Houston innovation hub adds Oxy, United, and Woodside as partners

onboarding

The Ion named three corporate partners ahead of its annual innovation-focused festival. Photo courtesy of the Ion

Houston’s Ion innovation hub has recruited three heavyweight corporate partners, the hub announced earlier this week.

The new partners are:

  • Houston-based energy company Occidental (known as Oxy).
  • United Airlines Ventures, the sustainability-focused VC arm of Chicago-based United Airlines. United operates a major hub in Houston.
  • Australia-based Woodside Energy, which maintains an office in Houston.

Oxy, United Airlines Ventures, and Woodside will share their expertise in support of Ion’s mission to transform Houston into a global innovation ecosystem, according to an Ion news release. In addition, they will participate in Ion programming and network with Ion affiliates. Executives from all three of the new partners will serve on the Ion Leadership Advisory Roundtable.

“Welcoming our newest partners into Ion’s ecosystem is a further testament to our momentum in the aerospace and energy transition,” says Jan Odegard, who became executive director of the Ion in 2021 after a year of holding the interim position. “Each organization brings their own culture of innovation that aligns with what we are doing at the Ion.”

Michael Leskinen, president of United Airlines Ventures, says the VC firm believes “the Ion will be the epicenter for Houston’s rapidly growing innovation community — a one-stop shop to share ideas, foster startups, and to develop relationships with Houston’s brightest companies and academia.”

Oxy, United Airlines Ventures, and Woodside join Ion corporate partners such as:

  • Aramco Americas
  • Baker Botts
  • BP
  • Chevron
  • ExxonMobil
  • Global Custom Commerce
  • Intel
  • Microsoft
  • Transocean

The Ion announced the new corporate partners in advance of the second annual Ion Activation Festival, set for May 17-19. The Ion and Rice Management Co. host the festival, which shines a spotlight on entrepreneurship and innovation in Houston.

Activities will take place primarily at the Ion’s 16-acre campus. To register for the festival, visit the Ion’s website.

The inaugural festival, held in 2022, drew more than 2,500 attendees.

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The Ion has announced its latest startup-focused program. MediaTech Venture's Houston startup incubator is launching next month. Photo courtesy of the Ion

New Houston incubator launches to support media tech innovation

ready to grow

Houston has a new incoming incubator program for innovators within the media technology space.

The Ion announced a new partnership with MediaTech Ventures, an Austin-based global media industry venture development company, that will bring the MediaTech incubator program to Houston. Applications are open now, and the first cohort will kick off the program in January.

“Modern media has to continually evolve and adapt to new market channels, and with each platform comes the opportunity for innovation to leverage what is possible. It’s why Houston continues to build its market and resources for media technology entrepreneurs and startups looking to make an impact in this constantly evolving space,” says Jan E. Odegard, executive director of the Ion, in a news release.

“We’re thrilled to partner with MediaTech Ventures to further bolster the startups that are an integral part of our innovation community," he continues.

The 12-week program will help early-stage companies tackle marketing, development, and production with education and mentorship with MediaTech Ventures' startup curriculum and platform. The Ion will house the initiative and startups will have access to the hub for programming and networking.

“Ion is the perfect home for our incubator program,” says Josh Sutton, Houston Program Manager at MediaTech Ventures, in the release. “Our goal is to not only tap into the Ion’s valuable innovation ecosystem both within its four walls and beyond it, but to catalyze the development of media technologies and offer more resources for entrepreneurs looking to advance modern media.”

Founded in 2016 to advance the media technology economy, MediaTech Ventures focuses on "unifying innovation with capital, and validating and scaling technology-enabled media startups," per the news release. The program's startups have raised over $10 million following the completion of the curriculum.

An info session is taking place on December 5 at Second Draught in the Ion, and interested applicants can meet, ask questions, and learn more about the program.

The Ion will house a new innovation hub focused on the future of medicine. Image courtesy of The Ion

Houston Methodist to open health innovation center in the Ion

coming soon

The Houston Methodist healthcare system has teamed up with the Ion innovation hub to open a health care innovation center.

The 1,200-square-foot tech hub is expected to open later this year. It initially will be geared toward activities like entrepreneurial programming, networking, mentoring, and pitching.

The space will be modeled after Houston Methodist’s Center for Innovation Technology Hub, which opened in 2020. In fact, the new hub will be a smaller “twin” of the existing hub, according to a news release.

Jan Odegard, executive director of the Ion, says the collaboration with Houston Methodist “will advance the Ion’s ability to support entrepreneurs and innovators that are already at the Ion as we embark on a new focus in health care innovation.”

Amid the rise of artificial intelligence and other tech advancements, along with the health care sector’s continuing drive to cut costs, one forecast indicates the value of the global market for digital health care will jump from $216.4 billion in 2022 to $441 billion by 2026. That would represent an increase of 104 percent.

