Editor's note:Let's roundup the most-read Houston innovation news from the week. Trending Houston tech and startup articles from InnovationMap and its daily newsletter included Houston companies being named best places to work, a new exec for a fast-growing startup, and more.
16 Houston-based companies hailed best places to work by U.S. News
Houston tied with Dallas-Fort Worth to produce the highest number of top-rated employers in Texas. Photo by Thaddious Thomas on Unsplash
More than a dozen Houston-based companies are sharing the spotlight in U.S. News and World Report's collection of the "Best Companies to Work For" in 2024-2025.
The annual report examines publicly-traded companies around the world to determine the best employers based on six metrics including work-life balance and flexibility; quality of pay and benefits; job and company stability; career opportunities and professional development; and more. The companies were not ranked, but included based on reader surveys and publicly available data about each workplace.
New for the 2024-2025 report, U.S. News analyzed 549 companies across 29 different lists, including the overall best companies list — which includes the best 300 companies across the U.S., the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Bermuda — 24 industry-specific lists, and four regional lists. Continue reading.
$1M donation to Rice establishes pioneering neuro-policy center in Houston
Harry Yan and Weiman Gao have bestowed $1 million on the Baker Institute of Public Policy to establish the interdisciplinary Neuro-Policy Program. Photo via rice.edu
A big donation to Rice University will soon help researchers better understand the workings of the human brain.
Harry Yan and Weiman Gao have bestowed $1 million on the Baker Institute of Public Policy to establish the interdisciplinary Neuro-Policy Program.
Neuro-policy is a newer field that explores how brain health and function can help to fuel economic growth.
“The Neuro-Policy Program is at the forefront of pioneering data analysis, empirical research and policy application,” says Harris Eyre, the lead for the program, as well as a senior fellow in brain health at the Baker Institute. Continue reading.
Houston university teams up with angel group to reach, upskill future investors
The partnership between UH and HAN will bolster accredited early-stage investors and accelerate opportunities for aspiring startup investors. Photo via Getty Images
Through a new partnership with the Houston Angel Network and Houston Exponential, the University of Houston will help cultivate startup investors among UH alumni.
The partnership will bolster accredited early-stage investors and accelerate opportunities for aspiring startup investors, the university says in a news release.
“Investors play a vital role in the startup ecosystem and this initiative gives our alumni a rapid path to becoming angels. Our vision is to activate more investors with deep connections to UH who support world-class innovation in our community and beyond,” says Ramanan Krishnamoorti, the university’s vice president for energy and innovation. Continue reading.
Education equity-focused nonprofit taps into robotics, AI to better serve Houston children
Collaborative for Children is focused on utilizing social-emotional learning robots and coding tech toys. Photo courtesy of Collaborative for Children
Generally, when children are under the age of five, educators believe that they are best suited for and interested in learning, because those are the years in which there is the strongest opportunity to build a broad and solid foundation for lifelong literacy and well-being.
That sentiment is deeply held by Collaborative for Children, the Houston-based nonprofit organization with the mission to meaningfully improve the quality of early childhood education and provide access to cutting-edge technology through its Centers of Excellence to all children, especially those in low-income and marginalized communities.
“The reason the organization was started about 40 years ago is that a group of philanthropists in the greater Houston area suggested that this was so important because 90 percent of the brain develops or grows in the time frame between ages zero to five years of age,” Melanie Johnson, president and CEO of Collaborative for Children, tells InnovationMap. Continue reading.
Former Shopify exec joins Houston scale-up e-commerce software company
Fast-growing Cart.com has named its new chief people officer. Photo courtesy of Cart.com
Houston-based e-commerce software and services company Cart.com has hired a former Shopify executive as its chief people officer.
Before joining Cart.com, Lani Doyle was chief HR officer at Strategic Solutions Group, a provider of health care software. Previously, she was vice president of HR and people operations at 6 River Systems, a provider of software and robotics for warehouses. Prior to that, Doyle was head of talent development and operations at Shopify, an e-commerce platform for businesses that posted revenue of $7.1 billion in 2023.
“Cart.com is one of the fastest-growing companies in commerce today, and I’m excited to partner with our teams to help drive growth and scalability,” Doyle says in a news release. “I am eager to contribute to shaping our culture and developing programming that supports and elevates high-performing teams, ensuring we achieve our ambitious goals.” Continue reading.