this community.”

Perhaps the only downside for now is that Airheart is limited in what it can offer to its users with only 22 guides published on the site. However, the features and community-based aspect give the platform the potential to stand out in an otherwise saturated market. Guides ($29 each before taxes and fees) are available for users to browse and purchase at airheart.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Houston humanoid robotics startup Persona AI hires new strategy leader

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Houston-based Persona AI, a two-year-old startup that develops robots for heavy industry, has hired an automation and robotics professional as its head of commercial strategy.

In his new position, Michael Perry will focus on building Persona AI’s business development operations, coordinating with strategic partners and helping early adopters of the company’s humanoids. Target customers include offshore platforms, shipyards, steel mills and construction sites.

Perry previously served as vice president of business development at Boston Dynamics, where he led market identification for robotics, and as an executive at DJI. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Chinese and government studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

“Now is the perfect time to join Persona AI as we rapidly close the gap between what’s possible in the lab versus what’s driving real commercial value,” Perry says. “Building industry-hardened humanoid hardware and production-deployable AI is only one piece of the puzzle.”

“Getting humanoids into operations for heavy industry will require the systematic commercial and operational work that makes enterprises humanoid-ready and defining the business case, solving the integration challenges, and building the playbook for safe, scalable adoption,” he adds. “That’s what I’m here to build.”

Rice to lead Space Force tech institute under $8.1M agreement

space deal

Rice University has signed an $8.1 million cooperative agreement to lead the U.S. Space Force University Consortium/Space Strategic Technology Institute 4 (SSTI).

The new entity will be known as the Center for Advanced Space Sensing Technologies (CASST) at Rice and will focus on developing innovative remote sensing technologies.

“This investment positions Rice at the forefront of the technologies that will define how we see, understand and operate in space,” Amy Dittmar, Howard R. Hughes Provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said in a news release. “By bringing together advanced remote sensing, AI-driven analysis and cross-institutional expertise, CASST will help transform raw space data into real-time insight and expand the frontiers of scientific discovery.

The news comes shortly after the Texas Space Commission approved a nearly $14.2 million grant for the newly created Center for Space Technologies at Rice.

David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute, will lead CASST. Alexander is also an inaugural member of the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium and he serves on the boards of the Houston Spaceport Development Corporation, SpaceCom and the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture. The team also includes Rice professors and staff Kevin Kelly, Tomasz Tkaczyk, Kenny Evans, Kaden Hazzard, Mark Jernigan and Vinod Veedu, and collaborators from Houston-based Aegis Aerospace, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Santa Barbara and Georgia Institute of Technology.

In addition to bringing new space sensor innovation, the team will also work to miniaturize sensors while developing and implementing low-resource fabrication techniques, according to Rice. The researchers will also utilize AI and machine learning to analyze sensor data.

The U.S. Space Force uses space sensors to provide real-time information about space environments and assess potential threats. CASST is the fourth Space Strategic Technology Institute established by the USSF.

“Rice has helped shape the modern era of space research, and CASST marks a bold step into what comes next,” David Sholl, executive vice president for research at Rice, said in a news release. “As space becomes more contested and more essential to daily life, the ability to rapidly sense, interpret and act on what’s happening beyond Earth is critical. This center brings together the materials, engineering and data science innovations needed to deliver that capability."

The USSF University Consortium works with academic teams to develop breakthrough technologies and speed their transition into real-world applications for the U.S. Space Force.

The recent Rice award is part of $16 million over about three years. The USSF also signed a cooperative agreement with the University of Arizona in February.

The consortium has also helped facilitate several technological and commercial transitions over the last two years, including a $36 million commercial contract awarded to Axiom by Texas A&M University's in-space operations team and a follow-on $6 million contract to Axiom to build on technology developed by the University of Texas.

Leading Houston energy ecosystem rebrands for next phase

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Houston-based Energytech Nexus has rebranded.

The cleantech founders community will now be known as Energytech Cypher. Organizers say the new name was inspired by the Arabic roots of the word cypher, ṣifr, which is also the root of the word zero.

"A cypher is a key that unlocks what's hidden," Nada Ahmed, co-founder and chief revenue officer of Energytech Cypher, said in a news release. "And zero? Zero is where every transformation begins, the leap from 0 to 1, from idea to reality, from potential to power. We decode the energy transition by connecting the right founders, the right capital, and the right corporate partners at the right time, because the most important journey in energy is the one that takes you from nothing to something."

Energytech Nexus has rebranded to Energytech Cypher.

Co-founder and CEO Jason Ethier says that the name change better reflects the organization's mission.

"The energy transition doesn't have a technology problem. It has a connection problem," Ehtier added in the release. "The right founders exist. The right investors exist. The right partners exist. What's been missing is the infrastructure to bring them together—to decode the complexity, remove the friction, and make sure the best technologies find the markets that need them. That's what this community has always done. Energytech Cypher is the name that finally says it."

Energytech Cypher, previously known as Energytech Nexus, was first launched in 2023 and has grown from a podcast to a 130-member ecosystem. It has supported startups including Capwell Services, Resollant, Syzygy Plasmonics, Hertha Metals, Solidec and many others.

It is known for its flagship programs like the Pilotathon, which connects founders with industry partners for pilot opportunities. The event debuted in 2024.

Energytech Cypher also launched its COPILOT Accelerator last year. The accelerator partners with Browning the Green Space, a nonprofit that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the clean energy and climatech sectors. The inaugural cohort included two Houston-based startups and 12 others from around the U.S.

It also hosts programs like Liftoff, Energy Tech Market, lunch and learns, CEO roundtables, investor workshops and international partnership initiatives.

Last year, Energytech Cypher also announced a new strategic ecosystem partnership with Greentown Labs, aimed at accelerating growth for clean energy startups. It also named its global founding partners, including Houston-based operations such as Chevron Technology Ventures, Collide, Oxy Technology Ventures, and others from around the world.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

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