Data Gumbo closes $6M round, Alice partners with accelerator, and more Houston innovation news

Short stories

Blockchain-as-a-service company closes $6 million Series A round. Courtesy of Data Gumbo

Houston's innovation ecosystem has been busy, and the ongoing 50th anniversary of the Offshore Technology Conference has claimed a lot of attention in town lately. While I'm sure you've seen the big news pieces, like the Texas Medical Center's new details about TMC3 or WeWork's third Houston location, you may have missed some of these short stories.

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Data Gumbo closes a $6 million Series A round

Data Gumbo's executive team will use the round of funding to grow its operations. Courtesy of Data Gumbo

Data Gumbo Corp., a Houston-based blockchain-as-a-service company, completed a $6M Series A equity funding round. Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures — the venture subsidiary of Saudi Aramco — and Equinor Technology Ventures —the venture subsidiary of Equinor — co-led the round.

The new capital will be used to grow the company's commercial blockchain network, as well as Data Gumbo's technical, sales and marketing teams at their Houston headquarters and office in Stavanger, Norway. This Series A round brings Data Gumbo's total funding to $9.3 million.

"We enabled the first application of blockchain technology in the offshore drilling industry and will continue to break new ground with applications of BaaS to improve the bottom line of companies of all sizes. Blockchain will have a major impact on the oil and gas industry - and all global industries - and we will lead the charge in its broad adoption for sweeping operational improvements," says Andrew Bruce, CEO of Data Gumbo, in a release. "The partnership with Equinor and Saudi Aramco, and their associated supply chains and partnerships, will provide the momentum for the Data Gumbo BaaS network to gain critical mass." Learn more about Bruce and Data Gumbo here.

Alice and Founder Institute team up

Houston's new Founder Institute chapter has teamed up with Alice. Image courtesy Founder Institute

Pre-seed accelerator, the Founder Institute and Houston-based AI startup resource platform, Alice, announced a partnership to present the "Alice Fellowship" within the Founder Institute Program to help aspiring female founders build impactful and enduring startup companies.

The fellowship allows for female entrepreneurs in the Alice community to apply to the Houston FI program for free, waiving the $50 fee. The best applicants will then be selected to receive the fellowship for free as well. Interested female founders can apply https://fi.co/join/Alice before the application deadline of May 19.

Report shows how Houston fares as a startup city

Houston didn't rank among the best cities for startups — but it didn't make the worst either. Photo by Tim Leviston/Getty Images

Houston performed averagely on a new study from SimpleTexting. The report ranked cities based on their startups' performance — valuation of startups, startup jobs available, number of investors in the region, etc. Here's how Houston ranked. (Note: only the top and bottom 10 cities were ranked, and Houston doesn't appear on any of the top or bottom 10 lists.)

  • Average startup valuation: $4 million (This seems to be about the middle of the pack compared to other cities.)
  • Investor to startup ratio: 2.9 (Houston outranks Austin, which has a 1.5 ratio, in this category but seems to be closer to the bottom than the top.)
  • Startups per 100,000 people: 27.1 (Houston ranks pretty low on the spectrum for this. The 10th worst city is Rochester, New York, which has 17.8.)
  • Startup jobs per 100,000 people: 1.8 (Houston again falls closer to the bottom than the top with this number. The 10th worst city is Tuscon, Arizona, which has 0.88.)

While using different metrics, WalletHub found that Houston is a strong city to start a business. Read that story here.

Clean energy company awarded at EarthX

Trevor Best, CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics, walked away from EarthX $100,000 richer. Photo via LinkedIn

Houston-based Syzygy Plasmonics won $100,000 as one Texas' top CleanTech startup companies at the 2019 EarthX CleanTech Investment Challenge in Dallas. Syzygy is a chemicals startup out of Rice University, and one of their technologies focuses on hydrogen as a fuel option and alternative to gasoline.

TMCx company raises $5.14 million Series A

Philadelphia-based RoundTrip, which is in TMCx's current cohort, closed a hefty Series A round. Photo via roundtriphealth.com

An estimated 3.6 million patients miss or postpone their medical appointments annually, which leads to bigger medical issues that could have been prevented or treated earlier. Philadelphia-based RoundTrip created a platform where patients can book transportation to and from appointments. The startup, which is currently completing TMCx's digital health accelerator program, recently closed its Series A round of $5.14 million led by Motley Fool Ventures.

