New peer-to-peer grocery app launches in Katy with plans to expand

local goods

QuickPantri allows neighbors to shop each other's cupboards. Photo via Getty Images.

If computer scientist and mobile applications developer Arfhan Ahmad has his way, his burgeoning Houston-based startup, QuickPantri, will be directly responsible for adding to the definition of what it truly means to be neighborly.

“Fast delivery from next door” — that’s the tagline for Ahmad’s hyperlocal grocery platform, which focuses on solving last-mile access, neighborhood commerce and food affordability.

“I’m passionate about combining technology with real-world problems, especially those that impact working families and underserved communities,” Ahmad says. “I moved to Houston two years ago, and here I realized that grocery stores are far from the neighborhoods.”

Ahmad envisions QuickPantri will help people who need grocery items urgently, sparing them a trip to the store or costly delivery fees by letting them source items directly from their neighbors’ cupboards.

With his new peer-to-peer app, members — especially those tethered to their residence due to disability or immobility or those unable to make grocery runs with children in tow — can simply log on to QuickPantri and purchase grocery items from their own neighbors.

“My initial thought was, 'What if we have an app that allows people to open a grocery store at their own home and sell any essential items to other neighbors?'” Ahmad says. “So, after having this idea in my mind, I asked my neighbors, 'If I sell groceries from my home, would you buy them from me?' And most of them gave me positive responses. After doing some surveys online on the Nextdoor app and Facebook, I started building this app.”

And like a good neighbor, Ahmad launched QuickPantri in his own neighborhood in Katy.

He then looked at scaling, first by securing approvals from Harris County to sell pre-packaged grocery items from his home. The response exceeded his own expectations. In the last two months, Ahmad estimates that he has delivered to 250 homes in the Katy area. Ahmad has seen that most customers use the app in search of late-night snacks and drinks.

“Ninety-five percent of those orders were delivered in 15 to 30 minutes … Our plan is to expand in other high-risk communities and other cities,” Ahmad says.

To date, Ahmad has obtained approvals from Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

He’s in the process of launching version two. Starting September 1, other sellers will be able to join the app and apply to sell goods to their neighbors. Ahmad says he currently has 50 sellers on the waitlist.

Each seller is allotted a potential selling radius of 10 minutes to ensure swift delivery. Also, sellers are required to deliver the goods via bicycle or on foot, making QuickPantri a pollution-free delivery option.

Currently, the app only sells pre-packaged items and sellers are required to show the expiration date in photos. The app utilizes AI to check pricing for goods in the area, and Ahmad says the app typically lists prices lower than what AI predicts.

Outside of geographic reach and number of buyers and sellers, Ahmad also hopes to expand the list of items that can be sold on the app to include clothes, electronics and cleaning supplies.

“We want our seller to be the ultimate source,” Ahmad says.

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Rescunomics is designing technology to enhance responses to active shooter situations, fires, and rescues. Photo via Getty Images

New Houston co. transforms emergency response with geolocation, AI, and augmented reality tech

to the rescunomics

A Houston startup is innovating on safety using its geolocation, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality technology.

Rescunomics is designing technology to enhance responses to active shooter situations, fires, and rescues.The company, which provides tiered pricing, is currently working on a platform exclusively for first-responders.

Founded by CEO Emmanuel Joel, a retired captain of the Houston Fire Department, Rescunomics is using a “mission driven” approach to safety that is fueled by leveraging technology. As a part of the HFD, Joel experienced the loss of his mentor and Captain at a house fire that inspired him to take future action.

“This dark period for me inspired a vision to find a solution to this problem that has claimed 1,000 firefighter lives in structural fires in the last three decades,” Joel says in a news release. ”Since my retirement, I have focused on the growth of Rescunomics as a solution provider of innovative solutions to global safety for emergency responders.”

The company uses geolocation technology that can enable first responders to pinpoint their positions within a building to a precise location. By collaborating with geolocation service company NextNav, Rescunomics can integrate a nationwide mesh network,which will ensure accurate Z-axis data in real-time. This can still occur even when GPS fails. Rescunomics’ partnership with T-Mobile uses their 5G low-band network to provide affordable geolocation services.

