Houston named growing hub for life sciences, cybersecurity startups win contest, and more innovation news

short stories

In this roundup of short stories, Houston has been recognized as an emerging hub for life sciences, HCC wins an award for entrepreneurship, and more local innovation news. Photo by Dwight C. Andrews/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

Houston's innovation ecosystem has been booming with news, and it's likely some might have fallen through the cracks.

For this roundup of short stories within Houston innovation, see why Houston has been named a top emerging hub for life sciences, Hatch Pitch reveals its cybersecurity startup winners, and more.

Houston named an emerging life science hub

A new report finds that Houston's life sciences scene — soon to be home to TMC3 — is growing. Courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects

According to a new report from CBRE, Houston is on track to be a top market for life sciences. The report factored in size and growth of life-sciences employment, the venture capital and National Institutes of Health funding, and more.

"Interest in Houston's life sciences sector from developers, investors and financial backers has grown significantly in recent years," says Nelson Udstuen, senior vice president at CBRE, in a press release. "Several factors have contributed to this, including an increase in both federal funding from NIH and private venture capital, a growth in R&D employment and commitments from Texas Medical Center member institutions and other private developers to establish new life science buildings and campuses."

Houston's life-sciences industry, which comes in at No. 2 on the list behind Pittsburgh and ahead of Austin, ranks within the 20 largest in the U.S. by employment. In terms of growth, Houston is expanding at a 6.5 percent pace from 2018 to 2019. Houston institutes received around $600 million in funding from NIH last year, which amounted to the 12th-largest sum by market.

"Houston is also a draw for the life sciences industry due to its large cluster of life science employees," continues Udstuen. "Our market is home to a large population with the technical ability to perform Research and Development, meaning employers do not have to focus as heavily on recruiting from other markets."

Inaugural pitch competition names winners

pitch

Hatch Pitch named the winners of its inaugural cybersecurity-focused competition. Photo via Getty Images

Houston-based Hatch Pitch announced its Cyber Pitch competition in December, and, other than having to pivot to virtual, the competition went off without a hitch. The winners at the Houston Cyber Summit were revealed on October 22.

  • Toronto-based Paqt took first place
  • PixoAnalytics, based in Bonn, Germany, came in second
  • And Austin-based Clocr placed in third place as well as the Audience Favorite.

Hatch Pitch will return in March 2021 for the Hatch Pitch Digital Summit, but until then, check out video clips and the pitches from Cyber Pitch 2020 online.

Houston college receives national entrepreneurship award

Houston Community College has been named the 2020 Heather Van Sickle Entrepreneurial College of the Year. Photo via HCC.edu

The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship has named Houston Community College as the 2020 Heather Van Sickle Entrepreneurial College of the Year at its 18th Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier this month.

"Houston Community College is a model of how colleges contribute to their local entrepreneurial ecosystems," says Rebecca Corbin, president and CEO of NACCE, in a news release. "Through persistence and entrepreneurial mindset and action, HCC has scaled replicable and sustainable entrepreneurial programs that have impacted thousands of students over the past several years. It is a pleasure to recognize this outstanding college, which was selected by an independent judging panel, as the winner of NACCE's 2020 Entrepreneurial College of the Year Award."

Energy tech startup names new CEO

Tachyus has a new head honcho. Photo via tachyus.com

Data-focused energy software startup Tachyus has announced the promotion of Fernando Gutierrez to CEO — formerly vice president of customer success.

"We are in a unique time within the upstream oil and gas space, and I truly believe Tachyus has the ability to pioneer the acceleration of the digital transformation within the industry," says Gutierrez, in a news release. "We are at the intersection of innovation and conventionalism, and I'm excited to lead the organization in a movement that continues to establish our technical solutions with our unique product signature."

Tachyus was founded in 2013 in Silicon Valley and recently relocated to Houston. The fresh funds will go into growing its cloud-based, artificial intelligence-enabled platform. Last year, the company raised $15 million in a round led by Houston-based Cottonwood Venture Partners.

Former CEO and Co-Founder Paul Orland has assumed the role of chairman.

Female founder selected for new program backed by Houston organization

Kim Roxie, founder of LAMIK Beauty, is among the 15 recipients of a new initiative. Photo via stacysrise.helloalice.com

Plano, Texas-based Stacy's Rise Project expanded its annual grant and mentorship program in order to give more aid to Black female business founders, who on average only receive 0.2 percent of venture capitalist funding, according to a press release. The organization teamed up with its longtime partner, Houston-founded Hello Alice, to back an additional 15 Black female founders with a total of $150,000.