Houston energy professional publishes female-focused book

The new novel tells the stories of the women within the offshore oil and gas industries. Courtesy of Rebecca Ponton 

Rebecca Ponton has published her series of 23 short biographies of women in the offshore oil and gas industry called, Breaking the GAS Ceiling: Women in the Offshore Oil & Gas Industry. Ponton timed the publication ahead of the 2019 Offshore Technology Conference. The book is available on Amazon.

The book features a number of Texas women, including:

  • Marni Zabarsky (MADCON Corp.)
  • Mieko Mahi (freelance petroleum photographer)
  • Alyssa Michalke (previously of TAMKO)
  • Jerry Tardivo Alcoser (works in Chevron's Bakersfield office, but has a home in Houston)
  • Melody Meyer, Katie Mehnert, and Ally Cedeno, who wrote endorsements for the book, live and work in Houston.

Houston O&G consulting company named Great Place to Work

oil and gas

EAG Services received a national recognition for its work environment and employee happiness. Getty Images

Great Place to Work and FORTUNE selected Houston-based EAG Services as one of the 2019 Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services in the small to mid-sized company category. The rankings were based on employees' feedback. EAG Services took the Number 17 spot on the list.

"EAG Services is proud to be recognized by our people for creating one of the best workplaces in the consulting and professional services industry. Our ongoing commitment to keeping culture our priority as well as playing an ever-critical role in hiring has proven to be successful in attracting and building an empowering place to work," says Elizabeth Gerbal, CEO and Founder of EAG Services, in a release.

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Innovation Labs @ TMC set to launch for early-stage life science startups

moving in

The Texas Medical Center will launch its new Innovation Labs @ TMC in January 2026 to better support life science startups working within the innovation hub.

The new 34,000-square-foot space, located in the TMC Innovation Factory at 2450 Holcombe Blvd., will feature labs and life science offices and will be managed by TMC. The space was previously occupied by Johnson & Johnson's JLABS @TMC, a representative from TMC tells InnovationMap. JLABS will officially vacate the space in January.

TMC shares that the expansion will allow it to "open its doors to a wider range of life science visionaries," including those in the TMC BioBridge program and Innovation Factory residents. It will also allow TMC to better integrate with the Innovation Factory's offerings, such as the TMC Health Tech accelerator, TMC Center for Device Innovation and TMC Venture Fund.

“We have witnessed an incredible demand for life science space, not only at the TMC Innovation Factory, but also on the TMC Helix Park research campus,” William McKeon, president and CEO of the TMC, said in a news release. “Innovation Labs @ TMC enables us to meet this rising demand and continue reshaping how early-stage life science companies grow, connect, and thrive.”

“By bringing together top talent, cutting-edge research, and industry access in one central hub, we can continue to advance Houston’s life science ecosystem," he continued.

The TMC Innovation Factory has hosted 450 early-stage ventures since it launched in 2015. JLABS first opened in the space in 2016 with the goal of helping health care startups commercialize.

13 Houston businesses appear on Time's best midsize companies of 2025

new report

A Houston-based engineering firm KBR tops the list of Texas businesses that appear on Time magazine and Statista’s new ranking of the country’s best midsize companies.

KBR holds down the No. 30 spot, earning a score of 91.53 out of 100. Time and Statista ranked companies based on employee satisfaction, revenue growth, and transparency about sustainability. All 500 companies on the list have annual revenue from $100 million to $10 billion.

According to the Great Place to Work organization, 87 percent of KBR employees rate the company as a great employer.

“At KBR, we do work that matters,” the company says on the Great Place to Work website. “From climate change to space exploration, from energy transition to national security, we are helping solve the great challenges of our time through the high-end, differentiated solutions we provide. In doing so, we’re striving to create a better, safer, more sustainable world.”

KBR recorded revenue of $7.7 billion in 2024, up 11 percent from the previous year.

The other 12 Houston-based companies that landed on the Time/Statista list are:

  • No. 141 Houston-based MRC Global. Score: 85.84
  • No. 168 Houston-based Comfort Systems USA. Score: 84.72
  • No. 175 Houston-based Crown Castle. Score: 84.51
  • No. 176 Houston-based National Oilwell Varco. Score: 84.50
  • No. 234 Houston-based Kirby. Score: 82.48
  • No. 266 Houston-based Nabor Industries. Score: 81.59
  • No. 296 Houston-based Archrock. Score: 80.17
  • No. 327 Houston-based Superior Energy Services. Score: 79.38
  • No. 332 Kingwood-based Insperity. Score: 79.15
  • No. 359 Houston-based CenterPoint Energy. Score: 78.02
  • No. 461 Houston-based Oceaneering. Score: 73.87
  • No. 485 Houston-based Skyward Specialty Insurance. Score: 73.15

