Overheard: Why these 3 startups relocated to Houston

eavesdropping at the houston innovation awards gala

Here's why three New to Hou finalists from the Houston Innovation Awards have committed to Houston. Photo via Getty Images

Houston is attracting more and more businesses big and small, old and new. So much that it seemed worthy of an award for the Houston Innovation Awards Gala.

The awards event, which is on November 9 and hosted by InnovationMap and Houston Exponential at the Ion, is honoring five finalists selected by judges — and naming one winner — who have recently relocated or significantly expanded to Houston.

Here's why three of these New to Hou finalists have committed to Houston.

"The move to the Houston area allowed us to be much closer to our strategic partners, customers and suppliers. We are also impressed by the vast talent pool in the area. Houston has a highly skilled workforce with diverse experiences, particularly in oil and gas, petrochemicals, and a broad range of technical areas."

Photo courtesy

Jay Manouchehri, CEO of Fluence Analytics, which relocated from Louisiana to Stafford last year, just outside of Houston. "We have been able to engage very actively with many customers since the move and also have developed valuable supplier relationships."

"In 2019, Chevron and EIC (both Houston based) became investors and we already had a lot of US clients, so we wanted to create a Houston footprint."

Photo courtesy

John van Pol, co-founder and CEO of INGU, which opened its new Houston office in 2021. Van Pol adds that the pandemic delayed their expansion initially.

"Houston has a quickly-growing biotechnology sector and already has existing oil and gas talent, making it an ideal place to find the people we need to grow our business."

Photo courtesy

Zimri T. Hinshaw, founder and CEO of BUCHA BIO, which relocated to Houston from New York in January 2022. "Our most prominent investor is Houston-based New Climate Ventures," he adds.

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Anouk van Pol of INGU Solutions, Eric Tait of Urban Capital Network, and Chris Howard of Softeq. Courtesy photos

3 Houston innovators to know this week

Who's who

Editor's note: In this week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to three local innovators across industries — from venture capital to energy — recently making headlines in Houston innovation.

Anouk van Pol, co-founder and COO of INGU Solutions

INGU Solutions has established its U.S. office in Houston — and is ready to tap into the city's energy industry with its revolutionary pipeline inspection-as-a-service model. Photo via LinkedIn

After generating some fresh funds from U.S. investors in 2019, Canadian pipeline services company INGU Solutions decided it was time to open a new office somewhere in the country. The startup led by a father-daughter team chose Houston and opened up an office just ahead of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The idea was to be closer to our customers,” Anouk van Pol, COO, tells InnovationMap. “Houston is the oil and gas hub, and just being able to be in [our clients'] offices and be there in person it just helps. I hope at one point COVID passes and that we can make use out of it a bit more.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, INGU, which uses data analytics and a small sensor to inspect pipes within the energy and water industries, grew 60 percent over the past two years. Click here to read more.

Eric Tait, co-founder at Urban Capital Network

Urban Capital Network have launched a fund-of-funds to allow investors to tap into later-stage startups at a much lower barrier of entry. Photo via urbancapitalnetwork.com

With its new fund of funds, Houston-based Urban Capital Network is allowing its members the chance to invest in venture funds at a much lower barrier of entry. The Horizon Fund II will deploy capital in up to five funds — each with 15 to 30 portfolio companies.

Eric Tait, co-founder at UCN, says they are looking for variety in the funds they invest in and are targeting top-tier, and highly rated VC firms all over the country that UCN's leadership has connections with.

“We’re relatively agnostic in terms of industry,” Tait says. “We do try to have a portfolio allocation that will create a return threshold that is varied.” Click here to read more.

Chris Howard, CEO and founder of Softeq

A Houston software company has announced its new venture fund. Photo courtesy of Softeq

Last week, Houston-based Softeq Development Corporation, a global full-stack development company, launched The Softeq Venture Fund, a $40 million venture fund to invest in seed and series A startup rounds. According to a news release, more than half the fund will be deployed to power the Softeq Venture Studio, Softeq's recently launched accelerator program.

