Houston venture fund of funds doles out $5 million in Austin firm in its first investment

money moves

LiveOak Venture Partners, an Austin-based firm, is the first recipient of Houston Exponential's fund of funds. Courtesy of LiveOak

After closing its initial round of funding last year, Houston Exponential's fund of funds, called the HX Venture Fund, has closed its first investment on March 29. Austin-based LiveOak Venture Partners received a $5 million investment from the fund.

The HX Venture Fund raised $30 million after launching in October of last year. The fund's goal is to invest in out-of-Houston venture funds in the hopes that they reinvest that money into Houston startups.

"We invested in LiveOak Venture II because of the firm's compelling investment track record, expertise and vigor of the general partners, their extensive network of relationships with proven entrepreneurs, and their focus on capital efficient early stage technology companies in Texas," says Guillermo Borda, managing partner at HX Venture Fund, in a release. "LiveOak's team is committed to making a significant impact in the Houston startup ecosystem."

The HX investment is a part of LiveOak's Fund II, which was oversubscribed and closed at $105 million, the company announced today. According to a release from LiveOak, Fund II is a continuation to the firm's dedication to Texas entrepreneurship. The fund will focus on funding within the state's four largest tech hubs — Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio — and have initial investments ranging from $2 million to $4 million, the release states.

The firm's portfolio focuses on seed and series A funding, and most of its investments are Austin-based, with the exception of three Dallas companies. LiveOak invested in Houston-founded CS Disco, an AI-enabled tool for legal business, but the company has since moved to Austin, according to a public relations representative. LiveOak also invested in San Antonio-founded Infocyte, but the company also relocated to Austin.

Houston has been a strategic market for LiveOak, says managing partner, Krishna Srinivasan, in the release, citing the city's recent entrepreneurial activity.

"We are excited to partner with HX Venture Fund and its strategic investment partners, comprising multiple leading Houston based corporations, to catalyze and grow this activity," says Srinivasan, in the release. "Given LiveOak's investment strategy of being the leading source of capital for entrepreneurs across Texas, we view this investment as highly synergistic with our efforts to enable world-class, category dominating companies coming out of Houston."

HX modeled its fund after the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund in Michigan, from which 10 outside venture capital firms benefitted. Renaissance Fund reported positive results from the fund of funds and Chris Rizik, CEO and fund manager of Renaissance, serves as a member of the investment committee.

Nine companies committed to Houston Exponential's first round of funding. Shobeir Ansar/Getty Images

Houston Exponential's ambitious venture fund closes first round with $25 million

Money moves

Houston Exponential closed the first round of funding for its fund of funds with $25 million in commitments from nine companies. The money will go to non-Houston venture capitalists to invest back into Houston startups.

HX Venture Fund's first-round partners include: Insperity, Chevron, Shell, Quanta Services, Westlake Chemical, The Plank Companies, PROS, HEB, and Camden.

Kingwood-based Insperity was the anchor investor, committing to $5 million last October, according to the release. The company also provided an undisclosed amount of resources support the operations of the fund as it launched.

"This is another transformational moment for Houston," says Gina Luna, chair of Houston Exponential, in the release. "From day one at Houston Exponential, we have been executing a plan to accelerate the growth of the ecosystem, including connecting Houston startups with the capital they need to grow their businesses. This is a significant, tangible milestone. Houston's leading companies have stepped up in a big way to make this happen, and this is a clear signal that Houston is committed to success."

Houston-based venture capital firm Mercury Fund's co-founder and managing director, Blair Garrou, chaired the fund's advisory board. He's also a board member for HX.

The fund of funds won't donate to Houston organizations directly, Garrou says in a statement. The fund's organizers had a different approach to growing funds in Houston's startup space.

"The HX Venture Fund will invest in venture capital funds outside of Houston – generating investment and interest in the region while increasing the investable capital available to Houston-based startups," says Garrou. "The HX Venture Fund is built upon a proven model that provides multiple benefits to its investors."

The benefitting venture capital funds haven't yet been named.

HX modeled the fund after the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund in Michigan, from which 10 outside venture capital firms benefitted —Mercury Fund was one of the 10. It was Garrou who led the movement to get Renaissance Fund's CEO and Fund Manager, Chris Rizik, as a part of the HX Venture Fund from the start as a member of the investment committee.