With a voice-activated Hērōs AI chatbot, Rescunomics can provide instant guidance in high-pressure situations. By using predictive analytics, users can optimize resource allocation during large-scale disasters by utilizing IoT connectivity and SMART analytics with the Hērōs platform. The platform also utilizes its Indoor Mapping Data Format (IMDF). The IMDF allows users access to customized indoor maps of venues like stadiums, airports, and campuses.

For active shooter situations, Rescunomics says its discreet SOS signaling system can enable individuals to alert law enforcement directly.Rescunomics says 60 percent of shooting events end before law enforcement arrives.

Going beyond training purposes, Rescunomics' AR lens technology can arm responders with thermal imaging and VR-enhanced visuals via helmet-mounted displays to help monitor live incident footage.

The Detroit Fire Department is just one of the departments in the U.S. using technology similar to this, as the department is in a pilot program using Safety Cloud by HAAS Alert.

The Healthcare Navigator is a platform that helps users to learn about not just treatment options, but also the financial bearings thereof. Photo via thehealthcarenav.com

Houston startup designs new platform for better navigating health care

patient portal

Taking control of your health can be a difficult path to walk on your own. A new startup, created by eight female Rice University students, is aimed at wading through the health care system.

The Healthcare Navigator is a platform that helps users to learn about not just treatment options, but also the financial bearings thereof.

“About 88 percent of Americans aren’t health literate,” founder and president Kayla Grimes says in a news release. “It’s very hard for them to navigate health care in the way to get the best benefit for it, so what our platform will do is essentially give them the tools and resources to confidently navigate the health care system. We also help with price transparency specifically.”

The multidisciplinary team includes women majoring in pre-med, computer science, medical humanities, art and business. According to Grimes (a rising senior business major), the seed for the idea’s success was planted two years ago when she was volunteering for the National Patient Advocacy Foundation.

“They told me, ‘If you do this right, this could actually change everything in health care,’” she remembers.

Now she and her team have an app, as well as an accessible website, composed of several features all meant to make it easier to save money — and users’ health. The features are:

Cost Compass, which compares procedure costs across local hospitals, enabling users to shop around and save money.
Care Genius AI, an AI chatbot that helps users to negotiate medical bills and answers health care system questions.
Patient Power Modules, which are interactive educational videos that make understanding the health care system easy and engaging.
Pocket Doc, which helps consumers find the best providers for them based on location, ratings and quality metrics.
Pulse Check Alert keeps users informed on important health care news and patient insights.
Care Manager streamlines users’ health care needs and goals in one convenient place.

Grimes says that she hopes that users will skip Google reviews and go straight to their Pocket Doc, which includes information on hospitals, clinics, urgent care centers and freestanding emergency rooms.

“We have that in the system, so that you can actually see useful metrics instead of just going on Google reviews and reading their readmission rate — we’re going to explain what’s a good readmission rate and what’s a bad readmission rate,” she says. “That’s the whole point: We’re not just going to give you these metrics, we’re also going to give you some benchmarks, so you can make the decision for yourself.”

When dealing with your health, knowledge is certainly power, and Healthcare Navigator is bestowing a new kind of power on its users.

NanoTech Materials celebrated its move into a new facility — a 43,000-square-foot space in Katy, Texas, this week. Photo courtesy of NanoTech Materials

Growing Houston startup moves into 43,000-square-foot facility amid 'hypergrowth phase'

major milestone

A Houston startup has moved into a new space that's more than four times larger than its previous setup — a move that's setting the company up to scale its business.

NanoTech Materials celebrated its move into a new facility — a 43,000-square-foot space in Katy, Texas, this week. The materials science company currently distributes a roof coating that features its novel heat-control technology across the company. Originally founded in a garage, the company has now moved from its 10,000-square-foot space at Halliburton Labs into the larger location to support its growth.

“The new facility allows us to not just focus on the roofing, and that’s growing at a pretty rapid pace, but also stand up different production lines for our next iteration of technologies coming-out," Mike Francis, co-founder and CEO of NanoTech tells InnovationMap.

The space allows for a 340 percent increase in the manufacturing and operational capabilities, including producing 55 million square feet a year of roof coating. Francis says the new products he's focused on launching and scaling include a wildfire protectant coating and liquid applied insulation for trucks and containers to control heat for driver and worker safety.

Francis adds that he will be expanding the company's team to support this growth.