“For generations, the state of Texas has been home to world-renowned tech companies who have greatly contributed to our regional success. As a local entrepreneur, advisor, and angel investor, it’s been my dream for many years to create a venture fund benefiting startups," says Christopher A. Howard, founder and CEO of Softeq, in the release. "I am proud to increase our support of the state’s early-stage tech community. Our investment fund is designed to attract tech visionaries from both inside and outside the state and grow innovative concepts in Houston." Click here to read more.

INGU Solutions has established its U.S. office in Houston — and is ready to tap into the city's energy industry with its revolutionary pipeline inspection-as-a-service model. Photo via ingu.com

Innovative Canadian company taps into Houston market to better serve energy customers

in the pipeline

On average, oil and gas pipelines are inspected every five years, which, considering pipelines in the United States are more than 60 years old, just isn't cutting it. Operators face costly and damaging leaks on cracks and incidences that are totally avoidable with more regular inspection. The issue is inspection isn't an easy process — unless INGU Solutions is involved.

The Alberta, Canada-based company has created a hardware component — called a Piper — that's about the size of a baseball. The device can be run through pipes of any size to inspect and detect internal issues. INGU has an inspection-as-a-service model so that whatever data is collected by the Pipers is analyzed and provided to clients without any more steps from them.

The idea for the device came to John van Pol, founder and CEO, who has a background in nuclear physics and founded the company in 2015. Now, he runs the company with his daughter, Anouk van Pol, who started as an analyst and working in the field for INGU and now serves the company as co-founder and COO.

The Piper is smaller than a baseball and can flow through any sized pipe used in the oil and gas industry. Photo via ingu.com

In 2017, INGU was selected to be a part of Chevron's inaugural Catalyst Program cohort and Chevron Technology Ventures — along with two other U.S. investors — contributed to the company's series A round in 2019. This led to INGU establishing its U.S. operations in Houston in order to grow their American team and to be closer to customers. Then, the pandemic hit.

“The idea was to be closer to our customers,” Anouk tells InnovationMap. “Houston is the oil and gas hub, and just being able to be in [our clients'] offices and be there in person it just helps. I hope at one point COVID passes and that we can make use out of it a bit more.

"The other thing is you open up your market on the hiring side," she says, adding that the company has two U.S. employees now.

INGU first had an office in The Cannon, but now operates locally at The Ion in the Common Desk coworking space with an office suite to support its local team. In 2019, the company was named to Plug and Play's inaugural Houston cohort and as a most-promising business by Rice Alliance at OTC.

Anouk, who was selected for Forbes 30 Under 30 in energy in 2020, and her father both split their time between Houston and Alberta, usually alternating so that the van Pols have a presence in each office at all times, but both are currently in town for the 34th annual Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Management conference, or PPIM. It's the OTC for the pipeline industry, Anouk says.

Ahead of the conference and despite the challenges the pandemic has posed for INGU, Anouk says the company has seen significant growth over the past two years.

"We grew 60 percent last year," she says. "which is pretty good for what's been happening over the past two years."

From a hardware perspective, the pandemic's impact has been relatively small. The Pipers are designed with off-the-shelf materials, which INGU stocked up on — avoiding any supply chain shortages. Additionally, INGU can send the devices to pipeline operators, who can deploy them while the devices send the collected data directly to INGU.

Anouk van Pol is the company's COO. Photo via LinkedIn

The company, which anticipates a secondary series A round this year in addition to tripling its annual revenue, has an environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, component to its business. While half of INGU's clients are in the energy industry and Pipers contribute to reducing waste within oilfield operations, the other half of customers are within the water industry. Water infrastructure is 100 years old, and Anouk says about 6 billion gallons of water are wasted each day.

"That's 40 percent of all water, and because so much water is lost, you need more power and energy," Anouk says. "Where we see oil and gas is aimed at prevention in well condition, etc., the water market is doing a lot of leak protection."

In both industries, Pipers are preventing waste and allowing companies to make positive moves in their ESG plans.

