Houston investor on why 2025 will be the year of exits

houston innovators podcast episode 270

The future of Web3, investing in Houston, and how founders need to be prepared for 2025 — Samantha Lewis of Mercury joins the Houston Innovators Podcast. Photo courtesy of Mercury

Samantha Lewis will be the first to admit that the past few years have been tough on startups and venture capital investors alike. However, as she explains on the Houston Innovators Podcast, the new year is expected to look very different.

"We're super excited going into 2025," says Lewis, who is a partner at Houston-based VC firm Mercury. "For us, 2024 was a year of laying a lot of groundwork for what we believe is going to be a massive year of startup exits and liquidity for the venture ecosystem. We've been hard at work making sure our companies are prepared for that."

Mercury, in fact, has already gotten a taste, with three of its portfolio companies celebrating exits — all with Houston roots. Fintech platform Brassica was acquired by BitGo in February, and Apparatus, founded as Topl in Houston, was acquired early last year. The third deal has yet to be announced publicly.

And it's just getting started, Lewis says. She explains that all of the companies in Mercury's portfolio that are promising — albeit not break-out, to-be-billion-dollar companies — are going to have opportunities to sell in 2025 and 2026.

"What we've started to do — and I encourage everyone to do this if you're working on a startup — is just start to just engage with strategic buyers, investment bankers, and people you think might be a great fit to buy your company," Lewis says, "because we really think that the next few years will be the best liquidity years we've seen in a really long time. And if you're not ready for it, you're going to miss the boat."

In addition to sharing her advice to get "exit preparedness," Lewis explains some specific tech trends she's keeping an eye on in Mercury's "power theme," which she works on directly. This encompasses fintech, blockchain, web3 and more.

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This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Michael Torres of CrossBridge Bio, Aileen Allen of Mercury, and Ryan Reisner of SeekerPitch. Photos courtesy

3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

Editor's note: Every week, I introduce you to a handful of Houston innovators to know recently making headlines with news of innovative technology, investment activity, and more. This week's batch includes three innovators across therapeutics, venture capital, and HR software.

Michael Torres, CEO of CrossBridge Bio

CrossBridge Bio, formed during the TMC Innovation’s Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics program, closed a $10 million seed round led by TMC Venture Fund and CE-Ventures. Photo via crossbridgebio.com

A Houston biotech company based off research out of UTHealth Houston has raised seed funding to continue developing its cancer-fighting therapeutic.

CrossBri dge Bio, formed during the TMC Innovation’s Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics program, closed a $10 million seed round led by TMC Venture Fund and Crescent Enterprises' VC arm, CE-Ventures. The round also included participation from Portal Innovations, Alexandria Venture Investments, Linden Lake Labs, and several pre-seed investors.

“We are thrilled to have the support of such experienced investors who share our vision of bringing transformative cancer therapies to patients in need,” Michael Torres, CEO of CrossBridge Bio, says in a news release. Torres served as an entrepreneur in residence of ACT. Continue reading.

Aileen Allen, venture partner at Mercury

Aileen Allen joined Mercury as venture partner and is on the board of the Houston Angel Network. Photo courtesy of Mercury

When Aileen Allen was contemplating a big career move — swapping sides of the table from tech company to venture investor — she was motivated by driving gender and experience diversity amongst decision makers.

"I've worked for VC-backed companies for most of my career and had the opportunity as an executive to be in the boardroom during that time," she says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "One of my takeaways was that very few of my board members looked like me. I had one or two women on any of my boards at a time in totality, and very few of my board members had been operators."

"I'd really like to change that, and I'd like there to be better representation and diversification in the boardroom," she adds. Continue reading.

Ryan Reisner, president and founder of SeekerPitch

Ryan Reisner is the\u00a0president and founder of SeekerPitch and The Reisner Group. Photo via LinkedIn

Confident job seekers have mostly been of the mindset that if they can just get in front of an employer, they can sell themselves into an offer for the open position. The obstacle then, is getting through the screening process to get an actual interview.

Until recently, the price of admission for starting or progressing in a desired career was a resume and cover letter stellar enough to catch the eye of the human resources and recruiting team. Outside of being buried in the immense pile of resumes recruiters do not have the bandwidth to get to, standing out in the sea of candidates can be daunting.

