Comcast deploys $1M in Houston to shrink digital divide

access for all

This tech giant is extending access to the internet for those who need it. Photo courtesy of Comcast

Global Internet service provider, Comcast, is investing more than $1 million locally to help give families in the Houston region an opportunity to thrive in the digital age.

The funds are aimed to help students, adults and people with disabilities to ‘level up’ their computer, career development and tech education skills. The million-dollar investment will also support ongoing efforts to build awareness about low-cost or no-cost connectivity programs like Internet Essentials and the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program.

“The Internet is where life happens. It allows students to expand their educational aspirations and it empowers parents to explore better job openings so they can ultimately deliver a better quality of life for their families,” says Ralph Martinez, Comcast Houston’s regional senior vice president. “We are passionate about doing our part to close the digital divide and committed to helping establish a more equitable foundation for learning, working and succeeding.”

This effort is part of the company’s $1 billion, decade-long commitment to expand access to the internet across the world and open doors for the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, storytellers and creators.

In December 2021, Comcast donated funds to support local diversity-focused non-profit, SERJobs.

So far, Comcast has given grants to eight Houston area organizations. More announcements will be made later this year, according to the company’s press release.

  • United Way | Funding will be used to provide tech experts (Digital Navigators) to help people in need of digital skills training.
  • BakerRipley | Funding will support computer skills, software, email and internet safety training for low-income adults in the Houston area.
  • Comp-U-Dopt | Funding will support students participating in Early Adopters, STEAM Team and Learn2Earn, which brings technology education to area youth. Comp-U-Dopt will also use the funding to provide tech experts (Digital Navigators) to help people in need of digital skills training.
  • Easter Seals of Greater Houston | Funding will support the development of a curriculum for people with disabilities to help them successfully learn to use digital technology to gain and maintain employment
  • The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Houston | Funding will help high school students gain technical and leadership skills through the Workforce Readiness Program.
  • AAMA | Funding will be used to purchase technology and equipment to support students through the training program at the Work and Learn Center, with an emphasis on digital literacy and design.
  • Dress for Success | Funding will be used to provide Houston-area women with the resources needed to obtain long-term employment through access to job readiness training, digital skills workshops, computers and mobile labs.
  • AVANCE-Houston | Funding will support adult literacy program and continue to build pathways to economic mobility for families in the community.
Nancy and Rich Kinder have donated $1 million to the United Way. Photo by Michelle Watson/Catchlight Group

Houston's billionaire benefactors gift another $1 million to citywide charity

a united front

Arguably Houston’s most recognizable benefactors, Rich and Nancy Kinder have done it again. The billionaire couple, known for mammoth donations throughout the city, have just donated $1 million to the United Way of Greater Houston, the organization announced.

According to the United Way, the Kinders’ gift addresses the impact of the pandemic on the local economy, and how it has raised unemployment, drained household finances, and strained nonprofit basic needs resources.

“Lifting up the many hard-working families and individuals in our community and supporting their pathway to self-sufficiency is an effective and critically important approach,” said Nancy Kinder, president and CEO of the Kinder Foundation. “We support United Way of Greater Houston’s new strategic vision because we recognize the impact it can have on those seeking a sustainable quality of life.”

As CultureMap has previously reported, the Kinders are longtime donors to the United Way; this is the third consecutive year the couple has made a $1 million campaign gift at the nonprofit’s Luminary Leadership Giving level.

That Luminary Leadership Giving level is the highest within United Way of Greater Houston’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society, which is a group of generous individuals currently numbering more than 700. The group is noted for making gifts of $10,000 or more annually to United Way of Greater Houston. The group contributed more than $17 million to United Way last year, per a press release.

This year, the Kinders landed on the annual Forbes list of the wealthiest Americans. Houstonians will no doubt recognize the couple from other hefty local allotments, including the game-changing, $70 million donation to Memorial Park.

They are also behind the stunning and newly opened Nancy and Rich Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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7 top Houston researchers join Rice innovation cohort for 2025

top of class

The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) has announced its 2025 Rice Innovation Fellows cohort, which includes students developing cutting-edge thermal management solutions for artificial intelligence, biomaterial cell therapy for treating lymphedema, and other innovative projects.

The program aims to support Rice Ph.D. students and postdocs in turning their research into real-world solutions and startups.

“Our fourth cohort of fellows spans multiple industries addressing the most pressing challenges of humanity,” Kyle Judah, Lilie’s executive director, said in a news release. “We see seven Innovation Fellows and their professors with the passion and a path to change the world.”

The seven 2025 Innovation Fellows are:

Chen-Yang Lin, Materials Science and Nanoengineering, Ph.D. 2025

Professor Jun Lou’s Laboratory

Lin is a co-founder of HEXAspec, a startup that focuses on creating thermal management solutions for artificial intelligence chips and high-performance semiconductor devices. The startup won the prestigious H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge (NRLC) competition last year and also won this year's Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition during CERAWeek in the TEX-E student track.

Sarah Jimenez, Bioengineering, Ph.D. 2027

Professor Camila Hochman-Mendez Laboratory

Jimenez is working to make transplantable hearts out of decellularized animal heart scaffolds in the lab and the creating an automated cell delivery system to “re-cellularize” hearts with patient-derived stem cells.

Alexander Lathem, Applied Physics and Chemistry, Ph.D. 2026

Professor James M. Tour Laboratory

Lathem’s research is focused on bringing laser-induced graphene technology from “academia into industry,” according to the university.

Dilrasbonu Vohidova is a Bioengineering, Ph.D. 2027

Professor Omid Veiseh Laboratory

Vohidova’s research focuses on engineering therapeutic cells to secrete immunomodulators, aiming to prevent the onset of autoimmunity in Type 1 diabetes.

Alexandria Carter, Bioengineering, Ph.D. 2027

Professor Michael King Laboratory

Carter is developing a device that offers personalized patient disease diagnostics by using 3D culturing and superhydrophobicity.

Alvaro Moreno Lozano, Bioengineering, Ph.D. 2027

Professor Omid Veiseh Lab

Lozano is using novel biomaterials and cell engineering to develop new technologies for patients with Type 1 Diabetes. The work aims to fabricate a bioartificial pancreas that can control blood glucose levels.

Lucas Eddy, Applied Physics and Chemistry, Ph.D. 2025

Professor James M. Tour Laboratory

Eddy specializes in building and using electrothermal reaction systems for nanomaterial synthesis, waste material upcycling and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) destruction.

This year, the Liu Lab also introduced its first cohort of five commercialization fellows. See the full list here.

The Rice Innovation Fellows program assists doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers with training and support to turn their ideas into ventures. Alumni have raised over $20 million in funding and grants, according to Lilie. Last year's group included 10 doctoral and postdoctoral students working in fields such as computer science, mechanical engineering and materials science.

“The Innovation Fellows program helps scientist-led startups accelerate growth by leveraging campus resources — from One Small Step grants to the Summer Venture Studio accelerator — before launching into hubs like Greentown Labs, Helix Park and Rice’s new Nexus at The Ion,” Yael Hochberg, head of the Rice Entrepreneurship Initiative and the Ralph S. O’Connor Professor in Entrepreneurship, said in the release. “These ventures are shaping Houston’s next generation of pillar companies, keeping our city, state and country at the forefront of innovation in mission critical industries.”

Houston startup Collide secures $5M to grow energy-focused AI platform

Fresh Funds

Houston-based Collide, a provider of generative artificial intelligence for the energy sector, has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Houston’s Mercury Fund.

Other investors in the seed round include Bryan Sheffield, founder of Austin-based Parsley Energy, which was acquired by Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources in 2021; Billy Quinn, founder and managing partner of Dallas-based private equity firm Pearl Energy Investments; and David Albin, co-founder and former managing partner of Dallas-based private equity firm NGP Capital Partners.

“(Collide) co-founders Collin McLelland and Chuck Yates bring a unique understanding of the oil and gas industry,” Blair Garrou, managing partner at Mercury, said in a news release. “Their backgrounds, combined with Collide’s proprietary knowledge base, create a significant and strategic moat for the platform.”

Collide, founded in 2022, says the funding will enable the company to accelerate the development of its GenAI platform. GenAI creates digital content such as images, videos, text, and music.

Originally launched by Houston media organization Digital Wildcatters as “a professional network and digital community for technical discussions and knowledge sharing,” the company says it will now shift its focus to rolling out its enterprise-level, AI-enabled solution.

Collide explains that its platform gathers and synthesizes data from trusted sources to deliver industry insights for oil and gas professionals. Unlike platforms such as OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot, Collide’s platform “uniquely accesses a comprehensive, industry-specific knowledge base, including technical papers, internal processes, and a curated Q&A database tailored to energy professionals,” the company said.

Collide says its approximately 6,000 platform users span 122 countries.

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

Houston femtech co. debuts first holistic wellness suite following rebrand

work perks

Houston-based femtech company Work&, previously Work&Mother, debuted new lactation suites and its first employee wellness space at MetroNational’s Memorial City Plazas this month.

The 1,457-square-foot Work& space features three lactation rooms and five wellness suites, the latter of which are intended to offer employees a private space and time for telehealth appointments, meditation, prayer, and other needs. The hybrid space, designed by Houston-based Inventure, represents Work&'s shift to offer an array of holistic health and wellness solutions to landlords for tenants.

Work& rebranded from Work&Mother earlier this year. The company was previously focused on outfitting commercial buildings with lactation accommodations for working parents, equipped with a hospital-grade pump, milk storage bags, sanitizing wipes, and other supplies. While Work& will still offer these services through its Work&Mother branch, the addition of its Work&Wellbeing arm allows the company to also "address the broader wellness needs of all employees," according to an announcement made on LinkedIn.

"We are thrilled to bring Work&Mother and Work&Wellbeing to The Plazas," Jules Lairson, co-founder and COO of Work&, said in a news release. “This partnership brings every stakeholder together – employees, employers and landlords all benefit from this kind of forward-thinking tenant experience. We are excited to launch our Work&Wellbeing concept with MetroNational to ensure that all employees have their wellness needs met with private, clean, quiet spaces for use during the workday.”

The new space is available to all tenants across Memorial City Plazas, comprised of three office towers totaling 1 million square feet of Class A office space. In addition to the lactation and wellness suites, the space also features custom banquettes, private lounge seating and phone booths.

“As a family-owned and operated company, MetroNational is deeply committed to fostering a workplace that supports both productivity and the well-being of all our tenants,” Anne Marie Ratliff, vice president of asset management for MetroNational, added in the release. “Partnering with Work& reinforces this commitment, enhancing our workplace experience and setting a new standard for tenant amenities.”

Work& has five Houston locations and several others in major metros, including New York, Austin, D.C., Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami. According to its website, the company will also introduce a Work&Wellbeing suite in New York.

Abbey Donnell spoke with InnovationMap on the Houston Innovators Podcast about why she founded the company and its plans for growth in 2021. Click here to learn more.

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