SXSW announces even more featured speakers joining the 2023 program

headed to texas

With three weeks left until game time, South by Southwest announced another long list of featured and keynote speakers. Photo via SXSW

Whether the return of South by Southwest (SXSW) in three weeks is putting butterflies in your tummy or sweat on your brow, we're in the home stretch. The newest announcement — another wave of featured speakers — does not say it's the final round, but time is running out to make adjustments before the start of the festival on March 10.

Previous announcements included keynote addresses from Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert and team members who worked on the James Webb Space Telescope. There have also been two rounds of music showcase announcements, culminating in a list of nearly 500 performances.

The announcement on February 14 is heavy with big names including three entertainers presenting keynotes: actor, producer, and New York Times bestselling author Priyanka Chopra Jonas; Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter, producer, and author Margo Price; and Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton.

Two more newly announced keynote sessions come with longer descriptions: Chef José Andrés presents The Stories We Tell Can Change the World, and Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, and Gillian Gilbert of New Order appear in conversation with The Times rock & pop critic Will Hodgkinson.The former keynote tackles the responsibility of storytellers to address crises around the world, using Andrés' humanitarian group World Central Kitchen as a lens. The latter discusses the discography and history of the history-making band.

“Today's speaker announcement is a fantastic milestone for the 2023 event and spotlights five additional Keynotes and numerous Featured Speakers, including influential icons and up and coming innovators,” said Chief Programming Officer and Co-President Hugh Forrest. “We are extremely proud to have assembled a diverse, comprehensive conference program for SXSW, and we can’t wait to share it with our community in March.”

Organized into 25 programming tracks presented in a variety of session formats, SXSW celebrates the convergence of technology, film, television, and music. Tracks include civic engagement, climate change, design, film and TV, psychedelics, sports, travel, and more.

Just some featured speakers and sessions joining the 2023 lineup include:

  • Chair and CEO of General Motors Mary Barra with CEO, CTO, President, and co-founder of Cruise and co-founder of Twitch Kyle Vogt
  • Actress, philanthropist, entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, and co-founder of Hello Bello Kristen Bell, CEO of Hello Bello Erica Buxton, and actor, comedian, filmmaker, host of the podcast Armchair Expert, and co-founder of Hello Bello Dax Shepard
  • Chief Diversity Officer of TBWA\North America Aliah Berman with activist, advocate, author, and founder of the #MeToo Movement Tarana Burke
  • Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation Joe
  • Ben Bevirt with Chief Sustainability Officer at Delta Air Lines Pam Fletcher
  • Chief Digital and Commercial Officer at Unilever Conny Braams, President, Worldwide Advertising at Netflix Jeremi Gorman, founder and CEO of Media
  • Link Michael Kassan, and Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Delta Air Lines Tim Mapes
  • Co-founder and President of OpenAI Greg Brockman with founder and CEO of Dot Dot Dot Media Laurie Segall
  • United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm
  • General Partner at Benchmark Bill Gurley with investor, New York Times bestselling author and host of the podcast The Tim Ferriss Show Tim Ferriss
  • The Art of Creating Influence 101 on navigating entertainment careers
  • The Blog Era: Hip-Hop's Wild Wild West on the influence of music bloggers
  • Daddy Issues in Film on fathers in film
  • Dateline 24/7: How the True Crime Powerhouse Became a Podcast Empire on a genre leader
  • Driving Personal Health Forward: The Role of Apple Watch and iPhone on digitally monitoring health at home
  • Evil Dead Rise: Flesh-Possessing Demons Come Home on the new Evil Dead film
  • An Inside Look at “Blindspotting” Season 2 with Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs on the continuation of the series
  • Onyx Collective Presents “UnPrisoned” on a new Hulu series
  • The Kids Are (Not) Alright: Gun Violence Terrorizing Youth of America on activism and justice
  • Leguizamo Does America: Next Stop – Austin on the contributions of U.S. Latinos

For a full lineup and more information on featured sessions, visit SXSW.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

The grant program will fund and support diverse business owners. Pexels

Houston-based digital business resource launches minority-focused, celebrity-backed grant program

in the minority

A Houston-based startup that provides digital resources for entrepreneurs has introduced a new initiative to support minority-owned businesses — and the program has attracted some celebrity support.