Resumes do not tell the full story as it is and it’s almost impossible for applicants to put their potential, soft skills and work personality into a document to be reviewed. So, what’s the solution?

It is a multi-layered problem, which requires a multi-layered solution, but one of the options gaining steam in the recruitment space is provided by SeekerPitch, a Houston-based HR technology platform utilizing generative AI to make hiring and interviewing more efficient.

“I've noticed that there's a ton of people that slip through the cracks,” says Ryan Reisner, president and founder of SeekerPitch and The Reisner Group. “And we spend all our time interviewing people to see if they have the soft skills. Resumes are hard skills. And now with AI, anybody can build the same exact resume. Everybody can say they have communication skills, leadership skills, and a lot of people say they have those." Continue reading.

Aileen Allen joined Mercury as venture partner and is on the board of the Houston Angel Network. Photo courtesy of Mercury

Houston innovator makes leap into VC to boost representation in the boardroom

Houston innovators Podcast episode 260

"I'd really like to change that, and I'd like there to be better representation and diversification in the boardroom," she adds.

But Allen didn't just jump feet first into the career change. She did her homework first, spending months talking to mentors, meeting investors for over 30 informational interviews, and compiling everything she learned. She says she learned how different the world of VC is compared to her time as an operator — from the unstructured workflow at a VC firm to hustle mentality you have as an operator.

This summer, she made the jump and joined Mercury as venture partner. She just recently closed her first deal for the Houston VC firm that focuses on B2B SaaS startups. She also is on the board of the Houston Angel Network and is working with leadership to grow and expand membership.

A native Houstonian, Allen spent a large chunk of her career in the Bay Area, which her most significant role at Atlassian where she oversaw product marketing as the company scaled. When she relocated back to Houston — by way of a few years in Austin's tech scene — she says she struggled at first to find Houston's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

"I think my first impression (of Houston's tech ecosystem) was, 'where is it?'" she says, adding for context that that she did relocate in 2020 when the pandemic greatly affected events and activity. "It feels like there's something that's happening in Houston, but it's smaller or maybe a bit more fragmented, and I think there's an opportunity for a lot of us on the investing side and founders who have had successful exits or are running companies at scale to do more and give back in more meaningful ways to create the presence that Austin and the Bay Area is really known for."

Introducing the 10 startups participating in the Spring 2024 cohort of the DivInc Sports Tech Accelerator, a hybrid program based in the Ion. Photo via DivInc.com

10 sports tech startups named to Houston-based hybrid accelerator

game on

DivInc has named its latest sports tech-focused cohort of its hybrid accelerator that is housed out of the Ion.

The Sports Tech Accelerator has selected the 10 companies — with technology across human performance, fan experience, and more — for its 13th cohort to participate in the 12-week hybrid program this month and through July.

The program receives support from underdog venture team, Women In Sports Tech, The Collectiv, and HTX Sports Tech, with partners Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Gunderson Dettmer, Brown Advisory, Ion, and Mercury.

The spring 2024 cohort includes:

Detroit-based Athlytic, which uses real-time data to develop a recommended minimum price per social platform for creator-athletes.
Ballin AI, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a unique scouting automation software, transforming the labor-intensive scouting process into a streamlined, data-driven operation that boasts improved efficiency over manual work.
Cache AI, founded in Bronx, New York, is a platform that uses AI to generate a score for athletes that brands can use to value them without bias.
Prosper, Texas-based DRAFTED is a platform to support the of Latina community in sports through digital storytelling, weekly newsletters, in-person and virtual programming, and collaborative brand partnerships.
From Chicago, Drip Tech Co. created an artificial intelligence concierge software that provides real-time hydration monitoring, digestible data, and actionable insights to both athletes and coaches.
Canadian company, Drive Hockey, founded in Coquitlam, British Columbia, developed an advanced skill-tracking system for aspiring young hockey athletes using sensors and AI technology to make NHL-level analytics simple & affordable for 120,000 amateur hockey teams.
Cincinnati, Ohio-based LunchTable is working on a fan activation and engagement platform that can mobilize fans into digital brand ambassadors.
Parscape, co-located in Chicago and Los Angeles, is a rewards and cash-back powered marketplace designed for the golf industry. Houston-based TRAINR is a platform for sports and performance coaches that offers booking, payments, taxes, CRM, content creation, financial services, nationwide access to training locations, and more.
From Rochester, New York, WEVOLV is working to improve decision making and a more equitable industry for athletes by using human and artificial intelligence and democratizing access.