The Michigan fund launched 9 years ago and exceeded all expectations. For ever dollar Rizik and his team invested, $17 came back into the Michigan area, he told the Houston Business Journal. He says Houston has the same potential.

"I've spoken to many cities about Renaissance's fund of funds model and the impact it has had on Michigan," says Rizik in the release. "Houston has leaned into this model and it is impressive what they have been able to accomplish in a short time. It is a testament to the commitment of Houston's business and tech leaders to growing the ecosystem. It's really exciting to see."

In October 2017, Houston Exponential was launched by Mayor Sylvester Turner's Innovation and Technology Task Force in collaboration with the Greater Houston Partnership's Innovation Round Table and the Houston Technology Center. HX's launch included three main goals, according to the release: "make Houston a top 10 innovation ecosystem, generate $2 billion in venture capital annually and create 10,000 new technology jobs a year by 2022."

Ad Placement 300x100

Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

VC firm partners with Rice Nexus to open first global office

strategic partnership

Luxembourg-based venture capital and advisory firm MoreThan Capital (MTC) has established its first global office at the new Rice Nexus in Houston’s Ion District as part of a strategic partnership aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and growing Houston as an innovation hub.

MTC has committed to offering its “time, mentorship, industry expertise and global connections” to Rice Nexus. The state-of-the-art Rice Nexus, which opened earlier this year, aims to support and provide resources for ventures that are looking to scale and have "artificial intelligence (AI) as a central pillar of its innovation strategy," according to a statement from Rice.

“The Rice Nexus is a launchpad for world-changing ideas, and this partnership with MoreThan Capital is a key step in realizing that vision,” Sanjoy Paul, executive director of the Rice Nexus, said in a news release. “By combining Rice’s research and entrepreneurial talent with MTC’s global network and mentorship, we are creating an unparalleled engine for innovation that starts in Houston and reaches the world.”

MoreThan Capital has over 100 limited partners, including senior executives and professional investors, based in more than 35 countries.

“Establishing our first global office at the Rice Nexus within the Ion District is a significant milestone for MoreThan Capital,” Guillermo Ruiz, general partner of MoreThan Capital, said in a news release. “We are dedicated to partnering with top-tier academic institutions like Rice University and aligning with organizations that share our core values of trust, engagement and impact.”

The announcement comes just a few weeks after Rice Nexus announced its partnership with Google Public Sector to launch the new Rice AI Venture Accelerator, or RAVA.

This Houston neighbor was the fastest growing U.S. city in last decade

Booming Burb

It's no secret that Houston's population is growing faster than most other metros in the U.S., but now a surprising Houston-area neighbor has been named the No. 1 fastest-growing suburb nationwide over the last decade: the booming city of Fulshear.

Fulshear led the nation with an astonishing 1,082 percent increase in population from 2014 to 2023, according to a recent growth study by marketplace platform StorageCafe.

Overall, Texas cities dominated StorageCafe's list of the top 10 fastest-growing U.S. cities from 2014 to 2023.

The report said the city had nearly 27,000 residents in 2023, but now the U.S. Census Bureau estimates Fulshear's population has now grown to more than 42,600 people.

"With its blend of a relaxed lifestyle, urban conveniences, top-rated schools and strong job opportunities, Fulshear consistently ranks among the best places to live in Texas," the report's author wrote.

This isn't the first time Fulshear has entered the spotlight for its exploding population: it was the No. 2 fastest-growing U.S. city in 2023, and recently came out on top of GoBankingRates' new study ranking of the fastest-growing affluent suburbs in America for 2025.

Several other Houston-area suburbs also saw major growth over the last decade, including Manvel (No. 24), Katy (No. 82), and Conroe (No. 83).

"Manvel doubled its population between 2014 and 2023, while Katy and Conroe each recorded increases of over 50 percent," the report said. "By contrast, Houston itself grew by just 6 percent, aligning with the average growth rate for large U.S. cities."

The report added that the Houston area's population surge has also led to a high demand for housing, where home values have risen 60 percent over the last 10 years. Home prices in Fulshear stood at more than $521,000 in November 2024, whereas Manvel's home prices were over $431,000 during that same period.

