Houston coworking concept expands with new location

coming soon

The Cannon is opening a new location just down the road from its headquarters. Photo courtesy of The Cannon

The Cannon has announced its latest coworking location, and it's not too far from where the company's original facility launched.

The Cannon Memorial is expected to open this spring in Two Memorial City Plaza (820 Gessner) within MetroNational's Memorial City, a 265-acre planned development in west Houston. The coworking concept will take up one floor with 21,960 square feet of space.

"We are delighted to unveil The Cannon Memorial as a pivotal addition to Houston's dynamic business landscape," Jon Lambert, CEO of The Cannon, says in a news release. "Our expansion into Two Memorial City Plaza aligns seamlessly with our mission to cultivate innovation, collaboration, and success within the business community. We eagerly anticipate welcoming entrepreneurs and professionals to experience the unparalleled environment we've created."

The new location is less than three miles from The Cannon West Houston (1334 Brittmoore Rd) and will feature:

  • 38 private office spaces
  • accomodations for over 60 flex users
  • 24/7 access for members
  • free covered parking in the attached garage
  • programmed events, workshops, and networking sessions

“MetroNational is thrilled that The Cannon Memorial is opening and is another exciting milestone in our continued commitment to constantly elevate and enhance the services and experiences at Memorial City,” Anne Marie Ratliff, vice president of Asset Management at MetroNational, says in the release. “This partnership represents not just a collaboration but a testament to our dedication to staying at the forefront of innovation.”

The Cannon — founded in 2017 by Lawson Gow, the son of David Gow, founder of InnovationMap's parent company, Gow Media — has a presence in seven of Houston's regions, including west Houston, downtown, uptown, Fish Creek, The Woodlands, Pearland, and Galveston.

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Lawson Gow, CEO and founder of The Cannon, has officially opened cut the ribbon on the West Houston startup incubation hub. Courtesy of Quy Tran/The Cannon

Photos: The Cannon Houston makes grand debut with live fundraising and immersive activities

Open for business

The coworking and acceleration hub that's been holding down the Houston innovation ecosystem's West Houston presence has officially cut the ribbon and celebrated its grand opening.

Just hours after announcing The Downtown Launch Pad on October 24, The Cannon Houston celebrated the grand opening of its 120,0000-square-foot home at 1334 Brittmoore Road. The party welcomed over 600 innovators, Cannon members, and visitors.

Founder and CEO, Lawson Gow, who is also the son of InnovationMap's parent company's CEO, cut the ribbon on the new building that houses over 250 companies and is nearly sold out for leasing opportunities.

"It's been incredible watching The Cannon come to life since it was a drawing on a whiteboard," says Gow in a news release. "There are far too many people to thank — from the first community members that joined us in The Waiting Room more than 18 months ago, the numerous partners, investors, ecosystem members and resources that have helped us get where we are today, all the way to our new members who patiently waited for the space to open."

Gow's "Waiting Room" building is still in existence adjacent to the new building — the landlord of the property is operating it, but Cannon companies have all moved in to the new facility.

The grand opening event showcased all the startups and entrepreneurs based in The Cannon, plus hosted mental breaks — with free massages and cuddles with dogs — and other activities like poker and pingpong.

One Cannon-based startup, LetsLaunch, even hosted a live pitch event for a few of the companies using its digital investment platform, including: Camppedia, Social Chains, Pill Golf, and Paylight. Since the live pitch last week, LetsLaunch has seen a $21,000 increase of investment online.

While The Cannon team is settled, the organization already has growth and expansion in the works.

"Each person had a major part in getting us where we are today," Gow says. "We knew that Houston was in desperate need of a resource like this and are thankful to be able to build this community and fulfill our mission of supporting Houston's entrepreneurs."

Off with a blast

the cannon grand opening

Courtesy of Quy Tran/The Cannon

The Cannon welcomed in over 600 members, staff, and guests into its new home on Thursday, October 24.

Amazon has invested over $10 billion into Texas since 2010. Photo via blog.aboutamazon.com

Amazon opens newest Tech Hub in Houston and plans to hire

It's 'zon

A year and a half after Houston was left off the list of 20 cities Amazon was pursuing for its second United States headquarters, the tech giant chose the Bayou City to house its 18th North American Tech Hub.

Amazon opened the doors of the hub on Friday, July 26, in 25,000-square-feet of space in CITYCENTRE, and the company has plans to hire to round out its team of 150 Amazon Web Services employees to work out of the hub.

"We're looking forward to becoming a bigger part of the Houston community," says Kris Satterthwaite, Gulf Coast enterprise sales leader of AWS, in a release. "Houston is a fantastic place to live and work, and has a strong local economy that we look forward to investing in and growing together."

The city of Houston, along with the Greater Houston Partnership, has worked to make Houston appealing to big business and tech giants, says Susan Davenport, senior vice president of economic development at the GHP.

"The expansion of Amazon's Houston workforce is indicative of a larger trend we are seeing of the major cloud players opting to locate their teams closer to their customers here in Houston," Davenport says in an email to InnovationMap. "Our energy, life sciences and manufacturing sectors are data-intensive, and this move makes a lot of sense. This is not the first, and I doubt it will be the last. A great portion of the digital tech industry's activity to this point has been focused on business-to-consumer, and is now shifting to business-to-business. Houston is largely a B2B city, so we stand to gain from this trend."

The Tech Hubs in North America have over 20,000 employees. Around 1,000 of those are from Amazon's Austin Tech Hub, which opened around four years ago and was recently announced to be in the process of expanding to include another 800 Austin employees, per the Wall Street Journal.

The company has invested $10 billion into Texas since 2010, according to the release, and Houston's diversity, universities, and quality of life were attractive to Amazon.

"Houston is such a culturally diverse city, with so many international companies based here," says Eddie Murray, global accounts lead, in a release. "We're excited to create great jobs and hire locally to boost the local economy while also giving back to the community through programs like Amazon Future Engineer."

The Amazon Future Engineer program is an initiative to help propel kids from under-served areas into careers in computer science. The program is in 35 Houston schools. Amazon also provided disaster relief aid after Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

"We have worked for the last couple of years to accelerate the growth of Houston's digital tech ecosystem, and we've got quite a bit of momentum with The Ion, TMC3, The Cannon, and so many others," Davenport adds. "The opening of Amazon's tech hub is another indicator of Houston's growing presence as an innovation-focused city."

The Cannon's new building is 88 percent leased and ready for move in. Courtesy of The Cannon

Photos: The Cannon unveils its 120,000-square-foot startup hub in West Houston

Homecoming

The Cannon is finally getting to move its 150 startups and partners into its 120,000-square-foot campus in West Houston.

The original plan was to open in March, but construction, which began in April 2018, faced a series of setbacks due to weather. Current grand opening celebration plans are expected to be in September.

The flagship building is just the first step developing the campus, which is dubbed the Founders District.

"Our team has worked tirelessly to build this community over the past eighteen months, and we are incredibly proud to see our vision coming to life with the completion of this building," says The Cannon's CEO Lawson Gow in a news release. "The work isn't over though, and The Cannon will continue to grow our network of resources and locations to cater to the needs of Houston's growing entrepreneurial community." (Gow is the son of David Gow, owner of InnovationMap's parent company Gow Media.)

The building is currently 88 percent leased. Cannon Ventures, the company's investor group, will operate out of the new building, as will Capital Factory's Houston outpost. Austin-based Capital Factory, a statewide startup accelerator announced it would have its Houston operations at The Cannon in May. Since then, the company hired two Houston-based employees to run the programming.

According to the release, The Cannon will continue to grow its community relations for a "full suite" of partners. Houston-based investment fund Work America Capital, which led The Cannon's initial fundraising round, will also be joining The Cannon's community in the new building.

"It has been incredible to watch The Cannon's exceptional growth from inception two years ago to the vibrant community they've built today," says Mark Toon, managing partner of Work America Capital, in the release. "We can't wait to see the progress first-hand as The Cannon continues to establish themselves as a leader in building entrepreneurial communities."

The Cannon previously operated out of a 20,000-square-foot adjacent building called "The Waiting Room," which will be torn down and the space will be used as a part of the bigger Founders District plan.

The Cannon's new space will feature:

  • A 16-TV video wall
  • Outdoor courtyard
  • Movie theater
  • Snacks, coffee, and beer
  • Office needs, such as printers, scanners, and mail services
  • Showers
  • 24/7 accessibility
  • Professional and social events are organized on an ongoing basis for the community
  • Private event hosting for both members and non-members

Spacious setting

Courtesy of The Cannon

The Cannon is currently 88 percent leased.

Concession food to your seat? Sign InnovationMap readers up. Courtesy of sEATz

5 top trending innovation stories in Houston this week

What you're reading

Editor's note: Not entirely surprisingly, this week's views were skewed heavily toward an app that allows stadium food delivery right to your seat, wine-picking technology, a slideshow of a growing coworking space, and more.

Houston startup is making stadium food a whole new ballgame

A new app, sEATz, is the UberEats of stadium food. You order right from your phone in your seat. Getty Images

Marshall Law's wife, Melissa, surprised him and his two sons with tickets to see the Astros play at home in the 2017 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but a rush to get to the game and a packed stadium lead to him waiting in a long concessions line in the second inning.

Law watched on a TV screen next to the food counter as the fourth pitch from Yu Darvish to Yuli Gurriel hit two rows past the Laws' seats, bouncing back toward where they were supposed to be sitting. Law couldn't shake the feeling of missing out on the homer. Why couldn't someone have brought them the food, he thought. He'd have paid $50 — maybe more — to not miss that moment.

"Everything gets delivered these days. Any kind of food to your groceries, all right to you. Why isn't someone doing this?" Law says he was thought as he walked out of the game. Read the full story here.

Photos: West Houston coworking space 50 percent leased ahead of early 2019 opening

The Cannon's 120,000-square-foot space is on track to open March 1. Courtesy of The Cannon

Everything's bigger in Texas, and Houston will soon have a coworking space to reflect that. The Cannon is on track to open its West Houston 120,000-square-foot, 32-acre coworking and entrepreneurship campus by March 1.

"We're going to have, as far as I know, the biggest coworking space in the world," says Lawson Gow, founder and CEO of The Cannon. "It's a really Houston-sized solution to the problem of the challenge we set out to face." Read the full story here.

3 Houston health tech innovators to know this week

Armed with their doctorate degrees and startups, these three STEM biotech innovators are going places. Courtesy photos

Whether it's for dogs or dating, Houston is prime for innovative leaders in health science startups, and there are three in particular you need to know going into a new week. From a DNA-based dating app creator and a researcher curing cancer in dogs to cutting-edge biotech leader, here are the Houston innovators to know. Doctorate degrees and startup companies in hand, each of these entrepreneurs is going places. Read the full story here.

Houston company aims to equally equip female workers

SeeHerWork launched its line of female-gear in September. Courtesy of SeeHerWork

When Jane Henry was working on her home right after Hurricane Harvey — her house got three feet of mud in it — she went to throw a board into the dumpster, and her glove went with it.

Henry says the industry standard is to recommend small and extra-small sizes for women's workwear, but as a ladies large in athletic gloves, Henry still had a good inch or so of glove at her fingertips in her workwear gloves.

"I went upstairs to my sewing room, and I ripped that glove apart and I resewed it to fit my hand," Henry says. Read the full story here.

Houston entrepreneur makes a splash with wine-selecting technology

Houston-based VineSleuth created a custom algorithm to match you with new wines based on wines you've had in the past. Courtesy of VineSleuth

Amy Gross wants to find you the perfect wine. In fact, she wants it so much, she built her company, VineSleuth, around the concept that technology and machine learning could find the best wine to match individual palates.

VineSleuth's custom algorithm is backed by research from sensory scientists at Cornell University, and relies on both data collection and machine learning to determine specific wines that will match an individual customer's tastes. Flavor profiles from thousands of wines are incorporated into her database, and none of those are based on the typical wine scores you'll see in magazines or reviews of wines. Read the full story here.


The Cannon's 120,000-square-foot space is on track to open March 1. Courtesy of The Cannon

Photos: West Houston coworking space 50 percent leased ahead of early 2019 opening

Ready, aim, fire

Everything's bigger in Texas, and Houston will soon have a coworking space to reflect that. The Cannon is on track to open its West Houston 120,000-square-foot, 32-acre coworking and entrepreneurship campus by March 1.

"We're going to have, as far as I know, the biggest coworking space in the world," says Lawson Gow, founder and CEO of The Cannon. "It's a really Houston-sized solution to the problem of the challenge we set out to face."

The construction broke ground in April, and Gow — son of David Gow, owner of InnovationMap's parent company Gow Media — says they haven't seen any real delays so far. The new space will have 11 meeting rooms, sound-proof phone booths, 24-hour access, health and wellness room, courtyard, movie theater, a gameroom, and more to offer its coworkers.

Currently, The Cannon's coworkers are functioning out of a 20,000-square-foot space at 1336 Brittmoore Road, also known as the waiting room, which is adjacent to the construction.

The Cannon has 50 percent of the new space already leased — and Gow says about 75 percent of the pre-leased companies are already companies working out of The Cannon. Gow says he's just started doing some promotion around leasing — hard hat happy hours and tours — but he's not too worried about being 100 percent leased. He just wants to make sure there are enough companies in there by opening day.

"We've painstakingly created the culture of the community in The Cannon in the space we're in now, and we have to do that all over again," Gow says. "We want to have the hustle and bustle in the space, and you can't do that if it's empty."

Two Houston-based companies are responsible for the project; Burton Construction is the general contractor and Abel Design Group is the architect.

A few years ago, Gow says he recognized a need in Houston — and The Cannon was his solution.

"The problem that we're addressing — every startup is addressing a problem — is Houston has really struggled to develop vibrant startup communities," Gow says. "Entrepreneurs and talent will leave to go to Austin and beyond, and so the mission was to create a place and an infrastructure and a density of resources to prevent them from having to do that and keep our entrepreneurs here."

Large and in charge

Courtesy of The Cannon

The new Cannon facility will be the largest coworking space in Houston, says Lawson Gow, founder and CEO of The Cannon.

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Bristol Myers Squibb to build $2.3B Houston pharma manufacturing campus

coming soon

New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb Co. has officially named Houston as the home of its new state-of-the-art manufacturing site.

The 60,000-square-foot facility represents a $2.3 billion investment, according to a news release. It is expected to create 500 skilled jobs and will be located in Houston's Generation Park.

BMS first announced that it was considering Houston among 16 other cities for the facility in May. The new hub will manufacture small molecule, biologic and antibody-drug conjugates and is part of a $40 billion commitment to invest in the United States over five years. Construction is slated to begin next year, with the facility coming online in 2030.

"We're building the domestic manufacturing capabilities needed to deliver the next generation of medicines and support future scientific breakthroughs. Houston and the state of Texas offer the talent, infrastructure, and partnership needed to help bring that vision to life," Christopher Boerner, CEO and board chair of BMS, said in the release.

The new facility will feature a modular, multi-modal design, which will allow the company to reconfigure and add to its manufacturing capabilities over time. BMS says it expects the facility to "(grow) in scale and capability well beyond its opening configuration."

"Our decision to build this state-of-the-art manufacturing campus in Houston, Texas, reflects our confidence in the region’s ability to support a world-class, digitally advanced supply operation,” Karin Shanahan, EVP and chief supply chain and operations officer of BMS, added in the release. “This facility is designed to deliver the speed, quality, and reliability that patients depend on, combining flexible, modular manufacturing with advanced digital capabilities to ensure consistent supply across multiple modalities. It strengthens our ability to operate with resilience and positions us to reliably deliver medicines to patients today while adapting future demands.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared that the state has granted BMS a $4.89 million Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant for the project. TEF grants, administered by the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office, support business relocation or expansion projects that create "new, good-paying jobs in the community and attract significant new capital investment to the state." The development is also a qualified project under the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation (JETI) program.

“Texas is a global hub for life sciences, where today’s innovations shape the future of healthcare,” Abbott said in a news release. “This $2.3 billion investment by Bristol Myers Squibb in the dynamic biotech ecosystem in Houston is a testament to the depth of our skilled workforce and the pipeline of talent coming through our nation-leading technical colleges and research universities. With lower operating costs and easy access to markets across the U.S. and the world, Texas drives affordability for consumers.”

"Bristol Myers Squibb’s announcement is a tremendous win for Texas and the Houston region, further reinforcing our position as a premier destination for life sciences and advanced manufacturing,” added Greater Houston Partnership President and CEO Steve Kean.

Last fall, Eli Lilly and Co. selected Generation Park, a 4,300-acre, master-planned commercial district near Lake Houston, for its $6.5 billion manufacturing plant. More than 300 locations in the U.S. competed for the factory. Read more here.

Texas foundation makes massive $180M donation to Galveston hospital

historic gift

The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston (UTMB) has accepted a staggering $130 million grant from the Sealy & Smith Foundation, which, combined with the $50 million that the foundation donated in 2025 to establish the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, is the largest bequest in UTMB history.

The grant will go to grow cardiovascular imaging, diagnosis, and treatment at UTMB by establishing an inpatient cardiovascular hub on the sixth floor of Jennie Sealy Hospital. In honor of the donation, the department is being renamed the Sealy Heart and Vascular Institute.

“The Sealy & Smith Foundation has a long history of investing in initiatives that transform health care for the people of Galveston and beyond,” said John Kelso, president of The Sealy & Smith Foundation Board of Directors. “We believe the Sealy Heart & Vascular Institute has the potential to redefine cardiovascular care in our region by bringing together exceptional physicians, advanced technology, innovative research and a commitment to improving patient outcomes. This additional investment reflects our confidence in UTMB’s vision and our belief that the Institute will have a lasting impact for generations to come.”

The Sealy & Smith Foundation was established in 1922 by John Sealy II and his sister Jennie Sealy Smith. Bolstered by the Sealy fortune built on shipping, oil, banking, and railroads, the Foundation has donated more than $1.2 billion to UTMB over the last century, linking the family legacy to healthcare, teaching, and research. It was John Sealy Sr. who contributed the initial $50,000 to build a hospital on the island, which opened right alongside the new medical school created by the state legislator in what was then Texas's largest and most economically powerful city.

Since then, the Foundation has helped grow UTMB into a world-class hospital. The cardiovascular care especially is well-regarded, making the 2025 Newsweek/Statista List of America's Best Hospitals.

“This extraordinary investment reflects The Sealy & Smith Foundation’s unwavering commitment to improving health and advancing medical excellence,” said Dr. Jochen Reiser, UTMB president and CEO of the UTMB Health System. “The partnership between UTMB and The Sealy & Smith Foundation is very strong. Built on generations of shared vision and trust, it continues to redefine what an academic health system can achieve. Together, we are building one of the nation’s premier cardiovascular programs integrating exceptional patient care, groundbreaking research, innovation and world-class education to improve the lives of patients throughout Texas and beyond.”

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

UTHealth Houston team joins NASA initiative to protect border drinking water

water watch

Climate change means far more to public health than living with hotter days. Transformations in our weather are contributing to challenges in accessing safe drinking water in some communities.

One of the most dire situations is along the US–Mexico border. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is seeking to address that issue with its Water Quality Applications program. An 11-researcher project led by a UTHealth Houston School of Public Health faculty member has been selected to participate.

“Drinking water is one of the most fundamental public health protections, but producing safe drinking water involves a delicate balance,” Yun Hang, assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences, said in a news release. Her team’s proposal was one of 93 that were submitted for funding through NASA’s Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES)-2025 program.

This is the first time that NASA has worked with a team devoted to water quality applications. The group, which includes researchers from across the nation, will use satellite observations of Earth, as well as hydrologic modeling, to potentially anticipate and act on water quality conditions as they change. Challenges addressed over the course of the three-year program, which kicked off in June, might include problems with water quality due to climate variability and increased pressure on water resources.

Hang’s team will focus on a pair of borderlands: Paso del Norte and the Rio Grande Valley.

“Working closely with El Paso Water ensures that our research addresses real operational needs while helping utilities better prepare for climate-related water quality changes and continue providing safe drinking water to communities across the Texas border region,” Hang added in the release.

She and the team will use data gathered by NASA on both past and future Earth-observing missions, which will allow them to track environmental changes that may affect source water quality. Combined with past water treatment records and hydrologic models, the team will also utilize artificial intelligence to develop predictive tools that aim to stop issues before they become larger hurdles to water safety.

Another one of the project’s goals is to create visualization tools and source water summaries that can be utilized by those without scientific expertise. The tools will be produced in English and Spanish to further broaden their accessibility.

The hope is that the materials made by the team will also go far beyond the border, with protocols that can be adapted or adopted by other areas dealing with water quality issues.

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