INGU has clients all over the world and servicing these various types of pipes and businesses is growing INGU's database, which better benefits their inspection-as-a-service capabilities.

"The more we grow, the more we can and will learn, and then go in this self-fulfilling cycle," Anouk says.

Startups from across the world pitched at the Rice Alliance Startup Roundup at the Offshore Technology Conference. Getty Images

Rice Alliance names the 10 most promising startups at Houston's Offshore Technology Conference

Best of the rest

Over 50 different startups from across the globe gathered at the Offshore Technology Conference for the fifth annual Rice Alliance Startup Roundup event. The full day of speed pitching and presentations, hosted by Rice Alliance Managing Director Brad Burke, took place at NRG Arena on Monday, May 6.

After interacting with all the various startups, the Rice Alliance's panel of experts voted on the 10 most promising startups. Half of the companies that were recognized are based in Houston — and even more have an office or some sort of operations in town. Here's which technologies the offshore oil and gas industry has its eye on.

Oliasoft AS

Oliasoft provides solutions for digitizing well planning operations. Photo via oliasoft.com

Oslo, Norway-based Oliasoft kicked off the presentations at OTC and walked away with an award 2.5 hours later. The cloud-based technology allows for enhanced well planning, casing and other drilling engineering processes.

Syzygy Plasmonics

Syzygy Plasmonics is a chemicals company in Houston lead by Trevor Best. Best presented his company's hydrogen as a fuel alternative technology. According to best, Syzegy's technology is a lower cost solution to gasoline that doesn't put out any chemical waste.

Toku Systems Inc.

Canadian IIoT company, Toku Systems Inc., has a inexpensive monitoring device. Photo via tokuindustry.com

When it comes to monitoring operations, it can be pricey and inaccurate. Edmonton, Alberta-based Toku Systems Inc. has designed a solution. Toku's device is durable and uses IIoT technology to allow for oil and gas companies to monitor their operations remotely.

Ingu Solutions

Ingu Solutions' Pipers technology might look small — but it's able to save a whole lot of cash for oil companies and prevent leaks. Photo via ingu.co

Another Canadian company, Ingu Solutions from Calgary, Alberta, took home an award from Rice. The company's pipeline detection technology can access pipes' conditions and prevent leaks and damage from causing major, costly events. Ingu's Pipers technology works off a subscription model, so clients have access to support and supplies with their monthly fees to the company.

LaserStream

LaserStream uses its imaging technology to track the wear and tear on pipes. Photo via laserstreamlp.com

Humble-based LaserStream provides laser-based scans of pipeline. The technology can evaluate damage and corrosion as well as calculate measurements of various equipment. The company has inspected over 350,000 feet of materials , including tubing, casing, drilling risers, production risers, and more, according to the website.

Ondaka

Ondaka's technology allows you to visualize your infrastructure before you act. Photo via ondaka.com

Ondaka isn't your typical Bay Area startup. The company uses an alphabet soup of buzzword technologies — IoT, AI, VR — and allows oil and gas companies to really visualize their infrastructure. The Palo Alto-based startup is a StartX company and a member at Station Houston for its local office.

Dark Vision Technologies Inc.

Canada-based Dark Vision has created a tool that can take ultrasound images of wells. Photo via darkvisiontech.com

North Vancouver, British Columbia-based Dark Vision has spent years developing its ultrasound technology that can get a 360-degree view of oil wells. According to the website, Dark Vision can find a number of downhole issues, such as tubing defects, casing corrosion, obstructions, and more.

Cemvita Factory

The Karimi siblings have created a way to synthetically convert CO2 into glucose, and they are targeting the energy and aerospace industries for their technology. Courtesy of Cemvita Factory

Houston-based Cemvita Factory didn't present its CO2-to-glucose conversion technology at the roundup, but the company's presence earlier in the day was enough for the judges. Co-founder Moji Karimi tells InnovationMap in a previous story about how the technology has many applications in oil and gas, but also in space operations,

Lift Etc.