Ambyint has fresh funding and a new main office. Photo via Getty Images

Canadian energy company secures Houston funding, relocates HQ

money moves

An AI-powered energy tech company has raised additional funding and relocated it's main office to Canada.

Ambyint, a Canadian company that's had a Houston presence for a few years, has announced its latest round of funding and new headquarters. The software company provides energy customers with its AI-powered production and artificial lift optimization platform.

The funding comes from existing investors, Houston-based Mercury and Montrose Lane, plus two new investors, BDC Capital and Accelerate Fund III. The undisclosed amount of funding will go toward customer growth, hiring, and new enhancements to the technology, including expanding emissions mitigation capabilities.

"We have the wind in our sails and are extremely proud to see this transaction close,” Benjamin Kemp, CEO of Ambyint, says in a news release. “This investment allows us to double down on the energy market and further our AI-enabled optimization platform. Validation from our customers, talented employees, and investors is most welcome as we continue to scale.”

"Given the uncertainty in the venture capital market, attracting new investors like BDC Capital and Accelerate Fund III, who have followed Ambyint’s journey for several years, demonstrates how far we have come and the exciting future ahead of us," Kemp, who's served as CEO since 2021, adds.

The company also announced its new main office in Calgary. Previously, the Houston office operated as the company's headquarters.

Mercury, which has invested in the company since 2017, contributed to the company's series B in 2020, along with Montrose Lane (née Cottonwood Venture Partners).

“We have had the benefit of seeing the Ambyint platform and team develop over the past six years," says Mercury Managing Director Adrian Fortino says in the release. "We believe they are now poised to dramatically expand their industry footprint and improve customer emissions.”

Ambyint continues to add sustainability and emissions-related functions platform, including CO2 and methane emission tracking and mitigation.

"Utilizing advanced AI, Ambyint is addressing a significant opportunity in upstream oil and gas by increasing production while reducing GHG emissions," Joseph Regan, managing partner from BDC Capital’s Innovation Venture Fund, says in the statement. "They are leading the charge between their impressive technological progress and respected, industry-leading customers. We believe Ambyint’s AI software will be the standard operating procedure in this sector."

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This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

Want to work for one of the top startups in Houston? Some of the best in Houston are hiring. Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels

Looking for a job? These 2023 Houston Innovation Awards finalists are hiring

calling all applicants

More than half of this year's startup finalists in the Houston Innovation Awards are hiring — who's looking for a job at one of the best startups in Houston?

When submitting their applications for the 2023 Houston Innovation Awards, which is taking place November 8 at Silver Street Studios, every startup was asked if it's hiring. Twenty-seven of the 35 startup honorees said yes, ranging from over 20 to just one positions open at each company.

Click here to secure your tickets to see which of these growing startups win.

Here's a look at which of the top startups in Houston are seeking new team members.

Double-digit growth

When it comes to the awards finalists looking to scale their team by 10 or more new hires, five finalists are growing rapidly.

Medical practice software platform RepeatMD, fresh off a $40 million raise — which included participation from Houston-based Mercury — is reportedly growing its team. The company, which has 115 employees already, is looking for over 20 new hires.

Female-owned business Feelit Technologies, which is using nanotechnology for preventive maintenance to eliminate leaks, fires and explosions, increase safety and reduce downtime, has 50 employees, and only three of which are in Houston – for now. The company hopes to grow its team by 12 to 15 employees in Houston alone.

Square Robot, an energy industry-focused robotics company that recently grew its presence in Houston, is hiring 10 to 30 new team members. It has 24 employees already in Houston.

Solugen, an alternative chemicals business, has around 140 of its 200 employees in Houston. The company, which has raised over $600 million to date, is hiring an additional 10 to 15 new hires.

Additionally, Blue People, also a finalist in last year's awards, is hiring 25 new employees. The company was founded in 2015 in Mexico and relocated its primary operations to Houston in 2020. Blue People, which develops software innovation for its clients, has over 150 employees — 10 of whom, including C-level executives, are based in Houston. Some of the company's new hires will be based in town.

Steady growth

Four Houston startups are hiring within the six to 10 team member range — all with fairly significant employee counts already.

