Register for some of these informative online events happening throughout the month of January. Photo via Getty Images

It's a whole new year, but Houston is cranking out the same great business and innovation-focused events.

Here's a roundup of virtual events not to miss this month — from workshops and webinars to summits and pitch parties. Note: This post will be updated to add more events.

January 6 — The New Relief Package - Explained by SBA

With the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, a $2.3 trillion spending bill, a new round of stimulus funding will soon be available. Join the Houston Asian Chamber of Commerce for a discussion with Tim Jeffcoat, Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration in Houston as we navigate what this means for small businesses and how you can apply for Paycheck Protection Programs and Economic Injury Disaster Loans as well as other SBA loans.

The event is on Wednesday, January 6, at 10 am. It's free and can be accessed online. Click here to register.

January 13 — How to Change Careers: Oil and Gas

The way we work is changing. Some might feel a stronger push to make a change. If you are looking for a career transition, I invite you to explore innovative career paths in energy and Oil & Gas. How can you pursue a career change during uncertainty? By leaning into the changes happening in the world. We are at a crossroads and many things will now evolve - let's contribute our skills, passion and drive to participate in this evolution.

The General Assembly event is on Wednesday, January 13, at noon. It's free and can be accessed online. Click here to register.

January 13 — Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures - Investment Directions in the new Energy Landscape

As 2021 begins, the world has seen dramatic volatility in the entire energy landscape, with demand for hydrocarbons seeing precipitous drops, while renewable energy investment has increased, as many countries across the world prioritize meeting the COP21 agreement and other ESG concerns. Jim Sledzik is the Managing Director of the North America team of Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures will discuss current and ongoing investment directions and themes for SAEV. He'll give insight to aspiring entrepreneurs on what are investable propositions for SAEV across the entire energy landscape.

The event is on Wednesday, January 13, at 4 pm. It's free and can be accessed online. Click here to register.

January 14 — Plaza Tec: How We Made it Big

Learn from Latinx founders about their experiences accessing funding, using technology to grow/pivot, and hurdles they have overcome. This event is designed by The Ion to give you a set of tools and pathways to help you navigate your business and take advantage of technology to help you grow. Every business has failures. No business succeeds without some change of plan. Join us for a founders focus event on "How We Made It Big" to learn how to use resources available in the tech and innovation ecosystem to help your business grow.

The event is on Thursday, January 14, at noon. It's free and can be accessed online. Click here to register.

January 14 — Intro to Fundraising & Ask Me Anything: Defense Edition with Craig Cummings

Join Capital Factory virtually to hear an overview from experienced entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and angel investors at Intro to Fundraising & Ask Me Anything: Defense Edition. Get a chance to introduce yourself and ask any questions on funding and other related topics.

The event is on Thursday, January 14, at 2 pm. It's free and can be accessed online. Click here to register.

January 16 — Enventure Basecamp - Business Building Workshop

Enventure's community-driven business building Basecamp series returns this October to support a local innovator with their healthcare venture. This event will be virtual. All experience levels are welcome, this is an excellent learning and networking opportunity.

The event is on Saturday, January 16, at 9 am. It's free and can be accessed online. Click here to register.

January 22 — The Village School's Innovation Day

The Village School's annual Innovation Day is a celebration of ideas and solutions created by students to tackle today's most pressing problems — such as designing solutions to live on Mars in zero gravity, composing and scoring music through computer software and high school entrepreneurs who are running their own businesses.

The event is on Friday, January 22, at 9 am. It's free and can be accessed online. Click here to register.

January 21 — Angel Investing 101 Series | Urban Capital Network

Join Urban Capital Network (UCN) and their special guest(s) who will talk about and share their experiences in early-stage investing. Target audience includes current and future investors interested in learning about early-stage angel investing and hearing first-hand experiences from talented and seasoned panelists, as well as entrepreneurs interested in learning more about the capital raising process and lifecycle.

The event is on Thursday, January 21, at 5:30 pm. It's free and can be accessed online. Click here to register.

January 27 — Houston Startup Showcase

The Houston Startup Showcase is a flagship event from The Ion, formerly known as Demo Day. This event will allow for developing companies to receive feedback from subject matter experts and showcase their successes thus far. The event is a year-long series of monthly pitch competitions, and results in a final winner to close the series in November. Companies are encouraged to apply online to pitch.

The event is on Wednesday, January 27, at 6 pm. It's free and can be accessed online. Click here to register.

January 28 — Building a More Inclusive Startup

Starting off with the first of a series of four DEI workshops, this interactive event, co-hosted by Greentown Labs and Aleria Research, will provide you actionable frameworks, tools, and resources to empower your team to build a more inclusive startup.

The event is on Thursday, January 28, at 11 am. It's free and can be accessed online. Click here to register.

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

10 promising Houston startups that made headlines in 2025

year in review

Editor's note: As we reflect on 2025, we're looking back at the stories and startups that made waves in Houston's innovation scene. These 10 startups reached memorable milestones, won prestigious awards, found creative solutions, and disrupted their industries.

Persona AI: Houston humanoid robotics startup inks new deal to deploy its rugged robots

A concept design rendering of Persona AI's humanoid robot. The company is expanding at the Ion and plans to deliver prototype humanoids by the end of 2026 for complex shipyard welding tasks. Rendering courtesy Persona AI.

Persona AI is building modularized humanoid robots that aim to deliver continuous, round-the-clock productivity and skilled labor for "dull, dirty, dangerous, and declining" jobs. The company was founded by Houston entrepreneur Nicolaus Radford, who serves as CEO, along with CTO Jerry Pratt and COO Jide Akinyode. It raised $42 million in pre-seed funding this year and is developing its prototype of a robot-welder for Hyundai's shipbuilding division, which it plans to unveil in 2026. The company won in the Deep Tech Business category at this year's Houston Innovation Awards. Continue reading.

Rheom Materials: Houston startup unveils its innovative leather alternative at the rodeo

Rheom Materials presented its bio-based alternative, Shorai, a 93 percent bio-based leather, at the rodeo and plans to scale it up this year. Photos courtesy Rheom Materials

Rheom Materials presented its scalable, bio-based alternative known as Shorai, a 93 percent bio-based leather, through two custom, western-inspired outfits that showed off cowboy flair through a sustainable lens at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo earlier this year.

Next up, the company said it aimed to scale production of Shorai, the Japanese word for “future,” at a competitive price point, while also reducing its carbon footprint by 80 percent when compared to synthetic leather. The company also made a large-scale production partnership with a thermoplastic extrusion and lamination company, Bixby International, this year. Continue reading.

Koda Health: Houston digital health platform Koda closes $7 million funding round

Tatiana Fofanova and Dr. Desh Mohan, founders of Koda Health, which recently closed a $7 million series A. Photo courtesy Koda Health.

Houston-based digital advance care planning company Koda Health closed an oversubscribed $7 million series A funding round this year. The round, led by Evidenced, with participation from Mudita Venture Partners, Techstars and Texas Medical Center, will allow the company to scale operations and expand engineering, clinical strategy and customer success. Koda Health, saw major growth this year by integrating its end-of-life care planning platform with Dallas-based Guidehealth in April and with Epic Systems in July. The company won the Health Tech Business category at the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards. Continue reading.

Veloci Running: Student-led startup runs away with prestigious prize at Rice competition

The H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge awarded $100,000 in equity-free funding to student-led startups, including first-place finisher Veloci Running. Photo courtesy of Rice University.

Veloci Running took home the first-place prize and $50,000 at the annual Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship's H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge. The company was founded by Tyler Strothman, a former track and field athlete and senior at Rice, majoring in sport management. Inspired by the foot pain he suffered due to the narrow toe boxes in his running shoes, Strothman decided to create a naturally shaped shoe designed to relieve lower leg tightness and absorb impact. Additional prize winners included SteerBio, Kinnections, Labshare and several others. Continue reading.

Square Robot Inc.: Houston robotics co. unveils new robot that can handle extreme temperatures

The new robot eliminates the need for humans to enter dangerous and toxic environments. Photo courtesy of Square Robot

Houston- and Boston-based Square Robot Inc.'s newest tank inspection robot became commercially available and certified to operate at extreme temperatures this fall. The new robot, known as the SR-3HT, can operate from 14°F to 131°F, representing a broader temperature range than previous models in the company's portfolio. According to the company, its previous temperature range reached 32°F to 104°F. The company also announced a partnership with downstream and midstream energy giant Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) last month. Continue reading.

Bot Auto: Houston autonomous trucking co. completes first test run without human intervention

Bot Auto completed its first test run without human assistance in Houston. Photo courtesy Bot Auto.

Houston-based Bot Auto, an autonomous trucking company, completed its first test run without human assistance earlier this year. Bot Auto conducted the test in Houston. The transportation-as-a-service startup added that this milestone “serves as a validation benchmark, demonstrating the maturity and safety of Bot Auto’s autonomy stack and test protocols.” This summer, founder Xiaodi Hou told the Front Lines podcast that Bot Auto had raised more than $45 million. Continue reading.

Nomad: Screen-free hiking app developed in Houston earns 'Best of the Best' award

NOMAD aims to help hikers stay in the moment while still utilizing technology. Photo courtesy UH.

An AI-powered, screen-free hiking system developed by Varshini Chouthri, a recent industrial design graduate from the University of Houston, received this year's Red Dot’s “Best of the Best” award, which recognizes the top innovative designs around the world. Known as NOMAD, the system aims to help users stay in the moment while still utilizing technology. Continue reading.

Little Place Labs, Helix Earth, Tempest Droneworx: Houston startups win big at SXSW 2025 pitch competition

Two Houston startups won the SXSW Pitch showcase in their respective categories. Photo via Getty Images

Houston had a strong showing at the SXSW Pitch showcase in Austin this year, with several local startups claiming top prizes in their respective categories.

Little Place Labs, a Houston space data startup, won the Security, GovTech & Space competition. Clean-tech company Helix Earth, which spun out of Rice University and was incubated at Greentown Labs, won in the Smart Cities, Transportation & Sustainability contest. Tempest Droneworx, a Houston-based company that provides real-time intelligence collected through drones, robots and sensors, won the Best Speed Pitch award. Continue reading.

6 Houstonians named to prestigious national group of inventors

top honor

Six Houston scientists and innovation leaders have been named to the National Academy of Inventors’ newest class of fellows. The award is the highest professional distinction awarded to academic inventors by the NAI.

The 2025 class is made up of 169 fellows who hold more than 5,300 U.S. patents, according to the organization. The group hails from 127 institutions across 40 U.S. states.

The Houston-based inventors are leading fields from AI to chemistry to cancer research.

“NAI Fellows are a driving force within the innovation ecosystem, and their contributions across scientific disciplines are shaping the future of our world,” Paul R. Sanberg, president of the National Academy of Inventors, said in a news release. “We are thrilled to welcome this year’s class of Fellows to the Academy. They are truly an impressive cohort, and we look forward to honoring them at our 15th Annual Conference in Los Angeles next year.”

The 2025 list of Houston-based fellows includes:

  • Vineet Gupta, Vice President for Innovation, Technology Development and Transfer at the University of Texas Medical Branch
  • Eva Harth, chemistry professor at the University of Houston
  • Dr. Raghu Kalluri, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Cancer Biology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
  • Sanjoy Paul, Executive Director of Rice Nexus and AI Houston and Associate Vice President for Technology Development at Rice University
  • Dr. Jochen Reiser, President of the University of Texas Medical Branch and CEO of UTMB Health System
  • Todd Rosengart, Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine

"It is a great honor to be named a Fellow of the NAI. It is deeply gratifying to know that the work my students and I do — the daily push, often in small steps — is seen and recognized," Harth added in a news release from UH.

The 2025 fellows will be honored and presented with their medals by a senior official of the United States Patent and Trademark Office at the NAI Annual Conference this summer in Los Angeles.