Hello Alice has launched Business for All, which will provide funding and mentorship to small business owners. According to a news release, half of new businesses have a minority founder and these startups have only received 2 percent of annual venture capital.

"As entrepreneurs ourselves, my co-founder Elizabeth Gore and I know how valuable it is to have a network of people and resources in your corner when trying to turn a small business dream into reality," says founder and CEO of Hello Alice, Carolyn Rodz, in the release. "All businesses start small, and through Business for All, we will provide 100,000 owners with the opportunity to receive grants and mentorship through Hello Alice."

Business For All will distribute up to $200,000 in grants sized between $10,000 and $50,000. The startups will be selected through a nomination process and will focus on founders who are women, people of color, LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, military affiliated business owners, and entrepreneurs with disabilities, according to the release.

Support for the program has come in the way of volunteer mentorship from celebs by the likes of Kristen Bell, Jean Case, Rebecca Minkoff, Phyllis Newhouse, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lisa Price, Zaw Thet, and more.

"I believe we should give every small business owner the tools they need to succeed. Business for All provides a combined voice, grants and mentorship to ensure success for every entrepreneur no matter their background," says Kristen Bell, entrepreneur, actress, and advocate, in the release.

Those entrepreneurs selected to receive grants will be invited to the inaugural Business for All Summit in fall 2020 for networking, mentorship, and business-focused programing.

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3 Houston innovators who made headlines in May 2025

Innovators to Know

Editor's note: Houston innovators are making waves this month with revolutionary VC funding, big steps towards humanoid robotics, and software that is impacting the agriculture sector. Here are three Houston innovators to know right now.

Zach Ellis, founder and partner of South Loop Ventures

Zach Ellis. Photo via LinkedIn

Zach Ellis Jr., founder and general partner of South Loop Ventures, says the firm wants to address the "billion-dollar blind spot" of inequitable distribution of venture capital to underrepresented founders of color. The Houston-based firm recently closed its debut fund for more than $21 million. Learn more.

Ty Audronis, CEO and founder of Tempest Droneworx

Ty Audronis, CEO and founder of Tempest Droneworx

Ty Audronis, center. Photo via LinkedIn.

Ty Audronis and his company, Tempest Droneworx, made a splash at SXSW Interactive 2025, winning the Best Speed Pitch award at the annual festival. The company is known for it flagship product, Harbinger, a software solution that agnostically gathers data at virtually any scale and presents that data in easy-to-understand visualizations using a video game engine. Audronis says his company won based on its merits and the impact it’s making and will make on the world, beginning with agriculture. Learn more.

Nicolaus Radford, CEO of Persona AI

Nicolaus Radford, founder and CEO of Nauticus RoboticsNicolaus Radford. Image via LinkedIn

Houston-based Persona AI and CEO Nicolaus Radford continue to make steps toward deploying a rugged humanoid robot, and with that comes the expansion of its operations at Houston's Ion. Radford and company will establish a state-of-the-art development center in the prominent corner suite on the first floor of the building, with the expansion slated to begin in June. “We chose the Ion because it’s more than just a building — it’s a thriving innovation ecosystem,” Radford says. Learn more.

Pharmaceutical giant plans $5.9B Houston facility and more news to know

Trending News

Editor's note: It's time to look back at the top Houston innovation news from the second half of May 2025. From exciting VC raises to major manufacturing facilities in the works, here are the most-read InnovationMap stories from May 16-30.

1. Pharmaceutical giant looks to bring $5.9 billion facility to Houston

Eli Lilly is looking to build an active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing facility at Generation Park. Rendering courtesy of McCord

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company is looking to build a $5.9 billion active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility in Houston, according to a recent filing with the state of Texas.

The proposal states that the project plans to employ 604 full-time direct employees at the site upon ramp-up completion. Construction is projected to begin in 2026, with a completion target of 2030 and commercial operations beginning in 2031. Continue reading.