Among the 15 recipients was Houston's own Kim Roxie of LAMIK Beauty. LAMIK Beauty is a beauty-tech company designed for multicultural women with products made with natural and organic ingredients.

From Your Site Articles
Houston-based Tachyus closed a $15 million Series B round. Photo courtesy of Thomas Miller/Breitling Energy

Houston oil and gas software company closes $15 million round led by local PE firm

Money on the mind

It's pay day for Houston-based Tachyus. the data-driven software company has closed its Series B fundraising round at $15 million. The round was led by Houston-based Cottonwood Venture Partners, a private equity firm that funds companies using technology to solve problems within the energy industry.

Tachyus was founded in 2013 in Silicon Valley and recently relocated to Houston. The fresh funds will go into growing its cloud-based, artificial intelligence-enabled platform.

"In this economic environment, oil and gas operators need disruptive tools to optimize their fields," Tachyus CEO and co-founder, Paul Orland, says in a release. "This investment allows us to reach more customers and accelerate the delivery of new technology that improves our clients' business performance."

The company has already grown its client base and has customers in Argentina, Europe, and Asia. Tachyus joins several other tech-focused energy startups in CVP's portfolio, including Ambyint, Novi Labs, and SitePro. Houston-based Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. served Tachyus as its financial adviser.

"As the oil and gas industry evolves in the face of new commercial challenges, operators need to focus on getting the best performance from their assets, and Tachyus' technology has a track record of doing just that," says Jeremy Arendt, managing partner of CVP, in the release. "We are excited to partner with the Tachyus team to expand their reach and empower customers to optimize production across their fields."

Tachyus closed its last round in 2016 with a $4 million investment from Primwest, according to CrunchBase. Before that, the company had raised several million.

Last year, the startup restructured its C-suite. Tachyus co-founder Dakin Sloss transitioned from CEO to chairman, and Orland, who was previously CTO, took the reins, according to a release.

Paul Orland is CEO of Tachyus. Photo via tachyus.com

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Houston experts: Can AI bridge the gap between tech ambitions and market realities?

guest column

Despite successful IPOs from the likes of Ibotta, Reddit and OneStream, 2024 hasn’t provided the influx of capital-raising opportunities that many late-stage tech startups and venture capitalists (VCs) have been waiting for. Since highs last seen in 2021—when 90 tech companies went public—the IPO market has been effectively frozen, with just five tech IPOs between January and September 2024.

As a result, limited partners have not been able to replenish investments and redeploy capital. This shifting investment landscape has VCs and tech leaders feeling stuck in a holding pattern. Tech leaders are hesitant to enter the public markets because valuations are down 30 percent to 40 percent from 2021, which is also making late-stage fundraising more challenging. After all, longer IPO timelines mean fewer exit opportunities for VCs and reduced capital from institutional investors who are turning toward shorter-term investments with more liquid exit options.

Of course, there’s always an exception. And in the case of a slowed IPO market, a select slice of tech companies—AI-related companies—are far outperforming others. While not every tech startup has AI software or infrastructure as their core offering, most can benefit from using AI to revise their playbook and become more attractive to investors.

Unlocking Growth Potential with AI

While overall tech startup investment has slowed, the AI sector burns bright. This presents an opportunity for companies that strategically leverage AI, not just as a buzzword but as a tool for genuine growth and differentiation. Imagine a future where AI-powered insights unlock unprecedented efficiency, customer engagement and a paradigm shift in value creation. This isn’t just about weathering the current storm of reduced access to capital; it’s about emerging stronger, ready to lead the next wave of tech innovation.

Here's how to navigate the AI frontier and unlock its potential:

  1. Understand that data is the foundation of AI success. AI is powerful, but it’s not magic. It thrives on high-quality, interconnected data. Before diving into AI initiatives, companies must assess their data health. Is it structured in a way that AI can understand? Does it go beyond raw numbers to capture context and meaning—like customer sentiment alongside sales figures? Rethinking data infrastructure is often the crucial first step.
  1. Focus on amplifying strengths, not reinventing the wheel. The allure of AI can tempt companies into pursuing radical reinvention. However, a more effective strategy is to leverage AI to enhance existing strengths and address core customer needs. Why do customers choose your company? How can AI supercharge your value proposition? Consider Reddit’s strategic approach: They didn’t overhaul their platform before their 2024 IPO. Instead, they showcased the value of their vast online communities as fertile ground for AI development, leading to a remarkable first-day stock surge of 48 percent.

  2. Use AI as a customer-centric force multiplier. Companies with a deep understanding of their customer base are primed for AI success. By integrating AI into the very core of their product or service—the reason customers choose them—they can create a decisive competitive advantage based on delivering tangible customer value.

From Incremental Gains to Transformative Growth

This practical, customer-centric approach has the potential to help companies generate immediate growth while laying the foundation for future reinvention. By leveraging AI to optimize operations, deepen customer relationships, and redefine industry paradigms, late-state tech startups can not only survive but thrive in a dynamic market. The future belongs to those who embrace AI not as a destination but as a continuous journey of innovation and growth.

------

Hong Ogle is the president of Bank of America Houston. Rodrigo Ortiz Gomez is a market executive in Bank of America’s Transformative Technology Banking Group as well as the national software banking lead for the Global Commercial Bank.

Houston joint venture secures $5.2M for AI-powered methane tracking tech

Fresh Funds

Houston-based Envana Software Solutions has received more than $5.2 million in federal and non-federal funding to support the development of technology for the oil and gas sector to monitor and reduce methane emissions.

Thanks to the work backed by the new funding, Envana says its suite of emissions management software will become the industry's first technology to allow an oil and gas company to obtain a full inventory of greenhouse gases.

The funding comes from a more than $4.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and more than $1 million in non-federal funding.

“Methane is many times more potent than carbon dioxide and is responsible for approximately one-third of the warming from greenhouse gases occurring today,” Brad Crabtree, assistant secretary at DOE, said in 2024.

With the funding, Envana will expand artificial intelligence (AI) and physics-based models to help detect and track methane emissions at oil and gas facilities.

“We’re excited to strengthen our position as a leader in emissions and carbon management by integrating critical scientific and operational capabilities. These advancements will empower operators to achieve their methane mitigation targets, fulfill their sustainability objectives, and uphold their ESG commitments with greater efficiency and impact,” says Nagaraj Srinivasan, co-lead director of Envana.

In conjunction with this newly funded project, Envana will team up with universities and industry associations in Texas to:

  • Advance work on the mitigation of methane emissions
  • Set up internship programs
  • Boost workforce development
  • Promote environmental causes

Envana, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup, provides emissions management technology to forecast, track, measure and report industrial data for greenhouse gas emissions.

Founded in 2023, Envana is a joint venture between Houston-based Halliburton, a provider of products and services for the energy industry, and New York City-based Siguler Guff, a private equity firm. Siguler Gulf maintains an office in Houston.

“Envana provides breakthrough SaaS emissions management solutions and is the latest example of how innovation adds to sustainability in the oil and gas industry,” Rami Yassine, a senior vice president at Halliburton, said when the joint venture was announced.

---

This story originally appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com

Houston consulting firm opens innovation hub for business AI in collaboration with SAP

new space

Houston’s Sierra Digital has launched Sierra AppHaus Houston, an innovation hub for business AI in collaboration with the the AppHaus program from software giant SAP.

Sierra Digital is the second U.S. partner to join the SAP AppHaus Network, a group of spaces focused on leveraging SAP products and technology. The operation is connected to Sierra Digital’s offices in the Sharpstown area. It features three meeting rooms and a large conference room, and can host workshops for more than 100 participants.

“Sierra Digital has been recognized as a perfect addition to the SAP AppHaus Network,” Carlos Estala Velasco, co-lead SAP AppHaus Partner Network, said in a news release. “With a committed AppHaus team equipped to apply our award-winning human-centered innovation approach, they are able to inspire and support customers throughout their journey to realize innovation. We eagerly anticipate co-innovating with the local team!”

Sierra Digital, founded in 2002, focuses on modernizing legacy SAP systems. It has developed a library of over 30 pre-built business technology applications (BTA) and is also one of the first SAP partners to develop and implement use cases for business AI. The company is also a leading member of the SAP BTP Advisory Council.

Sierra’s portfolio of pre-built BTP applications helps streamline operations by automating tasks like business partner onboarding and revenue processing with AI-driven insights. The company works in the oil and gas, chemical, manufacturing, retail and public sectors.

The first SAP AppHaus location was established in 2013, and there are now 25 globally. Three of the locations are owned by SAP, and 22 are managed by partners, including Sierra Digital. According to a LinkedIn post, Sierra Digital plans to use the Houston space for design-thinking workshops, tech discussions and even hackathons.

"We are proud to be part of the SAP AppHaus Network and to contribute our design and innovation expertise," Senthil Kumar, CEO and chairman of Sierra Digital, said in a news release. "This collaboration with SAP allows us to co-create impactful solutions that accelerate digital transformation for our clients and strengthen our regional presence."

View All Listings