Even though Lift ETC didn't present in the roundup, the Houston-based company walked away with an award for its artificial lift technology that is more efficient and cheaper for companies to use. According to the website, Lift ETC has a technology that's proven to lower the surface compressor requirements up to 75 percent and increase production.

SensorField

Houston-based SensorField didn't present, but still walked away with recognition from Rice. Photo via sensorfield.com

When it comes to using IoT for remote oilfield site monitoring, Houston-based SensorField is ahead of the curve. The company's device — so small it can fit in the palm of your hand — is powerful enough to provide complete monitoring capabilities from fluid level and pressure to rotating machinery health and location security, according to the website.

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Innovation Labs @ TMC set to launch for early-stage life science startups

moving in

The Texas Medical Center will launch its new Innovation Labs @ TMC in January 2026 to better support life science startups working within the innovation hub.

The new 34,000-square-foot space, located in the TMC Innovation Factory at 2450 Holcombe Blvd., will feature labs and life science offices and will be managed by TMC. The space was previously occupied by Johnson & Johnson's JLABS @TMC, a representative from TMC tells InnovationMap. JLABS will officially vacate the space in January.

TMC shares that the expansion will allow it to "open its doors to a wider range of life science visionaries," including those in the TMC BioBridge program and Innovation Factory residents. It will also allow TMC to better integrate with the Innovation Factory's offerings, such as the TMC Health Tech accelerator, TMC Center for Device Innovation and TMC Venture Fund.

“We have witnessed an incredible demand for life science space, not only at the TMC Innovation Factory, but also on the TMC Helix Park research campus,” William McKeon, president and CEO of the TMC, said in a news release. “Innovation Labs @ TMC enables us to meet this rising demand and continue reshaping how early-stage life science companies grow, connect, and thrive.”

“By bringing together top talent, cutting-edge research, and industry access in one central hub, we can continue to advance Houston’s life science ecosystem," he continued.

The TMC Innovation Factory has hosted 450 early-stage ventures since it launched in 2015. JLABS first opened in the space in 2016 with the goal of helping health care startups commercialize.

13 Houston businesses appear on Time's best midsize companies of 2025

new report

A Houston-based engineering firm KBR tops the list of Texas businesses that appear on Time magazine and Statista’s new ranking of the country’s best midsize companies.

KBR holds down the No. 30 spot, earning a score of 91.53 out of 100. Time and Statista ranked companies based on employee satisfaction, revenue growth, and transparency about sustainability. All 500 companies on the list have annual revenue from $100 million to $10 billion.

According to the Great Place to Work organization, 87 percent of KBR employees rate the company as a great employer.

“At KBR, we do work that matters,” the company says on the Great Place to Work website. “From climate change to space exploration, from energy transition to national security, we are helping solve the great challenges of our time through the high-end, differentiated solutions we provide. In doing so, we’re striving to create a better, safer, more sustainable world.”

KBR recorded revenue of $7.7 billion in 2024, up 11 percent from the previous year.

The other 12 Houston-based companies that landed on the Time/Statista list are:

  • No. 141 Houston-based MRC Global. Score: 85.84
  • No. 168 Houston-based Comfort Systems USA. Score: 84.72
  • No. 175 Houston-based Crown Castle. Score: 84.51
  • No. 176 Houston-based National Oilwell Varco. Score: 84.50
  • No. 234 Houston-based Kirby. Score: 82.48
  • No. 266 Houston-based Nabor Industries. Score: 81.59
  • No. 296 Houston-based Archrock. Score: 80.17
  • No. 327 Houston-based Superior Energy Services. Score: 79.38
  • No. 332 Kingwood-based Insperity. Score: 79.15
  • No. 359 Houston-based CenterPoint Energy. Score: 78.02
  • No. 461 Houston-based Oceaneering. Score: 73.87
  • No. 485 Houston-based Skyward Specialty Insurance. Score: 73.15

Additional Texas companies on the list include:

  • No. 95 Austin-based Natera. Score: 87.26
  • No. 199 Plano-based Tyler Technologies. Score: 86.49
  • No. 139 McKinney-based Globe Life. Score: 85.88
  • No. 140 Dallas-based Trinity Industries. Score: 85.87
  • No. 149 Southlake-based Sabre. Score: 85.58
  • No. 223 Dallas-based Brinker International. Score: 82.87
  • No. 226 Irving-based Darling Ingredients. Score: 82.86
  • No. 256 Dallas-based Copart. Score: 81.78
  • No. 276 Coppell-based Brink’s. Score: 80.90
  • No. 279 Dallas-based Topgolf. Score: 80.79
  • No. 294 Richardson-based Lennox. Score: 80.22
  • No. 308 Dallas-based Primoris Services. Score: 79.96
  • No. 322 Dallas-based Wingstop Restaurants. Score: 79.49
  • No. 335 Fort Worth-based Omnicell. Score: 78.95
  • No. 337 Plano-based Cinemark. Score: 78.91
  • No. 345 Dallas-based Dave & Buster’s. Score: 78.64
  • No. 349 Dallas-based ATI. Score: 78.44
  • No. 385 Frisco-based Addus HomeCare. Score: 76.86
  • No. 414 New Braunfels-based Rush Enterprises. Score: 75.75
  • No. 431 Dallas-based Comerica Bank. Score: 75.20
  • No. 439 Austin-based Q2 Software. Score: 74.85
  • No. 458 San Antonio-based Frost Bank. Score: 73.94
  • No. 475 Fort Worth-based FirstCash. Score: 73.39
  • No. 498 Irving-based Nexstar Broadcasting Group. Score: 72.71

Texas ranks as No. 1 most financially distressed state, says new report

Money Woes

Experiencing financial strife is a nightmare of many Americans, but it appears to be a looming reality for Texans, according to a just-released WalletHub study. It names Texas the No. 1 most "financially distressed" state in America.

To determine the states with the most financially distressed residents, WalletHub compared all 50 states across nine metrics in six major categories, such as average credit scores, the share of people with "accounts in distress" (meaning an account that's in forbearance or has deferred payments), the one-year change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024, and search interest indexes for "debt" and "loans."

Joining Texas among the top five most distressed states are Florida (No. 2), Louisiana (No. 3), Nevada (No. 4), and South Carolina (No. 5).

Texas' new ranking as the most financially distressed state in 2025 may be unexpected, WalletHub says, considering the state has a "bigger GDP than most countries" and still has one of the top 10 best economies in the nation (even though that ranking is also lower than it was in previous years).

Even so, Texas residents are stretching themselves very thin financially this year. Texans had the ninth lowest average credit scores nationwide during the first quarter of 2025, the study found, and Texans had the sixth-highest increase in non-business-related bankruptcy filings over the last year, toppling 22 percent.

"Texas also had the third-highest number of accounts in forbearance or with deferred payments per person, and the seventh-highest share of people with these distressed accounts, at 7.1 percent," the report said.

This is where Texas ranked across the study's six key dimensions, where No. 1 means "most distressed:"

  • No. 5 – "Loans" search interest index rank
  • No. 6 – Change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024 to March 2025 rank
  • No. 7 – Average number of accounts in distress rank
  • No. 8 – People with accounts in distress rank
  • No. 13 – Credit score rank and “debt” search interest index rank
Examining these financial factors on the state level is important for understanding how Americans are faring with economic issues like inflation, unemployment rates, or natural disasters, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.


"When you combine data about people delaying payments with other metrics like bankruptcy filings and credit score changes, it paints a good picture of the overall economic trends of a state," Lupo said.

On the other side of the spectrum, states like Hawaii (No. 50), Vermont (No. 49), and Alaska (No. 48) are the least financially distressed states in America.

The top 10 states with the most people in financial distress in 2025 are:

  • No. 1 – Texas
  • No. 2 – Florida
  • No. 3 – Louisiana
  • No. 4 – Nevada
  • No. 5 – South Carolina
  • No. 6 – Oklahoma
  • No. 7 – North Carolina
  • No. 8 – Mississippi
  • No. 9 – Kentucky
  • No. 10 – Alabama
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A version of this article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.