2. Houston VC firm closes $21M fund for underrepresented founders

Zach Ellis, founder and general partner of South Loop Ventures, which recently closed its debut fund. Photo via LinkedIn

Houston-based South Loop Ventures recently closed its debut fund for more than $21 million, led by investments from Rice Management Company and Chevron Technology Ventures.

The funds will go toward teams with at least one underrepresented founder of color working in the energy, health, space, sports and fintech sectors. Additional investments came from The Great Commission Foundation of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, Texas CapitalBank and others organizations. Continue reading.

3. Houston-founded startup raises $1.2M and moves headquarters to Detroit

ChurchSpace, founded in Houston by Day Edwards and Emmanuel Brown, is moving to Detroit. Photo courtesy ChurchSpace.

Houston-founded ChurchSpace, known as the Airbnb for churches, has formed an official partnership with the City of Detroit and will relocate its headquarters.

The announcements come as the company successfully closed a $1.2 million oversubscribed funding round. The round was led by California-based Black Ops Ventures, with participation from Michigan Rise and Dug Song of Minor Capital, who is also the founder of the Song Foundation, another Michigan-based organization. Continue reading.

4. Houston aerospace co. soars with first U.S. test flight of hypersonic engine

Venus Aerospace successfully completed the flight test of its hypersonic engine, the first of an American-developed engine of its kind. Photo courtesy Venus Aerospace

Houston-based Venus Aerospace successfully completed the first U.S. flight test of its proprietary engine at a demonstration at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Venus’ next-generation rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) is supported by a $155,908 federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from NASA and aims to enable vehicles to travel four to six times the speed of sound from a conventional runway. The recent flight test was the first of an American-developed engine of its kind. Continue reading.

5. Houston regenerative medicine company expands lab for future trials

FibroBiologics has opened a new 10,000-square-foot Houston lab to scale up research efforts and pave the way for in-house manufacturing. Photo via Fibrobiologics.com

A Houston regenerative medicine company has unveiled new laboratory space with the goal of expanding its pioneering science.

FibroBiologics uses fibroblasts, the body’s most common type of cell, rather than stem cells, to help grow new cells. With its new space, the publicly traded company, which has more than 240 patents issued or pending, will be even better equipped to power forward with its research. Continue reading.

Houston university to launch artificial intelligence major, one of first in nation

BS in AI

Rice University announced this month that it plans to introduce a Bachelor of Science in AI in the fall 2025 semester.

The new degree program will be part of the university's department of computer science in the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing and is one of only a few like it in the country. It aims to focus on "responsible and interdisciplinary approaches to AI," according to a news release from the university.

“We are in a moment of rapid transformation driven by AI, and Rice is committed to preparing students not just to participate in that future but to shape it responsibly,” Amy Dittmar, the Howard R. Hughes Provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said in the release. “This new major builds on our strengths in computing and education and is a vital part of our broader vision to lead in ethical AI and deliver real-world solutions across health, sustainability and resilient communities.”

John Greiner, an assistant teaching professor of computer science in Rice's online Master of Computer Science program, will serve as the new program's director. Vicente Ordóñez-Román, an associate professor of computer science, was also instrumental in developing and approving the new major.

Until now, Rice students could study AI through elective courses and an advanced degree. The new bachelor's degree program opens up deeper learning opportunities to undergrads by blending traditional engineering and math requirements with other courses on ethics and philosophy as they relate to AI.

“With the major, we’re really setting out a curriculum that makes sense as a whole,” Greiner said in the release. “We are not simply taking a collection of courses that have been created already and putting a new wrapper around them. We’re actually creating a brand new curriculum. Most of the required courses are brand new courses designed for this major.”

Students in the program will also benefit from resources through Rice’s growing AI ecosystem, like the Ken Kennedy Institute, which focuses on AI solutions and ethical AI. The university also opened its new AI-focused "innovation factory," Rice Nexus, earlier this year.

“We have been building expertise in artificial intelligence,” Ordóñez-Román added in the release. “There are people working here on natural language processing, information retrieval systems for machine learning, more theoretical machine learning, quantum machine learning. We have a lot of expertise in these areas, and I think we’re trying to leverage that strength we’re building.”

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