10+ can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for August

Where to be

From startup competitions to thought-provoking talks, here's where you need to be in August. Getty Images

If you subscribe to the idea that your net worth is your network, then here's your guide to networking this month in Houston's innovation ecosystem. August has meetups, pitch nights, and networking aplenty.

If you know of innovation-focused events for this month or next, email me at natalie@innovationmap.com with the details and subscribe to our daily newsletter that sends fresh stories straight to your inboxes every morning.

August 1 — Sixth Annual Bayou City Startup Showcase

Rice University's OwlSpark and University of Houston's RED Labs are coming together again for a startup pitch and showcase — this time in The Cannon's new building.

Details: The event is from 3 to 5:30 pm on Thursday, August 1, at The Cannon/Bayou City Fellowship (1400 Brittmoore Road). Learn more.

August 6 — Houston Unfiltered with Jeff Garoon, COO of FlowCommand

Station Houston has rebooted its Open Coffee series to Houston Unfiltered. Each month has a new speaker, and in August, startups can hear from Jeff Garoon, COO of FlowCommand.

Details: The event is from 8 to 9 am on Tuesday, August 6, at Station Houston (1301 Fannin Street, #2440). Learn more.

August 6 — Managing Your Sales Function

Capital Factory's next Houston Founder's Academy installation is focused on sales.

Details: The event is from noon to 2 pm on Tuesday, August 6, at The Cannon (1336 Brittmoore Road). Learn more.

August 7 — Deep 6 AI: Advancing Clinical Research @ TMC

Imagine knowing every patient you want to recruit on day 1 of your trial. Doug Cassidy, vice president of Clinical and Academic Research at Deep 6 AI, explains how Deep 6 AI can help you find more better matching patients for trials in minutes, not months.

Details: The event is from 4:30 to 5:30 pm on Wednesday, August 7, at Third Coast Restaurant (6550 Bertner Avenue, 6th Floor). Learn more.

August 8 — Summer Salon: Broadband Internet Access & Digital Inclusion

The Center for Houston's Future is hosting a fireside chat to focus on all things digital.

Details: The event is from 6:30 to 8:30 pm on Thursday, August 8, at the Omni Houston Hotel (4 Riverway). Learn more.

August 13 — Entrepreneurship Burn-out: The Power of Nutrition Psychology

Entrepreneurs are creative, highly driven, and high-performing individuals. But in the pursuit of success, entrepreneurs often neglect their health. Our guest speaker will share practical tips/advice for entrepreneurs to prioritize nutrition to prevent burnout and/or help in the recovery process.

Details: The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Tuesday, August 13, at Impact Hub Houston #PopHUB @HX (410 Pierce Street). Learn more.

August 15 — SPE Talk: The Energy Dot

This inaugural digital innovation event will combine oil and gas, academia, and Silicon Valley innovation with multiple tracks of engaging programming.

Details: The event is from 8 am to 5 pm on Thursday, August 15, at Midtown Arts and Theatre Center (3400 Main Street). Learn more.

August 17 — Enventure Basecamp - Business Building Workshop

Basecamp is an inclusive environment for those who are interested in adapting their life science experiences to real business applications. All are welcome, and the event is free.

Details: The event is from 9 am to noon on Saturday, August 17, at the TMC Innovation Institute (2450 Holcombe Blvd). Learn more.

August 17 — re:3D's sixth birthday, discount print day, and design contest

re:3D is turning six, but the party is actually for you. Discount printing, plus a contest with $100 credit on the line.

Details: The event is from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, August 17, at re:3D Houston HQ (1100 Hercules Ave, STE 220). Learn more.

August 22 — TMCxAlpha: August meeting with Ashok Gowda

TMC alpha provides a pathway for any innovator affiliated with a TMC member institution to find support for the development and commercialization of their idea or product. Lunch and parking validation will be available.

Details: The event is from noon to 1 pm on Thursday, August 22, at the TMC Innovation Institute (2450 Holcombe Blvd). Learn more.

August 22 — Federal Funding 101 Introduction to the SBIR

This program is purpose-made to provide seed money of up to $1.5M to small businesses to enable them to break into the market. Following the workshop, Inspiralia experts will be available for one-on-one technology validation meetings.

Details: The event is from from 3 to 7 pm on Thursday, August 22, at the CUBIO Innovation Center (7707 Fannin St., Ste 200). Learn more.