Houston Methodist is the Ion’s first health care partner. The Ion already has partnerships in the aerospace and energy sectors.

“We are advancing the evolution of the hospital’s role in health care through digital transformation,” said Michelle Stansbury, vice president of innovation and IT applications at Houston Methodist. “Having a footprint at the Ion will not only provide the Ion’s network and Houston community with a window into what we are doing for patients, consumers and providers, but also gives The Ion community and rising innovators an opportunity to bring its own ingenuity and ideas to life with ours.”

Houston Methodist operates eight hospitals in the Houston area.

The 266,000-square-foot Ion anchors a 16-acre innovation district in Midtown. Rice Management Co. developed the district on behalf of Rice University.

“By enhancing opportunities for our network of academics, businesses, entrepreneurs, and innovators to collaborate across the Ion District and globally, we’re creating a more resilient future economy for our region,” says Bryson Grover, investment manager of real estate at Rice Management.

The space will be modeled after Houston Methodist’s Center for Innovation Technology Hub, which opened in 2020. Natalie Harms/InnovationMap

The Ion, NASA, and Rice University have teamed up to create new programming and collaboration within space innovation in Houston. Photo courtesy of The Ion

New strategic partnership sets out to bolster Houston's space economy

rocket fueled collaboration

The Ion innovation district and NASA’s Johnson Space Center are setting up a pipeline for Houston-area entrepreneurs to share ideas and intellectual property with the space agency.

The Ion and NASA are collaborating with Rice University on the new project, which is aimed at creating events, programming, and initiatives to promote the aerospace sector and the use of NASA technologies in the broader economy.

Vanessa Wyche, director of Johnson Space Center, says in a news release that the alliance will “help NASA solve challenges, develop spinoff technologies, grow minority entrepreneurs, and accelerate innovative and tech-forward solutions in Houston.”

Innovations developed through the new project will propel commercialization of space, Wyche says.

Much of the focus of the new alliance will be on minority-owned businesses, as well as aerospace and tech entrepreneurs. The Ion’s Aerospace Innovation Accelerator for Minority Business Enterprises will play a part in this strategy.

As part of the new collaboration, NASA and the Ion will open an application process for interested startups and entrepreneurs in the fall of 2022. The selected applicants will participate in programming through mid-2023.

“NASA’s Johnson Space Center has led the U.S. and the world on an ongoing journey of human exploration, and the Ion is here to accelerate tomorrow’s space endeavors. … Together we will safeguard Houston’s title as ‘Space City’ and advance the global space industry for future missions,” says Jan Odegard, executive director of the Ion.

Houston stands to grab a sizable share of the continuously growing space economy.

A Space Foundation report shows the value of the global space economy rose to $447 billion in 2020, up 4.4 percent from $428 billion in 2019. Morgan Stanley estimates the global space economy could generate revenue of $1 trillion or more by 2040, with satellite broadband representing nearly 40 percent of the sector.

Meanwhile, a report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis indicates the U.S. space economy accounted for $125.9 billion of price-adjusted GDP in 2019.

In Texas, the annual GDP of the space economy is estimated at $11.7 billion. The Perryman Group, a Waco-based economic analysis firm, forecasts this figure could soar to more than $27.3 billion in 2030 and nearly $57.6 billion in 2040.

The Perryman Group says the Texas space economy is expected to expand about 120 percent faster than the U.S. space economy, with the state’s portion of this economy potentially approaching 15 percent by 2040.

“Texas already plays an important role in space exploration and related industries,” the firm says in a report. “With a major public-sector presence, large and growing private-sector initiatives, and aggressive development efforts, the state is likely to significantly increase its share of the [space economy].”

The Ion Prototyping Lab is now open and will be powered by TXRX. Photo by Natalie Harms/InnovationMap

Ion Houston opens unique prototyping lab, names TXRX as partner

new to hou

Midtown Houston's innovation hub has unveiled its latest building feature and named its operation partner for the space.

The Ion opened its The Ion Prototyping Lab with the announcement that Houston nonprofit TXRX Labs will be the operator of the lab. The IPL’s 6,500 square-foot space will include access to tools — such as laser cutters, CNC mills and lathes, electronics assembly equipment, and 3D printers — as well as programming, training, and support.

“The Houston community’s growing need for these services has led to our growth from a small community organization to a partnership with Houston’s leading center for innovation, The Ion,” says Roland von Kurnatowski, president of TXRX Labs, in a news release. “With our presence at The Ion and in its Prototyping Lab, we are able to join together innovative ideas and technology to create a social and collaborative space to support tomorrow’s entrepreneurs' needs and challenges.”

Founded in 2008 and based in the East End Maker Hub, TXRX Labs provides community-focused engineering and fabrication services and job training programs. The nonprofit's goal is to make Houston a major 21st-century manufacturing hub.

The new space within the 266,000 square-foot innovation hub was designed by Gensler and is "the largest open corporate and startup-aligned prototyping space in Houston," according to the release.

“As part of Gensler’s contributions to the development of The Ion, we strategically designed the Prototyping Lab to function as a dedicated space for innovators and entrepreneurs to collaborate,” says Vincent Flickinger, senior associate and design director of Gensler Houston. “The Ion Prototyping Lab is equipped with tools for prototyping robotics and other energy focused innovations and cultivates an entirely new way of doing business in a reimagined, historic building and with one of Houston’s fastest-growing innovators, TXRX. We look forward to introducing the IPL’s offerings to the public.”

The IPL is the latest opening for The Ion. Last summer, the hub, which is opened and managed by Rice Management Company, opened its coworking space. The next openings to expect are an investor studio and several restaurant concepts, including Late August, The Lymbar, and more. Common Bond On-The-Go, located on the main floor of the Ion, opened this week too.

“With its close proximity to Houston’s Central Business District and The Texas Medical Center, The Ion is thrilled to provide the Houston tech community the Prototyping Lab operated by TXRX as an essential resource for businesses,” says Jan E. Odegard, executive director of The Ion, in the release. “The Ion serves as a driver and convener of activity, while TXRX's successful model of hands-on training and technological innovation is being leveraged to jumpstart the activity of entrepreneurs, corporations, and researchers. You think it, we make it.”

Members will have daily access to the IPL from 9 am to 5 pm. The cost of the membership has not been announced, but IPL will offer grant opportunities, per the release. All members must first complete a safety and skills training course.

The Ion has officially opened its coworking space on the second floor of the Midtown building. Rendering courtesy of Common Desk

The Ion Houston announces opening of its coworking space

calling all coworkers

The Ion Houston's coworking space — roughly four times the size of a typical Walgreens drugstore — opened this week ready to welcome its pre-leased tenants and potential coworkers alike.

The coworking space, Common Desk, occupies 58,400 square feet on the second floor of The Ion. That represents about one-fifth of the 266,000-square-foot Ion complex.

Amenities at Common Desk include craft coffee from local purveyors, unlimited conference room bookings, access to all shared areas on the second floor, private chat booths, full kitchens, and break areas.

Other tenants at The Ion include Chevron Technology Ventures and Microsoft. The Ion opened earlier this year, occupying the former Sears store in Midtown following a $100 million conversion. It's part of the 16-acre Innovation District, being developed by Rice University and the City of Houston.

"We can't wait for our new Common Desk tenants and members across their network to experience the magic that's being made here," Jan Odegard, executive director of The Ion, says in a news release. "Just as The Ion, alongside developer Rice Management Company, set out to build an innovation community and hub different from anything the nation has ever seen, Common Desk set out to build its biggest and most innovative space yet."

Dallas-based Common Desk specializes in flexible office space. Its location at The Ion is the company's largest flex office space to date.

"Common Desk has joined the ranks of some of the nation's top companies to cultivate an authentic, game-changing community destined to transform Houston's innovation ecoscape," says Dawson Williams, head of growth and partnerships at Common Desk.

Members of the Common Desk location at The Ion also can use the company's three other coworking spaces in Houston, as well as it locations in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, and North Carolina.

Common Desk's coworking space has several options for leasing. Photos courtesy of Common Desk

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With boost from Houston, Texas is the No. 1 state for economic development

governor's cup

Texas is on a 14-year winning streak as the top state for attracting job-creating business location and expansion projects.

Once again, Texas has claimed Site Selection magazine’s Governor’s Cup. This year’s honor recognizes the state with the highest number of economic development projects in 2025. Texas landed more than 1,400 projects last year.

Ron Starner, executive vice president of Site Selection, calls Texas “a dynasty in economic development.”

Among metro areas, Houston lands at No. 2 for the most economic development projects secured last year (590), behind No. 1 Chicago and ahead of No. 3 Dallas-Fort Worth.

In praising Houston as a project magnet, Gov. Greg Abbott cites the November announcement by pharmaceutical giant Lilly that it’s building a $6.5 billion manufacturing plant at Houston’s Generation Park.

“Growth in the Greater Houston region is a great benefit to our state’s economy, a major location for foreign direct investment and key industry sectors like energy, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and life sciences,” Abbott tells Site Selection. “Houston is also home to one of the largest concentrations of U.S. headquarters for companies from around the world.”

In 2025, Fortune ranked Houston as the U.S. city with the third-highest number of Fortune 500 headquarters (26).

Texas retained the Governor’s Cup by gaining over 1,400 business location and expansion projects last year, representing more than $75 billion in capital investments and producing more than 42,000 new jobs.

Site Selection says Texas’ project count for 2025 handily beat second-place Illinois (680 projects) and third-place Ohio (467 projects). Texas’ number for 2025 represented 18% of all qualifying U.S. projects tracked by Site Selection.

“You can see that we are on a trajectory to ensure our economic diversification is going to inoculate us in good times, as well as bad times, to ensure our economy is still going to grow, still create new jobs, prosperity, and opportunities for Texans going forward,” Abbott says.

Houston e-commerce giant Cart.com raises $180M, surpasses $1B in funding

fresh funding

Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify information about Cart.com's investors.

Houston-based commerce and logistics platform Cart.com has raised $180 million in growth capital from private equity firm Springcoast Partners, pushing the startup past the $1 billion funding mark since its founding in 2020.

Cart.com says it will use the capital to scale its logistics network, expand AI capabilities and develop workflow automation tools.

“This investment will strengthen our balance sheet and provide us with the flexibility to accelerate our strategic priorities,” Omair Tariq, CEO of Cart.com, said in a news release. “We’ve built a platform that combines commerce software with a scaled logistics network, and we’re just getting started.”

In conjunction with the funding, Springcoast executive-in-residence Russell Klein has been appointed to Cart.com’s board of directors. Before joining Springcoast, he was chief commercial officer at Austin-based Commerce.com (Nasdaq: CMRC). Klein co-led Commerce.com’s IPO, led the company’s mergers-and-acquisitions strategy and played a key role in several funding rounds.

“The team at Cart.com has demonstrated excellence in their ability to scale efficiently while continuing to innovate,” Klein said. “I’m excited to join the board and support the company as it expands its AI-driven capabilities, deepens enterprise relationships, and further strengthens its position as a category-defining commerce and fulfillment platform.”

Before this funding round, Cart.com had raised $872 million in venture capital and reached a valuation of about $1.6 billion, according to CB Insights. With the new funding, the startup has collected over $1 billion in just six years.

This is the income required to be a middle class earner in Houston in 2026

Cashing In

A new study tracking the upper and lower thresholds for middle class households across the nation's largest cities has revealed Houstonians need to make at least a grand more than last year to maintain their middle class status this year.

According to SmartAsset's just-released annual report, "What It Takes to Be Middle Class in America – 2026 Study," Houston households need to make anywhere from $42,907 to $128,722 to qualify as middle class earners this year.

Compared to 2025, Houstonians need to make $1,153 more per year to meet the minimum threshold for a middle class status, whereas the upper bound has stretched $3,448 higher. The median income for a Houston household in 2024 was $64,361, the study added.

SmartAsset's experts used 2024 Census Bureau median household income data for the 100 biggest U.S. cities and all 50 states and determined middle class income ranges by using a variation of Pew Research's definition of a middle class household, stating the salary range is "two-thirds to double the median U.S. salary."

In the report's ranking of the U.S. cities with the highest household incomes needed to maintain a middle class status, Houston ranked No. 80.

In the report's state-by-state comparison, Texas has the 24th highest middle class income range. Overall, Texas households need to make between $53,147 and $159,442 to be labeled "middle class" in 2026. For additional context, the median income for a Texas household in 2024 came out to $79,721.

"Often, the expectations that come with the term 'middle class' include reaching home ownership, raising kids, the comfort of modest emergency funds and retirement savings, and the occasional splurge or vacation," the report said. "And as the median household income varies widely across the U.S. depending on the local job market, housing market, infrastructure and other factors, so does swing the bounds on what constitutes a middle class income in America."

What it takes to be middle class elsewhere around Texas

Two Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs – Frisco and Plano – have some of the highest middle class income ranges in the country for 2026, SmartAsset found.

Frisco households need to make between $96,963 and $290,888 to qualify as middle class this year, which is the third-highest middle class income range nationwide.

Plano's middle class income range is the eighth highest nationally, with households needing to make between $77,267 and $231,802 for the designation.

Salary range needed to be a middle class earner in other Texas cities:

  • No. 28 – Austin: between $60,287 and $180,860
  • No. 40 – Irving: between $56,566 and $169,698
  • No. 44 – Fort Worth: between $55,002 and $165,006
  • No. 57 – Garland: between $50,531 and $151,594
  • No. 60 – Arlington: between $49,592 and $148,77
  • No. 61 – Dallas: between $49,549 and $148,646
  • No. 73 – Corpus Christi: between $44,645 and $133,934
  • No. 77 – San Antonio: between $44,117 and $132,352
  • No. 83 – Lubbock: between $41,573 and $124,720
  • No. 84 – Laredo: between $41,013 and $123,038
  • No. 89 – El Paso: between $39,955 and $119,864
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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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