Additional Texas companies on the list include:

  • No. 95 Austin-based Natera. Score: 87.26
  • No. 199 Plano-based Tyler Technologies. Score: 86.49
  • No. 139 McKinney-based Globe Life. Score: 85.88
  • No. 140 Dallas-based Trinity Industries. Score: 85.87
  • No. 149 Southlake-based Sabre. Score: 85.58
  • No. 223 Dallas-based Brinker International. Score: 82.87
  • No. 226 Irving-based Darling Ingredients. Score: 82.86
  • No. 256 Dallas-based Copart. Score: 81.78
  • No. 276 Coppell-based Brink’s. Score: 80.90
  • No. 279 Dallas-based Topgolf. Score: 80.79
  • No. 294 Richardson-based Lennox. Score: 80.22
  • No. 308 Dallas-based Primoris Services. Score: 79.96
  • No. 322 Dallas-based Wingstop Restaurants. Score: 79.49
  • No. 335 Fort Worth-based Omnicell. Score: 78.95
  • No. 337 Plano-based Cinemark. Score: 78.91
  • No. 345 Dallas-based Dave & Buster’s. Score: 78.64
  • No. 349 Dallas-based ATI. Score: 78.44
  • No. 385 Frisco-based Addus HomeCare. Score: 76.86
  • No. 414 New Braunfels-based Rush Enterprises. Score: 75.75
  • No. 431 Dallas-based Comerica Bank. Score: 75.20
  • No. 439 Austin-based Q2 Software. Score: 74.85
  • No. 458 San Antonio-based Frost Bank. Score: 73.94
  • No. 475 Fort Worth-based FirstCash. Score: 73.39
  • No. 498 Irving-based Nexstar Broadcasting Group. Score: 72.71

Texas ranks as No. 1 most financially distressed state, says new report

Money Woes

Experiencing financial strife is a nightmare of many Americans, but it appears to be a looming reality for Texans, according to a just-released WalletHub study. It names Texas the No. 1 most "financially distressed" state in America.

To determine the states with the most financially distressed residents, WalletHub compared all 50 states across nine metrics in six major categories, such as average credit scores, the share of people with "accounts in distress" (meaning an account that's in forbearance or has deferred payments), the one-year change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024, and search interest indexes for "debt" and "loans."

Joining Texas among the top five most distressed states are Florida (No. 2), Louisiana (No. 3), Nevada (No. 4), and South Carolina (No. 5).

Texas' new ranking as the most financially distressed state in 2025 may be unexpected, WalletHub says, considering the state has a "bigger GDP than most countries" and still has one of the top 10 best economies in the nation (even though that ranking is also lower than it was in previous years).

Even so, Texas residents are stretching themselves very thin financially this year. Texans had the ninth lowest average credit scores nationwide during the first quarter of 2025, the study found, and Texans had the sixth-highest increase in non-business-related bankruptcy filings over the last year, toppling 22 percent.

"Texas also had the third-highest number of accounts in forbearance or with deferred payments per person, and the seventh-highest share of people with these distressed accounts, at 7.1 percent," the report said.

This is where Texas ranked across the study's six key dimensions, where No. 1 means "most distressed:"

  • No. 5 – "Loans" search interest index rank
  • No. 6 – Change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024 to March 2025 rank
  • No. 7 – Average number of accounts in distress rank
  • No. 8 – People with accounts in distress rank
  • No. 13 – Credit score rank and “debt” search interest index rank
Examining these financial factors on the state level is important for understanding how Americans are faring with economic issues like inflation, unemployment rates, or natural disasters, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.


"When you combine data about people delaying payments with other metrics like bankruptcy filings and credit score changes, it paints a good picture of the overall economic trends of a state," Lupo said.

On the other side of the spectrum, states like Hawaii (No. 50), Vermont (No. 49), and Alaska (No. 48) are the least financially distressed states in America.

The top 10 states with the most people in financial distress in 2025 are:

  • No. 1 – Texas
  • No. 2 – Florida
  • No. 3 – Louisiana
  • No. 4 – Nevada
  • No. 5 – South Carolina
  • No. 6 – Oklahoma
  • No. 7 – North Carolina
  • No. 8 – Mississippi
  • No. 9 – Kentucky
  • No. 10 – Alabama
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A version of this article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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