5 innovative gift ideas from Houston startups for the 2021 holidays

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Support Houston startups by shopping local this holiday season. Photos courtesy

Editor's note: We are in the thick of the holidays, and I'm willing to bet a good chunk of you are still doing your gift shopping, right? Why not give a little business to local startups as you shop for friends and family this year.

Need some more ideas? Browse last year's roundup of Houston startup-created gift ideas and check out the 2019 startup gift guide as well for even more options.

For your cousins in college: Cheers

Cheers Health has expanded its product line as it evolves as a wellness-focused brand. Photo courtesy of Cheers

Houston-based Cheers has a collection of products that prioritize your health — especially after overindulging in some holiday cheersing. In 2021, the Houston startup introduced a few new products including a canned beverage that's perfect for anyone looking to properly hydrate before, during, or after drinking — or any time for that matter. Give the gift of Cheers.

For your business-minded father: Lead From The Core by Jay Steinfeld

Blinds.com founder Jay Steinfeld has released his new book this week. Photos courtesy of Jay Steinfeld

Houston innovator and founder of Blinds.com Jay Steinfeld can now add bestselling author to his resume, and you can add his book to someone's stocking. Steinfeld told InnovationMap that he originally set out to write about his entrepreneurial journey and it became a much broader guide to business decision making. Give the gift of Lead From The Core.

For your dog-loving aunt: Fido

A Houston startup is bringing all the dogs to the yard. Photo courtesy of Fido

Gifting to the family pet? Treat them with some Chill Chews and Clear Ears from Fido, a new e-commerce pet wellness brand based in Houston. The company is founded by Houstonians Brad Madrid and Bobby Dwyer and is available in Houston and beyond. Give the gift of Fido.

For your sneakerhead nephew: Tradeblock

Tradeblock — launched in Houston by three childhood friends — coordinates sales of sneakers for collectors across the country. Image via tradeblock.us

Here's a gift shopping idea from a Houston startup that's changing the sneaker game — one step at a time. A group of self-proclaimed sneakerheads founded Tradeblock in 2020, and the app is a new sneaker trading platform that provides collectors with a secure way to collect and trade shoes. After a successful beta, the Houston-based startup has recently launched a new mobile app available for iOS and Android users. Give the gift of shoes from Tradeblock.

For your digital nomadic sister: Splay

The idea for Splay, a unique device perfect for a mobile workforce, was born on the Rice University campus. Images courtesy

Due to the pandemic and the gig economy, more and more of the workforce is working remotely — and away from their 2-screen setup at the office. Splay, created by Houston-based Arovia, solves the challenges with its collapsible screen and projector. The product is currently in its manufacturing stage but maybe this one's worth waiting for. Give the gift of Splay.

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London AI startup selects Houston for first U.S. office after $20M raise

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London-based AI firm Applied Computing has announced a $20 million Series A round and a new office in Houston.

The new Bayou City office is Applied Computing’s first in the United States and part of its North American expansion. The company is known for its Orbital AI platform, which is tailored for energy operations.

The funding round was led by Houston-based KBR Inc., with participation from San Francisco-based Databricks Ventures. KBR’s investment was first announced in March.

KBR and Applied Computing have also entered into a multi-year agreement to deliver exclusive AI products for the energy sector. KBR already has integrated Orbital into its INSITE 3.0 platform for energy projects, and is also using the product for ammonia production.

Applied Computing’s Orbital platform combines physics-grounded intelligence with models across chemical engineering, time-series forecasting and language, according to the company. The system analyzes sensor readings and can recognize a facility’s equipment constraints and operator activity. The platform can also allow technicians to run simulations of how a change to a facility could affect the rest of its operations.

According to TechCrunch, Applied Computing will use the $20 million to further explore projects and deployments with the energy sector, hire engineering and research positions, and continue to expand internationally, potentially into the Middle East.

The company is also working on deals with a major U.S. stream operator, TechCrunch reports. And Applied Computing shared on LinkedIn that it plans to announce its first partnership with a major European oil company in the coming weeks.

“Yesterday we showed Orbital live in deployments at our demo day at the Energy Institute in London,” Callum Adamson, CEO and co-founder of Applied Computing, posted on LinkedIn on July 16. “Today, we're announcing the capital to scale it globally as well as the launch of our new offices in Houston and Bangalore. In the weeks following, there will be more announcements on our progress, partnerships and deployments.”