“We’re constantly hiring now,” he says. “We have about 25 employees right now. Next year, we’ll probably be double that. We’re kind of in a hypergrowth phase."

Francis likes to credit Houston in part for NanoTech's ability to grow at this pace and to be successful.

Mike Francis is the CEO and co-founder of NanoTech Materials. Photo via LinkedIn

“Houston has a shot at being one of the top startup cities of the world — I think it’s going to take a lot of time and capital, but what makes Houston different is its ability to scale existing technologies,” Francis says.

“I really think that Houston is already the spot to take an existing technology and build a team around it to turn it into a company because you have all of the players — whether it’s the end customer or the incubators and 'scalerators' — and you have all of these pieces coming into place," he continues. "Maybe it’s not the best place to start a company, but it’s definitely the best place to scale a company because of the ecosystem is really willing to participate and raise up startups like ours."

As the first company selected for Halliburton's incubator, Halliburton Labs, when it launched in 2020, NanoTech has worked closely with the company that housed and supported them for years.

“Once you’re in the Halliburton Labs fold, they are always just a phone call away from making something happen," he says. “We’re transferring all that knowledge into a bigger facility — growing up and graduating from what they gave us.”

Last year, NanoTech raised an oversubscribed funding round that brought on a handful of new investors. The details of the round were not disclosed, but NanoTech did release that the round included participation from three institutional investors, two corporate-strategic investors, and seven family offices. The company originally raised its seed round in 2020.

The NanoTech team, including Francis and Carrie Horazeck, chief commercial officer, joined the Houston Innovators Podcast last year to discuss how they've rolled out their first line of business.

With seven locations across the Houston area, The Cannon's digital technology allows its members a streamlined connection. Photo courtesy of The Cannon

Houston coworking company acquires digital community platform

M&A moves

After collaborating over the years, The Cannon has acquired a Houston startup's digital platform technology to become a "physical-digital hybrid" community.

Village Insights, a Houston startup, worked with The Cannon to create and launch its digital community platform Cannon Connect. Now, The Cannon has officially acquired the business. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“The combined commitment to support innovation communities—large and small—is evident,” Andrew Ramirez, who served as CEO for Village Insights ahead of the acquisition, says in a news release. “Village Insights and The Cannon merged to align efforts and cultivate local, regional and global innovation communities. Combining our value propositions represents a significant leap forward for the populations that we serve.”

With seven locations across the Houston area, The Cannon's digital technology allows its members a streamlined connection.

“The Cannon’s hub network stretches from The Woodlands to Galveston and across the 13-county region, with a membership base of more than 900 companies and 3,000 employees,” Jon Lambert, CEO of The Cannon, adds. “The digital extension of our physical footprint brings comprehensive innovation and business development support to communities that need it the most. Cannon Connect’s virtual- connection capabilities stand to remarkably expand our universe of ecosystem opportunities.”

Village Insights was founded in 2020. According to the release, the acquisition began in December, and members of the Village Insights core leadership team have rolled onto new roles at The Cannon.

“The integration of a world-class onsite member experience and Cannon Connect’s superior virtual resource network creates a seamless, streamlined environment for member organizations,” Clemmie Martin, The Cannon’s newly appointed chief of staff, says in the release. “Cannon Connect and this acquisition have paved new pathways to access and success for all.”

Co-founded by CEO Jessica Traver, IntuiTap says it plans to roll out the device at U.S. hospitals within the next year. Photo courtesy of IntuiTap

Houston health tech startup revolutionizing spinal taps receives FDA clearance

tap in

Houston startup IntuiTap Medical has gained clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its VerTouch medical device.

The company says VerTouch is designed to make spinal punctures more accurate and consistent. The handheld imaging tool helps health care providers perform spinal punctures at a patient’s bedside.

IntuiTap says it plans to roll out the device at U.S. hospitals within the next year. The company is mulling global partnerships to help launch VerTouch.

IntuiTap’s proprietary spinal-mapping technology enables VerTouch to generate a 2D image of lumbar spinal anatomy, helping health care providers visualize a patient’s spine and guide them toward more precise needle placement.

Each year, 12.7 million Americans undergo an epidural, spinal block, or lumbar puncture, says IntuiTap.