For comparison, the national average price of a home is $354,000.

Katy and Conroe had the most affordable home prices out of the four Houston suburbs in the report, at $347,740 and $318,952, respectively, for November.

StorageCafe says the reasons for population shifts vary greatly, with many people seeking out cities with a more affordable cost of living, or those moving for socioeconomic factors like better employment opportunities.

"Population growth is far from even across the U.S. Some cities are experiencing significant increases, directly driven by steady in-migration, rising immigration and birth rates outpacing death rates," the report said. "But what’s fueling these trends runs deeper — economic and social forces like shifting job markets, the rise of remote and hybrid work and soaring living costs are all reshaping where people choose to live."

Other fast-growing Texas cities
Texas had the greatest number of cities to earn spots in the report's ranking of the 100 fastest-growing U.S. cities over the last decade, with 25 total cities making the cut with the highest growth rates nationwide.

Dallas-Fort Worth had the highest number of fastest-growing Texas suburbs on the list, comprising 11 cities: Celina (No. 2), Melissa (No. 3), Princeton (No. 7), Prosper (No. 8), Fate (No. 9), Anna (No. 14), Midlothian (No. 33), Royse City (No. 43), Forney (No. 45), Little Elm (No. 58), and Frisco (No. 72).

Meanwhile, Austin had five suburbs land on the list: Manor (No. 6), Leander (No. 16), Kyle (No. 53), Hutto (No. 54), and Buda (No. 68).

San Antonio also had five suburbs make the top 100, including Boerne (No. 63), Selma (No. 74), Fair Oaks Ranch (No. 70), New Braunfels (No. 77), and Canyon Lake (No. 99).

The top 10 fastest-growing cities over the last decade are:

No. 1 – Fulshear, Texas
No. 2 – Woodbridge, Virginia
No. 3 – Celina, Texas
No. 4 – Davenport, Florida
No. 5 – Melissa, Texas
No. 6 – Manor, Texas
No. 7 – Princeton, Texas
No. 8 – Prosper, Texas
No. 9 – Fate, Texas
No. 10 – Nolensville, Tennessee

---

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

Houston space tech startups share latest updates on lunar missions and more

space update

Houston-based space tech companies Axiom Space and Intuitive Machines recently shared updates on innovative projects and missions, each set to launch by 2027.

Axiom Space

Axiom Space, developer of the world’s first commercial space station and other space infrastructure, is gearing up to launch two orbital data center nodes to low-earth orbit by the end of 2025.

The Axiom Space nodes will lay the foundation for space-based cloud computing. Axiom says orbital data centers provide cloud-enabled data storage and processing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning directly to satellites, constellations, and other spacecraft in Earth’s orbit. This innovation will reduce reliance on earth-based systems, enhance wireless mesh networks and improve real-time operation of space-borne assets, according to Axiom.

Axiom has been working on the development of orbital data centers since 2022. The two nodes going into space in 2025 will be part of Kepler Communications’ 10-satellite data relay network, which is scheduled to launch by the end of this year. Axiom Space and Kepler Communications have been collaborating since 2023.

Kam Ghaffarian, co-founder, executive chairman, and CEO of Axiom, says his company already has deals in place with buyers of space-based cloud computing services. Orbital data centers “are integral to Axiom Space’s vision of era-defining space infrastructure, unlocking transformational capabilities and economic growth,” he says.

Axiom Space says it will be able to buy additional payloads on Kepler’s network to boost capacity for orbital data centers. The two companies will team up to provide network and orbital data center services to various customers.

Intuitive Machines

Meanwhile, Intuitive Machines, a space exploration, infrastructure and services company, has picked SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to launch its fourth delivery mission to the moon. The launch will include two lunar data relay satellites for NASA.

Intuitive Machines says its fourth lunar delivery mission is scheduled for 2027. The mission will comprise six NASA commercial lunar payloads, including a European Space Agency drill set designed to search for water at the moon’s south pole.

“Lunar surface delivery and data relay satellites are central to our strategy to commercialize the moon,” Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus says.

The first of five lunar data relay satellites will be included in the company’s third delivery mission to the moon. The fourth mission, featuring two more satellites, will be followed by two other satellite-delivery missions.

View All Listings

INNOVATIONMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME