Houston company crowned No. 1 large employer in Texas by Fortune Magazine, joining 21 local firms on list

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These Houston employers reign supreme when it comes to the best workplaces. Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Houstonians looking for their next employment opportunity might want to consider these 22 Houston-based companies that were just named the best workplaces in Texas by Fortune Magazine and Great Place to Work.

David Weekley Homes was named the No. 1 large employer in Texas, with workers celebrating that their company goes "above and beyond in almost every way possible" and values trust more than anything else.

"They trust you to get your work done and you never feel guilty about having to leave early for a medical appointment, or to pick your kid up from school," the report says. "They trust you to get your work done while maintaining a normal personal life."

The report also speaks highly of the construction company's 401K matching plan, and that workers can become owners in the company after two years of employment.

The remaining Houston companies that make up the top three best large Texas employers include information technology providers Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (No. 2), and real estate investors Camden Property Trust (No. 3).

Also earning a spot in the top 10 is Hilcorp Energy Company (No. 8).

Speaking on Camden Property Trust, employees in the report say their leaders have developed a "one-of-a-kind" workplace culture, similar to a large family.

"Our celebrations, conferences, meetings feel like a family reunion," the report says. "Our leaders truly care about each and every single person and make decisions with everyone's best interest in mind."

The Best Workplaces in Texas award, which saw some of the same companies on the 2022 list, is the only one of its kind in the U.S. that "selects winners based on how fairly employees are treated," according to a press release. The companies are evaluated based on how well they treat their employees across several factors, including race, gender, age, disability status, and more.

The other Houston-based companies that made it onto Fortune's Best Large Workplaces in Texas 2023 include Transwestern (No. 12), Cornerstone Home Lending, Inc. (No. 14), and KBR (No. 24).

Furthermore, 17 additional Houston employers made it onto Fortune's Best Small and Medium Workplaces in Texas ranking. While Dallas companies dominate the top three, Houston's continuing education and learning center Continued made it into No. 4.

"[Continued] provide[s] so many benefits to better our home and work-life balance," the report says. "There is also a great focus on appreciating diversity and inclusion."The other Houston employers that earned spots on Fortune's Best Small and Medium Workplaces in Texas 2023 report are:

  • No. 12 – Hilltop Residential
  • No. 13 – WizeHire
  • No. 14 – Republic State Mortgage Co.
  • No. 16 – E.A.G. Business Holdings, Incorporated
  • No. 23 – Venterra Realty
  • No. 26 – Optimum Consultancy Services
  • No. 39 – 9th Wonder
  • No. 40 – Entelligence
  • No. 52 – Detechtion Technologies
  • No. 53 – Tricon Energy
  • No. 57 – Eagle Point Solutions
  • No. 64 – Hatch Agency Real Estate
  • No. 66 – Simucase
  • No. 69 – Crestwood Equity Partners

Just outside Houston, Cypress-based Specialized Assessment and Consulting ranked No. 31 and TK Trailer Parts in Madisonville ranked No. 65 in the small and medium workplace report.The full list of 2023's best workplaces in Texas can be found on greatplacetowork.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Rice University breaks ground on new innovation hub, The Arc

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Construction is officially underway on Rice University's The Arc in Houston’s Ion District.

The university broke ground on the 200,000-square-foot research, corporate innovation and office building on Nov. 4. The facility will share a plaza with the existing Ion building, fostering collaboration within the innovation space, according to Rice.

“The Arc will bring Rice’s extraordinary research and talent and Houston’s impactful innovation ecosystem into even closer connection with the industries and innovators working to solve some of the world’s most consequential challenges,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said in an announcement. “That constant exchange of ideas and expertise will help move discoveries more rapidly from the laboratory to real-world impact.”

Construction is scheduled to be completed by Q2 2028. Rice Real Estate Co. is developing the project, and Rice University will occupy about 80,000 square feet in the building (about 40 percent). Preleasing has begun, with floor plans ranging from 28,000 to 31,000 square feet.

The Arc will feature conference and meeting spaces, an amenity lounge, fitness center, outdoor plazas, underground parking, and on-site retail and dining, according to the release.

It aims to host tenants focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning, data science, robotics, quantum science and engineering and energy, including Rice's new AI Foundry.

Rice says the AI Foundry will be a space where university experts and partners can support organizations with AI challenges. Rice recently committed to hiring 75 new AI-focused faculty and announced plans to launch a new Master of Artificial Intelligence (MAI) next fall.

“The AI Foundry is exactly the kind of collaboration the Arc is designed to enable,” Amy Dittmar, the Howard R. Hughes Provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Rice, added in the release. “By bringing Rice researchers together with industry partners in a shared environment, we can accelerate the movement of ideas from research into practical applications while helping organizations build the capabilities they need to succeed as AI continues to evolve.