August 28 — Enventure Biodesign Workshops

Biodesign workshops is a free course designed to provide new entrepreneurs with an understanding of the innovation process, teaching them how to evaluate a life science technology as the basis for starting a new business. Whether you're an engineer, scientist, physician, or business expert, this class will bring you up to speed on the medical innovation process.

Details: The event is from 6 to 8 pm on Wednesday, August 28, at the TMC Innovation Institute (2450 Holcombe Blvd). Learn more.

August 29 — The Greenlight Guru True Quality Roadshow

Enjoy specially selected drinks, hors d'oeuvres, and intimate networking with medical device professionals. Finish the night hearing from leaders in the industry.

Details: The event is from 4:30 to 6:30 pm on Thursday, August 28, at the JLABS @ TMC (2450 Holcombe Blvd). Learn more.

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UH scores $18M NIH grant for chronic disease research

research funding

The University of Houston has received a coveted $18.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to launch a program to address the root causes of chronic disease.

Only 22 institutions nationwide receive this NIH award, and the 5-year process aligns with the newly established UH Health’s mission to expand healthcare innovations in Texas and beyond. The initiative will be housed in the UH Population Health department.

"This generous funding allows us to directly confront the root causes of chronic illness that place a heavy burden on so many families," Dr. Jonathan McCullers, vice president for health affairs at UH, said in a news release. "With the recent launch of UH Health, we have an unprecedented opportunity to translate scientific discovery into healthier outcomes for our communities by bringing together experts from across the university to improve health where it matters most.”

Through the program, UH researchers from different areas of expertise will work together to address the challenges of chronic illness by looking at biological, social and behavioral factors.

According to the university, chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, strokes and others are the leading cause of illness, disability and death in the U.S. They account for 90 percent of the nation’s $5.3 trillion in annual healthcare spending.

Bettina Beech, chief of population health and translational science at UH, serves as principal investigator for the program.

“Chronic disease management largely happens during the 8,700 hours each year that people are not visiting their healthcare provider,” Beech added in the news release. “While healthcare is indispensable, it only accounts for 20 percent of how health is created — genetics accounts for another 10 percent, and the other 70 percent is determined by behavior, social conditions and environment.”

With the funds from the grant, UH will also be able to expand research infrastructure, add to community partnerships, support complementary research, and invest in early-career investigators, according to the news release. UH also aims to develop solutions that could help ease the economic burden of chronic disease.

Report: Where Texas ranks among best and worst states to live in 2026

Texas Talk

After earning its worst-ever ranking last year, Texas has improved slightly on an evaluation of the best states to live, but it's still at the bottom of the pack.

Each year, WalletHub's analysts compare all 50 states using 51 livability metrics to measure their affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. Factors that were weighed include the cost of living, homeownership rates, population and income growth rates, wealth gaps, public school system quality, road quality, crime rates, and many others.

The Lone Star State landed at No. 36 in 2026, making it the 15th worth state to live right now. That's on par with its 2024 ranking, and it's a two-spot improvement over its 2025 performance.

While Texas residents can brag about living in a state with the No. 1 highest number of restaurants per capita and the 7th best quality of life in the country, that's about it. Texas earned middling-to-poor scores among the four remaining livability rankings: safety (No. 33), affordability (No. 35), economy (No. 37), and education and health (No. 40).

Here's how Texas fared in other nationwide rankings in the study:

No. 27 – Income Growth
No. 30 – Housing Costs
No. 39 – Percentage of Population in Poverty
No. 42 – Percentage of Adults in Fair or Poor Health
No. 46 – Homeownership Rate
No. 49 – Percentage of Population Aged 25 and Older with a High School Diploma or Higher
No. 48 – Average Weekly Work Hours
No. 50 – Percentage of Insured Population

Texas has a lot of work to do to improve its livability for all of its residents, but especially for women, according to several other 2026 WalletHub studies. Texas is the fourth-worst state for women, the ninth-worst state for working mothers, and the seventh-worst place to have a baby based on limited access to maternal and pediatric healthcare.

At the very bottom of the report is New Mexico, ranking 50th overall, with Louisiana (No. 49), Mississippi (No. 48), Alaska (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46) rounding out the bottom five.

After holding on as the No. 1 best state to live for a few years in a row, Massachusetts now ranks No. 4 and was overtaken by Idaho (No. 1), New Jersey (No. 2), and Wisconsin (No. 3). New Hampshire rounds out the top five best states to live.

