FemTec Health has acquired two companies — a women's reproductive platform and a nutrition platform. Image via avawomen.com

Last month, a Houston-based, tech-enabled health and beauty sciences company made two acquisitions of startups in the femtech space.

FemTec Health, creator of the Awesome Woman comprehensive health care subscription platform, has acquired Ava AG — a women's reproductive digital diagnostics and therapeutics company — and Nutrimedy — a clinical nutrition platform.

Ava, founded by Lea von Bidder in Zurich in 2014, uses artificial intelligence and clinical trials-backed science to help women conceive faster. Per a news release, the FDA-cleared technology has helped over 70,000 women get pregnant.

"What Lea and the Ava team have built is truly innovative. We are excited to add the leader in reproductive health to our portfolio and onto our team," says Dr. Kimon Angelides, FemTec Health founder and CEO, in the July 19 release. "From fertility to contraception, pregnancy support, menopause management, and personalized health insights, Ava's technology is a great addition to make it even easier for women within the FemTec Health platform to take control of their health, all while keeping their data and personal health information one hundred percent private and secure."

FemTec Health's Awesome Woman platform will integrate Ava's technology, adding reproductive health to its list of female-focused health care services which includes vaginal health, hormone balance, sexual wellness, and beauty.

"Ava's vision has always been to be a companion to women along every stage of their lives. With Ava's female health AI integrated into FemTec's care platform, women will finally have access to a fully continuous health journey," says von Bidder in the release. "We are excited to join FemTec in building continuous support for women from puberty to menopause."

Last week, FemTec announced the acquisition of Nutrimedy, a HIPAA-compliant digital health platform founded by Karolina Starczak in Boston in 2016. With the acquisition, Awesome Women members will have access to Nutrimedy's guided nutritional support.

"For many health conditions, nutrition is a key but often neglected component," says Angelides, in the July 25 news release. "Adding Nutrimedy's robust, evidence-based clinical nutrition platform to the Awesome Woman program will be a gamechanger for our subscribers. Whether it's to optimize pregnancy planning, manage menopause symptoms, or for general wellness and prevention, research shows women are seeking personalized, science-backed nutritional support that's easy to use and that they can trust."

With its AI-powered platform, users can access real-time food recommendations and photo food logging. Nutrimedy empowers those suffering from chronic conditions and disruptive food allergies and sensitivities, to make informed dietary decisions in the moment.

"Nutrimedy was started with the mission to improve access to nutrition in healthcare and make it significantly more personalized and actionable in our hectic daily routines," says Starczak in the release. "Within the field of nutrition, conflicting and confusing misinformation is pervasive and prevents most people from making the best decision for their individual health."

Last fall, FemTec Health emerged from stealth with $35 million in fresh VC investment. The company has also acquired Birchbox, Mira Beauty, and Liquid Grids over the past year.

Angelides, a Houstonian, previously told InnovationMap that he was driven to found FemTech Health because there was no holistic platform focused on every phase of women's health.

"Women don't really have a program that's designed for them," Angelides says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "We embarked in terms of building a platform and a company that would be a single destination for women — one that's not age specific but built around journeys."

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Houston brain health co. secures $6.5M for rare disease study

neuro funding

Houston-based Goldenrod Therapeutics, part of Fannin Partners' portfolio, has announced the initial close of a $6.5 million series seed preferred stock round.

The round was led by Ataxia Ventures and an affiliate of Fannin, according to a news release.

Goldenrod Therapeutics plans to use the funding to support manufacturing, formulation optimization, IND-enabling studies and a Phase I study of its drug to treat brain inflammation, known as 11h.

The study will consider how 11h, which blocks the enzyme PDE4, could treat Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), a rare genetic disease that affects movement, speech and balance. To date, other PDE4 inhibitors have proven to regulate neuroinflammation and neuronal signaling, but have had adverse gastrointestinal side effects or have not reached enough of the central nervous system, according to Goldenrod.

The company says its 11h is expected to have "broad applicability" with limited emetric side effects.

“Our 11h program is a next-generation, orally bioavailable, brain-penetrant PDE4 inhibitor, where researchers overcame longstanding limitations associated with earlier PDE4 inhibitors," Dr. Dev Chatterjee, CEO of Goldenrod, said in the news release. "We believe this creates the potential for a best-in-class therapy for Friedreich’s Ataxia and a potential foundation for development across multiple neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disorders.”

11h was first developed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNeMed). Houston-based Fannin Partners in-licensed the product 2020 and landed SBIR Phase I funding to support its initial development for opioid use disorder soon after.

Goldenrod has also received funding to study 11h's effectiveness for multiple sclerosis, methamphetamine addiction and cocaine addiction.

Goldenrod says it is developing 11h to target a variety of neurological and inflammatory conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, ALS, substance use disorders, Batten disease, pain and traumatic brain injury.

27 Houston companies make Fortune 500 for 2026, led by energy giants

Houston HQs

Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct the number of companies based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Houston is a giant among U.S. hubs for corporate headquarters.

The 2026 Fortune 500 lists 27 companies based in the Houston area, with many energy companies claiming top spots. Houston ties with Chicago for the second-most Fortune 500 headquarters, preceded only by New York City (53). Dallas-Fort Worth is home to 24 Fortune 500 headquarters.

Texas leads the nation for Fortune 500 headquarters (57), with California in the No. 2 spot and New York at No. 3.

“Texas is the undisputed headquarters of headquarters,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news release. “The world’s leading businesses invest with confidence in Texas because of our welcoming business climate, predictable regulatory environment, and skilled and growing workforce. People and businesses are choosing Texas because Texas works.”

The 2026 Fortune 500 ranks the largest U.S. corporations based on revenue in fiscal year 2025.

Here’s a rundown of the 27 Fortune 500 companies based in the Houston area.

  • No. 9 ExxonMobil
  • No. 21 Chevron
  • No. 29 Phillips 66
  • No.55 Sysco
  • No. 75 ConocoPhillips
  • No. 89 Enterprise Products Partners
  • No. 103 Plains GP Holdings
  • No. 133 Hewlett Packard Enterprise
  • No. 149 NRG Energy
  • No. 157 Quanta Services
  • No. 164 Baker Hughes
  • No. 173 Occidental Petroleum
  • No. 179 Waste Management
  • No. 201 EOG Resources
  • No. 204 Group 1 Automotive
  • No. 207 Halliburton
  • No. 223 Cheniere Energy
  • No. 236 Corebridge Financial
  • No. 262 Targa Resources
  • No. 266 Kinder Morgan
  • No. 388 Westlake
  • No. 435 CenterPoint Energy
  • No. 438 APA
  • No. 440 Comfort Systems USA
  • No. 455 NOV
  • No. 488 KBR
  • No. 496 Coterra Energy. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based Devon Energy and Houston-based Coterra Energy merged in early May, with the combined company retaining the Devon Energy name and the Houston headquarters.

The Greater Houston Partnership notes the Houston area soon will welcome its 28th Fortune 500 company. Expand Energy (formerly Chesapeake Energy), appearing at No. 362 on the 2026 list, says it’s moving its headquarters from Oklahoma City to Spring this year.

As the natural gas producer prepares to relocate to Texas, it’s hunting for a new leader. Nick Dell’Osso stepped down as president and CEO earlier this year. Board Chairman Michael Wichterich is interim president and CEO.

Dell’Osso became president and CEO of Oklahoma City-based Gulfport Energy effective May 28.

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This article first appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.