“Having spent more than two decades pioneering the use of ultrasound to improve emergency lumbar punctures, I know the challenge of these procedures and that difficult training and image interpretation prevent ultrasound from being a complete solution,” Dr. Michael Blaivas, co-founder past president of the Society of Ultrasound in Medical Education, says in a news release.

IntuiTap says the FDA clearance “validates the safety and effectiveness” of VerTouch. The device has undergone testing at several institutions in the U.S., including Houston’s Texas Medical Center and Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Jessica Traver, co-founder and CEO of IntuiTap, says the FDA clearance “marks a crucial milestone in our team’s journey to making epidurals, spinals, and lumbar punctures more accurate and efficient.”

Investors in IntuiTap include:

Dr. Paul Klotman, president of the Baylor College of Medicine
Venture capitalist Tim Draper
William Hawkins III, retired CEO of medical device giant Medtronic
Dr. Vip Patel, Founder of the Global Robotics Institute
Dr. Mary Klotman, dean of the Duke University’s medical school
Carrie Colbert, founder of Houston-based Curate Capital, a female-focused VC firm

“Our investment in IntuiTap was just as much about our faith in the technology, our faith in Jessica as the founder, and our conviction that innovation was sorely needed in this area,” Colbert says.

“The fact that the company is receiving FDA clearance is a huge leap forward, and as a venture capital fund who focuses on female-founded companies that benefit women, it’s extremely rewarding to know this device will impact so many women’s lives.”

In 2021, IntuiTap announced it had closed a $5.5 million series A funding round led by Curate Capital and The Pink Ceiling, a woman-centered investment firm. The startup was founded in 2016.

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Texas ranks among 10 best states to find a job, says new report

jobs report

If you’re hunting for a job in Texas amid a tough employment market, you stand a better chance of landing it here than you might in other states.

A new ranking by personal finance website WalletHub of the best states for jobs puts Texas at No. 7. The Lone Star State lands at No. 2 in the economic environment category and No. 18 in the job market category.

Massachusetts tops the list, and West Virginia appears at the bottom.

To determine the most attractive states for employment, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 34 key indicators of economic health and job market strength. Ranking factors included employment growth, median annual income, and average commute time.

“Living in one of the best states for jobs can provide stable conditions for the long term, helping you ride out the fluctuations that the economy will experience in the future,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says.

In September, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas led the U.S. in job creation with the addition of 195,600 jobs over the past 12 months.

“Texas is America’s jobs leader,” Abbott says. “With the best business climate in the nation and a skilled and growing labor force, Texas is where businesses invest, jobs grow, and families thrive. Texas will continue to cut red tape and invest in businesses large and small to spur the economic growth of communities across our great state.”

While Abbott proclaims Texas is “America’s jobs leader,” the state’s level of job creation has recently slowed. In June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas noted that the state’s year-to-date job growth rate had dipped to 1.8 percent, and that even slower job growth was expected in the second half of this year.

The August unemployment rate in Texas stood at 4.1 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Throughout 2025, the monthly rate in Texas has been either four percent or 4.1 percent.

By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate in August was 4.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2025, the monthly rate for the U.S. has ranged from 4 percent to 4.3 percent.

Here’s a rundown of the August unemployment rates in Texas’ four biggest metro areas:

Austin — 3.9 percent
Dallas-Fort Worth — 4.4 percent
Houston — 5 percent
San Antonio — 4.4 percent

Unemployment rates have remained steady this year despite layoffs and hiring freezes driven by economic uncertainty. However, the number of U.S. workers who’ve been without a job for at least 27 weeks has risen by 385,000 this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in August. That month, long-term unemployed workers accounted for about one-fourth of all unemployed workers.

An August survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a record-low 44.9 percent of Americans were confident about finding a job if they lost their current one.

Autonomous truck co. goes public and more innovation news to know

Trending News

Editor's note: It's time to catch up on the top Houston innovation news for the first half of November. From major investments to a big boost in dementia research, here are the most-read InnovationMap stories from Nov. 1-15, 2025:

1. Autonomous truck company with Houston routes goes public

Kodiak Robotics has formed Kodiak AI, whose stock now trades on the Nasdaq market. Photo via kodiak.ai.