A finalist in last year's awards too, Venus Aerospace, a hypersonics company on track to fly reusable hypersonic flight platforms by 2024, is again growing its team. With 48 on-site employees and 23 working remotely, Venus's team will add another five to 10 employees.

Syzygy Plasmonics, a deep decarbonization company that builds chemical reactors designed to use light instead of combustion to produce valuable chemicals like hydrogen and sustainable fuels, has 112 employees in Houston and plans to hire another eight to its team.

Lastly, Fervo Energy, which recently raised $10 million, has 63 full-time employees (34 in Houston, 29 outside of Houston) and looking to hire seven more.

Seeking selectively

The following awards finalists are looking to grow their teams by just a handful or so — between one and five — of new hires:

ALLY Energy, helping energy companies and climate startups find, develop, and retain great talent.
CaseCTRL, an AI-powered surgery scheduling and coordination software for optimized procedures.
CellChorus, using AI to evaluate immune cell function and performance to improve the development and delivery of therapeutics.
FluxWorks, making frictionless gearboxes for missions in any environment.
Helix Earth Technologies, decarbonizing the built environment and heavy industry.
Hope Biosciences, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development and delivery of adult stem cell based therapeutics.
Innovapptive, empowering the deskless workers in operations, maintenance and warehouses by unlocking the power of SAP through mobility.
INOVUES, re-energizing building facades through its non-invasive window retrofit innovations, making building smarter, greener, and healthier for a better and sustainable future.
Koda Health, , a tech-enabled care coordination service to improve serious illness care planning and drive savings for value-based care at scale.
Molecule, an energy/commodity trading risk management software that provides users with an efficient, reliable, responsive platform for managing trade risk.
Rhythm Energy, 100 percent renewable electricity service for residential customers in Texas.
Starling Medical, bringing the future of a proactive and predictive home-based healthcare system to patients today through passive AI powered at home urine screening.
Taurus Vascular, pioneering a new era of aortic aneurysm treatment by developing minimally invasive catheter solutions to drive better long-term patient outcomes.
Tierra Climate, decarbonizing the power grid faster by helping grid-scale batteries monetize their environmental benefits and change their operational behavior to abate more carbon.
UpBrainery Technologies, an innovative educational technology company that provides personalized and adaptive learning experiences to learners
Utility Global, a technology company converting a range of waste gases into sustainable hydrogen and syngas.
Voyager Portal, helping commodity shippers identify root causes of demurrage, reduce risk and streamline the entire fixture process.

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10 Houston companies clock in with best corporate cultures, says Forbes

Where to Work

Two of Houston's biggest medical institutions – Houston Methodist and MD Anderson Cancer Center – have just landed top-50 spots on Forbes' new ranking of "America's Best Employers for Company Culture." The report highlighted eight more Houston-area companies for their inspiring company culture.

Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to survey over 218,000 workers at companies with at least 1,000 employees throughout the U.S, and relied on data from the past three years of employee surveys (with an emphasis on the most recent data and recommendations from current employees). Companies don't pay to be included, Forbes additionally noted.

Among the final list of 600 U.S. companies, 30 Texas employers were praised for providing "a unifying company culture that inspires a sense of purpose and loyalty among employees."

Houston Methodist climbed into the No. 15 spot nationally and outranked all other Texas companies on the list, while MD Anderson ranked 47th nationwide. Both institutions have dominated U.S. News' annual rankings of the best Texas hospitals for over a decade, proving exactly how having a great company culture can also improve the service provided to patients.

MD Anderson Cancer Center has been the No. 1 best cancer hospital in the U.S. for over a decade. Photo courtesy of KVUE

According to the report's research, employers with a successful company culture don't rely on "surface-level perks" such as free lunches, wellness apps, and flex days to inspire employee engagement. Instead, employers that focused on conflict resolution and coaching their managers saw a reduction in employee burnout and an increase in "perceptions of fairness and leadership care."

"In fact, the researchers noted that when 'senior leaders changed how they led — how they ran meetings, gave feedback, made decisions and responded to challenge — trust scores rose by an average of 26 percent,'" the report said.