The company opened its Bangalore offices in December.

Texas is no longer America's No. 1 most financially distressed state

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After spending an unfortunate year as the No. 1 state with the most people in financial distress, Texas has slightly recovered. But the Lone Star State isn't out of the woods yet: it's still among the five most financially distressed states in America for 2026.

According to WalletHub's 2026 report, Texas sits in the No. 4 spot this year, while Kansas, Louisiana, and Florida moved up to become the top three states with the most financially distressed residents.

The personal finance website's experts compared all 50 states based on residents' 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 2025, and search interest indexes for "debt" and "loans."

Despite improving in the overall ranking, the study found Texas has had the fourth-biggest spike in bankruptcy filings nationally from March 2025 to March 2026. Texas residents also have the 10th worst average credit scores in the country, according to the findings.

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

  • No. 4 – Change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024 to March 2025 rank
  • No. 5 – Average number of accounts in distress rank
  • No. 8 – "Loans" search interest index rank
  • No. 8 – People with accounts in distress rank
  • No. 12 – Credit score rank
  • No. 13 – “Debt” search interest index rank

It feels like inflation and affordability have been top-of-mind for many Americans over recent years, and uncertainty around the national economy also adds another level of distress. That's especially true for Houston residents, which were dubbed the second most financially distressed people in America earlier in 2026.

"Americans have faced significant financial challenges in recent years, as inflation, shifting unemployment levels, public health emergencies, and natural disasters have made it more difficult for many households to stay on top of their bills," the report said.

The top three states that have the least financially distressed residents are Maine (No. 50), Rhode Island (No. 49), and Hawaii (No. 48).

The top 10 most financially distressed states in America for 2026 are:

  • No. 1 – Kansas
  • No. 2 – Lousiana
  • No. 3 – Florida
  • No. 4 – Texas
  • No. 5 – South Carolina
  • No. 6 – Wyoming
  • No. 7 – Georgia
  • No. 8 – California
  • No. 9 – North Carolina
  • No. 10 – Kentucky
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A version of this article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

European spacecraft developer expands to Houston with U.S. business, new lab

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European aerospace manufacturer The Exploration Company has established its first U.S. entity and named Space City as its headquarters.

The company announced earlier this month that it has launched TEC Federal to support U.S. government customers and agencies, and to scale The Exploration Company's engineering operations in the country.

Mark Kirasich serves as president of TEC Federal. Kirasich most recently served as the senior director of human spaceflight at Blue Origin after a nearly 40-year career at NASA.

The Exploration Company is developing the reusable Nyx space vehicle. Nyx is designed to take off from any heavy launcher in the world. It will then dock at space stations, retrieve up to 3,000 kilograms of cargo, splash down and return the cargo to Earth. The company aims to make Nyx fully reusable for up to 10 missions, making it a more affordable and sustainable option for aerospace missions.

The Exploration Company completed a successful drop test of the spacecraft in May in the Mojave Desert. The company says Nyx is slated to perform its first flight demonstration in 2028.

In addition to launching the Houston business, The Exploration Company also opened its new Rapid Innovation Lab near Houston's NASA Johnson Space Center on Space Park Drive.

The Exploration Company opened its Rapid Innovation Lab earlier this month. Photo via LinkedIn

The Rapid Innovation Lab features a full-scale mockup of the future Nyx crew capsule as well as ongoing development and testing of the Nyx cargo capsule, according to the company.

The Exploration Company says the new lab will allow its engineers, designers, and operators to prototype and test crew interfaces. It will also support partnerships with NASA personnel and astronauts.

“Houston gives us direct access to the people and expertise that have built and operated human spaceflight systems for decades. We’re excited to invest and expand around that— engineers, operators, and astronauts working together and moving quickly towards building a crew capsule.” Hélène Huby, founder and CEO of The Exploration Company, said in a blog post.

According to The Houston Chronicle, The Exploration Company has about 30 employees in the Houston area.

The company was founded in 2021 by Huby, a French rocket scientist, and has raised more than $350 million in venture capital. It operates out of Germany, France, Luxembourg, Spain and Italy, with offices in the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates. It is also developing a reusable, high-thrust rocket engine known as Storm.

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