WalletHub's top 10 best states to live in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Idaho
No. 2 – New Jersey
No. 3 – Wisconsin
No. 4 – Massachusetts
No. 5 – New Hampshire
No. 6 – Wyoming
No. 7 – Utah
No. 8 – Minnesota
No. 9 – Pennsylvania
No. 10 – Florida

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

6 exciting Houston startup raises to know from July 2026

fresh funding

Houston startups carried the fundraising momentum of Q1 and Q2 into July with several significant seed funding, Series A and Series B rounds.

From geothermal leaders to medtech innovators, these six Houston companies raised more than a quarter billion dollars last month alone, according to reporting by InnovationMap and our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Did we miss a funding round? Let us know by emailing innoeditor@innovationmap.com.

Altillion

Houston-based startup Altillion has secured $5 million in seed funding to accelerate the commercialization of its proprietary IRIS and ALIX technologies, which convert oilfield-produced water into valuable minerals, the company reported earlier this month.

San Francisco-based EIC Rose Rock and Houston-based Flathead Forge led the round. Altillion says the funding will go toward pilot facilities and commercial deployments as the company looks to scale in the U.S. Continue reading.

Buildforce

The U.S. is grappling with a current shortage of 50,000 electricians, according to the National Electrical Contractors Association. Photo via Unsplash

Houston-based Buildforce, which provides a tech-enabled staff platform geared toward electricians and electrical contractors, closed a $10 million Series A round led by Houston’s Saepio Capital last month.

Other investors in the round include Blue Heron Capital, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, S3 Ventures and Chicago Ventures.

Buildforce says the funding will help fuel its national expansion and further development of its technology.

The startup, founded in 2019, connects electricians with electrical contractors for commercial and industrial construction projects. Continue reading.

Hephae Energy Technology Corp.

The company develops ultra-high-temperature tools to withstand the heat of geothermal reservoirs. Photo via hephaeet.com

Houston-area startup Hephae Energy Technology Corp. closed a $17.8 million Series A financing round last month to commercialize its geothermal technology.

The round was co-led by Pennsylvania-based Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, which invests in early-stage climatech companies, and Copenhagen-based Underground Ventures, which focuses on geothermal energy startups. Alfa8, Baruch Future Ventures, Centaurus Capital LP, Elemental Impact, Exa Ventures, Future Ventures, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, New System Ventures and True North Institute joined the round, along with existing Houston-based investor Nabors Industries. Hephae reports in a news release that the Series A round brings the company's total capital raised to $24.7 million. Continue reading.

TYBR Health

The company's B3 GEL System is designed to protect tendons, ligaments and muscles while they heal from orthopedic surgery. Photo via Unsplash

Houston-based healthtech startup TYBR Health has raised a $30 million Series A round to scale its B3 GEL System, which helps protect tendons from scarring after surgery, the company announced last month.

The round was led by Minneapolis-based Vensana Capital and Cleveland-based Mutual Capital Partners, with participation from Denver-based Neovate Capital Partners and existing investors, according to a news release from the company.

TYBR Health said it plans to use the funding to broaden the B3 GEL System's clinical applications, expand commercialization and conduct studies to evaluate its ability to protect tissue and improve healing outcomes. Continue reading.

Venus Aerospace

Venus Aerospace has secured funding from Mercury Fund, Lockheed Martin Ventures and others. Photo courtesy Venus Aerospace

Houston-based Venus Aerospace closed a $91 million Series B round last month and plans to scale the production of its hypersonic engine.

The round was led by Houston-based Mercury Fund with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures, MESH, PEAK6, Draper Associates, Starboard Star Venture Capital, Green Sands Equity and other investors, according to a news release.

The investment comes about a year after Venus completed the first U.S. flight test of its high-thrust rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE). The engine is expected to enable vehicles to travel four to six times the speed of sound from a conventional runway and is about 15 percent more efficient than traditional alternatives, according to the company. Continue reading.

Quaise Energy

A rendering of a Quaise Energy geothermal plant. Rendering via quaise.com

Houston-based Quaise Energy, a producer of utility-scale geothermal power, closed $134 million in a Series B round last month to advance its “superhot” geothermal power plant.

Climate-focused San Francisco-based investment firm Prelude Ventures led the round, with participation from JERA Co., Japan’s largest power generation company, and Idemitsu Kosan, one of Japan’s largest energy companies. Nearly all existing investors, including cleantech-focused investment firm Safar Partners, participated in the round.

The startup expects more equity and debt deals to close “imminently.” Quaise has raised $230 million since its founding in 2018. Continue reading.

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