The eight other Houston-area companies that earned national acclaim for their company culture are:

No. 220 – Stewart Info Services
No. 325 – BP
No. 332 – Baylor College of Medicine
No. 492 – Chevron Phillips Chemical, The Woodlands
No. 525 – Insperity
No. 558 – NRG Energy
No. 586 – Waste Management
No. 593 – LyondellBassell

Other Texas employers with great company culture:

Elsewhere in Texas, 15 North Texas companies and five Central Texas companies were included on Forbes' list of employers with the best company culture.

The three Austin-area companies that earned spots on the list include Austin Community College District (No. 56), Round Rock-based Dell Technologies (No. 207), and Keller Williams Realty (No. 352).

The two San Antonio-based companies that made the cut are beloved Texas grocery chain H-E-B (No. 445), and municipal electric utility company CPS Energy (No. 551).

The 15 Dallas-Fort Worth-based companies that made the list include:

No. 58 – The Container Store, Coppell
No. 73 – Lewisville Independent School District, Lewisville
No. 117 – Southwest Airlines, Dallas
No. 123 –Topgolf, Dallas
No. 170 – McKesson, Irving
No. 190 – Kimberly-Clark, Irving
No. 245 – Jacobs Solutions,Dallas
No. 312 – Brinker International, Coppell
No. 350 – Texas Health Resources, Arlington
No. 482 – Toyota North America, Plano
No. 562 – Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), Dallas
No. 567 – AT&T, Dallas
No. 569 – Energy Transfer, Dallas
No. 591 – American Airlines Group, Fort Worth
No. 597 – Aimbridge Hospitality, Plano

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Eli Lilly to build $6.5B pharmaceutical factory at Generation Park

coming soon

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. plans to build a $6.5 billion manufacturing plant at Houston’s Generation Park. More than 300 locations in the U.S. competed for the factory.

The Houston site will be the first major pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Texas, according to the Greater Houston Partnership.

Lilly said it plans to hire 615 full-time workers for the 236-acre plant, including engineers, scientists and lab technicians. The company will collaborate with local colleges and universities to help build its talent pipeline.

The plant will also generate an estimated 4,000 construction jobs.

Lilly said every dollar it spends in the Houston area will contribute an additional $4 to the local economy.

“This is a transformative moment for the Houston region and our life sciences industry,” Steve Kean, president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, said in a release. “The Lilly project represents one of the largest for-profit life sciences investments in Texas history and is a powerful endorsement of Houston’s growing position as a global hub for innovation, advanced manufacturing, and biomedical excellence.”

The factory, expected to go online by 2030, will make small-molecule medicines for fields such as oncology, immunology and neuroscience. Perhaps most notably, the site will manufacture orforglipron, Lilly's first oral small-molecule GLP-1 medicine for treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The drug is currently undergoing clinical trials.

“Our new Houston site will enhance Lilly’s ability to manufacture orforglipron at scale and, if approved, help fulfill the medicine’s potential as a metabolic health treatment for tens of millions of people worldwide who prefer the ease of a pill that can be taken without food and water restrictions,” David Ricks, chairman and CEO of Lilly, said in a release.

The company said it chose Generation Park, a 4,300-acre, master-planned commercial district near Lake Houston, because of factors such as financial incentives, access to utilities and transportation, and the region’s business-friendly environment. Generation Park is home to campuses for San Jacinto College and Lone Star College.

The plant will be outfitted with machine learning, AI, advanced data analytics, digital automation, and similar tools to streamline operations, Lilly said.

Houston engineering firm lands $400M NASA contract

space deal

NASA has granted Houston-based Bastion Technologies Inc. the Safety and Mission Assurance II (SMAS II) award with a maximum potential value of $400 million.

The award stipulates that the engineering and technical services company provide safety and mission services for the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, according to a release from NASA.

In the deal, Bastion’s services include system safety, reliability, maintainability, software assurance, quality engineering, independent assessment, institutional safety and pressure systems. Bastion’s work will support research and development projects, hardware fabrication and testing, spaceflight and science missions, and other activities at NASA Marshall, Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and various other sites.

The first base period for the SMASS II award has already begun, with the option for a base ordering period of four years to extend services through March 2034.

Bastion has been a key player in NASA’s Artemis program, and was also awarded a contract to support occupational safety, health and mission assurance at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley in 2024. Also in 2024, Bastion was awarded the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) Environmental, Safety, Health, and Mission Assurance (ESHMA) contract.

Since 1998, Bastion has held over 350 contracts at almost every NASA center and most major aerospace industry partners.

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