Kodiak Robotics, a provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology, has gone public through a SPAC merger and has rebranded as Kodiak AI. The company operates trucking routes to and from Houston, which has served as a launchpad for the business. Privately held Kodiak, founded in 2018, merged with a special purpose acquisition company — publicly held Ares Acquisition Corp. II — to form Kodiak AI, whose stock now trades on the Nasdaq market. Continue reading.

2. Venus Aerospace picks up investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures

Lockheed Martin Ventures says it's committed to helping Houston-based Venus Aerospace scale its technology. Photo courtesy Venus Aerospace

Venus Aerospace, a Houston-based startup specializing in next-generation rocket engine propulsion, has received funding from Lockheed Martin Ventures, the investment arm of aerospace and defense contractor Lockheed Martin, for an undisclosed amount. The product lineup at Lockheed Martin includes rockets. The investment follows Venus’ successful high-thrust test flight of its rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) in May. Venus says it’s the only company in the world that makes a flight-proven, high-thrust RDRE with a “clear path to scaled production.” Continue reading.

3. America's first Ismaili Center set to open in Houston in December

Nearly 20 years in the making, The Ismaili Center, Houston, opens in December 2025. Photo by Iwan Baan

The long-awaited Ismaili Center, Houston is set to open to the public next month. The 11-acre site has been painstakingly designed and constructed to offer indoor and outdoor public spaces for Houstonians to enjoy, connect, and engage. As the only Ismaili Center in the United States — and seventh in the world — it joins its international communities in London, Vancouver, Lisbon, Dubai, Dushanbe, and Toronto. Community welcome events are scheduled for December 12 and 13, but, until then, here are 10 features and things to know about the Ismaili Center, Houston. Continue reading.

4. Texas voters OK $3 billion for new dementia research institute

Thanks to the passage of Proposition 14, Texas now boasts the country’s largest state-funded initiative dedicated to dementia research and prevention. Photo via Unsplash.

Texas voters on Nov. 4 overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure that provides $3 billion in state funding over a 10-year span for the newly established Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT). Thanks to the passage of Proposition 14, Texas now boasts the country’s largest state-funded initiative dedicated to dementia research and prevention, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Up to $300 million in grants will be awarded during the 10-year funding period. Continue reading.

5. 2025 Houston Innovation Awards winners revealed at annual event

2025 Houston Innovation Awards winners revealed at annual eventThe 2025 Houston Innovation Awards winners have been revealed. Courtesy photo

After weeks of anticipation, the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards winners have been revealed. Finalists, judges, and VIPs from Houston's vibrant innovation community gathered on Nov. 13 at Greentown Labs for the fifth annual event. This year, the Houston Innovation Awards recognized more than 40 finalists, with winners unveiled in 10 categories. Continue reading.

TMC, Memorial Hermann launch partnership to spur new patient care technologies

medtech partnership

Texas Medical Center and Memorial Hermann Health System have launched a new collaboration for developing patient care technology.

Through the partnership, Memorial Hermann employees and physicians will now be able to participate in the TMC Center for Device Innovation (CDI), which will assist them in translating product innovation ideas into working prototypes. The first group of entrepreneurs will pitch their innovations in early 2026, according to a release from TMC.

“Memorial Hermann is excited to launch this new partnership with the TMC CDI,” Ini Ekiko Thomas, vice president of information technology at Memorial Hermann, said in the news release. “As we continue to grow (a) culture of innovation, we look forward to supporting our employees, affiliated physicians and providers in new ways.”

Mentors from Memorial Hermann, TMC Innovation and industry experts with specialties in medicine, regulatory strategy, reimbursement planning and investor readiness will assist with the program. The innovators will also gain access to support systems like product innovation and translation strategy, get dedicated engineering and machinist resources and personal workbench space at the CDI.

“The prototyping facilities and opportunities at TMC are world-class and globally recognized, attracting innovators from around the world to advance their technologies,” Tom Luby, chief innovation officer at TMC Innovation Factor, said in the release.

Memorial Hermann says the partnership will support its innovation hub’s “pilot and scale approach” and hopes that it will extend the hub’s impact in “supporting researchers, clinicians and staff in developing patentable, commercially viable products.”

“We are excited to expand our partnership with Memorial Hermann and open the doors of our Center for Device Innovation to their employees and physicians—already among the best in medical care,” Luby added in the release. “We look forward to seeing what they accomplish next, utilizing our labs and gaining insights from top leaders across our campus.”

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