These are the four fastest-growing tech companies in Houston, according to Deloitte. Photo by Shobeir Ansar/Getty Images

Deloitte’s annual North America Technology Fast 500 list includes four Houston companies this year — all boasting of significant growth.

For Houston, Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. took the highest-ranking spot at No. 101 (up from 108 previous year) with 1,184 percent growth. NatGas Hub LLC (No. 286, 407 percent growth), Liongard (No. 437, 246 percent growth), and Stratus Medical LLC (No. 483, 212 percent growth) also made the list, which is an annual ranking of the fastest-growing North American companies in technology, energy tech sectors, telecommunications, life sciences, media, and fintech.

"Houston continues to demonstrate its prowess in fostering growth and technological advancement and I’m incredibly proud to see some of our local companies making significant strides and earning their well-deserved spots on the 2024 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list,” Houston managing partner at Deloitte Melinda Yee says in a news release.

Award winners were selected based on fiscal year revenue growth from 2019 to 2022.

The companies achieved revenue growth ranging from 201 percent to 153,625 percent over the three-year time frame with an average growth rate of 1,981 percent and a median growth rate of 460 percent, according to a news release. Texas accounts for 6 percent of the winning companies with 73 percent of the companies from Texas are in the software sector.

“These companies exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative mindset that define Houston's dynamic business ecosystem,” Yee adds.

In 2023, the Houston representation looked similar. Direct Digital Holdings again topped the Houston rankings at No. 108, with Liongard, NatGasHub.com, and P97 Networks also showing substantial growth. As a state, Texas had 30 companies that made the list of the 541 ranked. In 2022, just one Houston company was recognized, as at No. 372 Onit reported revenue increase of 369 percent.

Biopharmaceutical company TG Therapeutics, Inc. was the No.1 spot in 2024 with a growth rate of 153,625 percent from 2020 to 2023. See the full list here.
Amy Chronis is passing over the local leadership reins at Deloitte to Melinda Yee. Photos courtesy

Prominent Houston energy business leader to retire, successor named

in transition

Amy Chronis, a Houston business leader within the energy industry and beyond, is retiring next summer. Her replacement has been named.

Melinda Yee will be the incoming Houston managing partner at Deloitte, replacing Chronis who held the role along with the title vice chair and US energy and chemicals leader. Chronis will retire in June 2024, and Yee's new role is effective January 2.

“Melinda has been an active and valued member of Deloitte’s Houston leadership team. She brings an impressive depth of both industry and marketplace knowledge to her new role as managing partner,” Chronis says in a news release. “I am confident that she will be a great leader for our Houston professionals and in the local community.”

Yee has worked at Deloitte for over 30 years and has served as both Deloitte’s central region risk and advisory leader as well as the Houston risk and advisory leader. She also held the title of energy and chemicals leader within Deloitte’s mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring services practice. She's worked on transactions across the energy value chain, as well as waste management, manufacturing, industrials, services, retail operations and investment management, per the release.

“I am honored to have been asked to serve as the managing partner for Deloitte’s Houston practice,” Yee says in the release. “I look forward to continuing the great work Deloitte has accomplished under Amy’s leadership, delivering results for our clients and making an impact in the Houston community.”

In addition to her role at Deloitte, she serves as a board member for Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas, a member of the Energy Transition Committee for the Greater Houston Partnership, and is Audit Committee chair, director and trustee at the University of Colorado Foundation.

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This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

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Mark Cuban calls AI ‘the greater democratizer’ for young entrepreneurs

eyes on AI

Texas billionaire Mark Cuban—whose investment portfolio includes Houston-based Holliball, a startup that makes and sells large inflatable holiday ornaments—believes AI is leveling the playing field for budding low-income entrepreneurs.

At the recent Clover x Shark Tank Summit in Las Vegas, the Shark Tank alum called AI “the greater democratizer.”

Cuban told Axios that free and low-cost AI tools enable disadvantaged teenagers to compete with seasoned professionals.

“Right now, if you’re a 14- to 18-year-old and you’re in not-so-good circumstances, you have access to the best professors and the best consultants,” Cuban said. “It allows people who otherwise would not have access to any resources to have access to the best resources in real time. You can compete with anybody.”

While Cuban believes AI is “the great democratizer” for low-income young people, low-income workers still face hurdles in navigating the AI landscape, according to Public Works Partners, an urban planning and consulting firm. The firm says access to AI among low-income workers may be limited due to cost, insufficient digital literacy and infrastructure gaps.

“Without adequate resources and training, these workers may struggle to adapt to AI-driven workplaces or access the educational opportunities necessary to acquire new skills,” Public Works Partners said.

Texas 2036, a public policy organization focused on the state’s future, reported in January AI jobs in Texas are projected to grow 27 percent over the next decade. The number 2036 refers to the year when Texas will celebrate its bicentennial.

As for the current state of AI, Cuban said he doesn’t think the economy is witnessing an AI bubble comparable to the dot-com bubble, which lasted from 1998 to 2000.

“The difference is, the improvement in technology basically slowed to a trickle,” Cuban said of the dot-com era. “We’re nowhere near the improvement in technology slowing to a trickle in AI.”

CPRIT hires MD Anderson official as chief cancer prevention officer

new hire

The Austin-based Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, which provides funding for cancer research across the state, has hired Ruth Rechis as its chief prevention officer. She comes to CPRIT from Houston’s University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she led the Cancer Prevention and Control Platform.

Before joining MD Anderson, Rechis was a member of the executive leadership team at the Livestrong Foundation, an Austin-based nonprofit that supports people affected by cancer.

“Ruth has widespread connections throughout the cancer prevention community, both in Texas and across the nation,” CPRIT CEO Kristen Doyle said in a news release. “She is a long-term passionate supporter of CPRIT, and she is very familiar with our process, programs, and commitment to transparency. Ruth is a terrific addition to the team here at CPRIT.”

Rechis said that by collaborating with researchers, policymakers, public health leaders and community partners, CPRIT “can continue to drive forward proven prevention strategies that improve health outcomes, lower long-term costs, and create healthier futures for all.”

At MD Anderson, Rechis and her team worked with more than 100 organizations in Texas to bolster cancer prevention initiatives at clinics and community-based organizations.

Rechis is a longtime survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymph nodes, which are part of a person’s immune system.