Developers of The Arc are targeting LEED Gold certification by incorporating smart building automation and energy-saving features into the project's design. Rice first announced the project in September 2025.

Rendering courtesy Bogza

Houston battery tech startup FlowCellutions acquired by Katy energy co.

M&A

Katy-based TerraFlow Energy, an energy storage and infrastructure company, has acquired Houston-based battery technology startup FlowCellutions. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

FlowCellutions still operates under its established name, but with the tagline “A TerraFlow Energy Company.” Becca Segel, founder and CEO of FlowCellutions, now runs the business as its president.

FlowCellutions specializes in electrochemical sensing, diagnostics, analytics, and testing that offer insights into battery chemistry, charging capabilities, and system performance.

“FlowCellutions has always been focused on developing better ways to understand what is happening inside a flow battery and using that information to improve how these systems perform,” Segal said in a press release. “Joining TerraFlow gives us the opportunity to apply that work at a much larger scale while continuing to build the capabilities and expertise that make FlowCellutions unique.”

The FlowCellutions platform supports data centers and other heavy users of power. It’s designed to help reduce operating costs, prevent failures and costly downtime, and extend battery lifetime from about seven years to more than 30 years.

Segel founded the company in 2022. A member of Greentown Labs, the company raised more than $2 million in non-dilutive funding and received $1.5 million in National Science Foundation funding earlier this year.

FlowCellutions is one of five finalists in the Energy Transition Business category of InnovationMap’s 2026 Houston Innovation Awards.

“FlowCellutions brings a depth of scientific and technical expertise that fits naturally with where TerraFlow is going,” Jon Parrella, CEO of TerraFlow, said in the release.

“As we move from developing these systems to deploying them at commercial scale, understanding performance at a deeper level matters,” he said. “Bringing FlowCellutions into TerraFlow strengthens that capability and gives both teams more opportunity to advance the technology.”TerraFlow, founded in 2024, develops long-duration energy storage and power infrastructure for data centers, industrial facilities, utilities and other large power consumers.

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

3 fast-growing Houston scaleups named Innovation Awards finalists

meet the finalists

From IPOs to groundbreakings, some of Houston's most innovative companies reached major milestones this year.

As part of the 2026 Houston Innovation Awards, our Scaleup of the Year category honors innovative later-stage startups that have recently reached a significant milestone in company growth. Three scaleups have been named finalists for the 2026 award.

Read more about these businesses, their founders and their breakthrough technologies below. The 2026 winners will be announced on InnovationMap.com in mid-November.

Erock

Energy infrastructure company Erock, previously known as Enchanted Rock, develops dual-purpose microgrids that rely on natural gas and renewable natural gas to produce lower carbon emissions and air pollutants than diesel generators. Its products can provide bridge power before grid interconnection, backup power during outages and dispatchable capacity that supports long-term grid reliability. The company has more than 1,100 megawatts of installed capacity and over 20 years of experience serving commercial, municipal and large-scale technology customers.

Erock completed its initial public offering this year, raising approximately $600 million in gross proceeds. It also grew its contracted power system sales backlog to approximately $1.7 billion, up tenfold year-over-year, with production sold out through 2028, according to the company's application. The company secured a major equipment order from Anthropic, began construction of the 366-megawatt El Paso Electric project supporting Meta's data center campus, and started assembly operations at its Hyperion facility in Cypress, Texas.

Hertha Metals

Hertha Metals produces lower-cost, lower-emission steel and high-purity iron. The company has developed a single-step process that uses natural gas as a direct reductant instead of metallurgical coal, which cuts production costs by more than 25 percent and emissions by up to 50 percent, according to the company. The same process produces high-purity iron needed for high-purity steels and rare earth magnets. The company says it aims to "re-industrialize America’s production of critical materials."

Hertha Metals was founded by CEO Laureen Meroueh in 2022 and emerged from stealth last year with more than $17 million in venture capital funding. The company closed a $133.65 million Series A this month and also broke ground on its $100M high-purity iron factory known as Chalyx in Conroe.

Venus Aerospace

Spacetech company Venus Aerospace is developing a high-thrust rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) that replaces the subsonic combustion used in conventional rocket engines. The RDRE is a compact, simpler engine that can deliver up to 15 percent greater efficiency for defense and space applications. It completed its first U.S. flight test of the engine last summer.

Venus Aerospace was founded in 2020 by CEO Cassie Duggleby and CTO Andrew Duggleby. It raised a $20 million Series A in 2022 and $42 million Series A2 in 2025. It closed a $91 million Series B earlier this year and expanded its leadership team. The company is working toward longer-duration and higher-thrust testing and advancing its flight program.

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