Houston’s tech scene has made many strides in recent years to set a foundation for startups to thrive, from founding to late stage, across industries. With a wealth of incubators coming online and a sharp uptick in venture capital funding, startups now have more landing spots and opportunity for growth in Houston than ever before.   We spoke to three tech startups about their experiences in Houston, including two that launched last year and one that recently relocated to Houston.   Envana Software Solutions Envana, a software-as-a-service company built to organize, model and forecast oil and gas industry emissions, has experienced tremendous growth since its launch in January 2023. The startup is a joint venture by Halliburton and Siguler Guff.  Envana's growth is marked by clients including the world’s second-largest oilfield services provider, national oil companies in APAC and Europe, and leading U.S. service providers. As the company prepares for future goals, Envana says it is looking not only to respond to demands within oil and gas, but to other energy sectors to help corporations manage their emissions.  “There’s no better place in the world for an oil and gas SaaS company to be based than Houston, Texas.  Houston is the ideal birth city for an energy startup.  For Envana –a Halliburton JV with private equity firm Siguler Guff– the city’s features, including access to investment capital, industry experts, and thought leadership in the evolving energy space, make it a prime geography. The number of energy companies based in Houston looking for innovative industry solutions is unparalleled elsewhere in the world.”  - Sally Lechin, Global Marketing, Envana  Allthenticate  Allthenticate describes itself as a cybersecurity startup on a mission to create seamless and efficient security solutions for companies via a smartphone application. The company is primarily focused on security at tech companies, though they intend to expand more of their presence to medtech and energy.   Allthenticate’s story began in 2012 as co-founder Dr. Chad Spensky pursued his PhD, eventually earning a job as a security researcher at MIT working to find gaps in security. Spensky and co-founder Rita Mounir teamed up at a startup competition at UC-Santa Barbara, taking first place and getting traction with early investors. The company was headquartered in Santa Barbara until 2022, when Spensky and his wife relocated to Houston. Allthenticate officially relocated to downtown later that year following a short stint in The Ion and learning of the many advantages the region offers as a hub for headquarters.  Allthenticate is going through another fundraising round following a $3.9 million round in 2022. The team says it remains focused on perfecting the hardware, software and application amid a rapidly changing list of security challenges, including deepfakes.  “As we’re pushing so many world’s firsts in our industry, I think our goal is to become the premier identity and access management company in the world. A lot of giants are trying to catch up, but I think we have an advantage here in what we’re doing and what we’ve built so far. In five years, I believe we will be THE identity management solution.” – Rita Mounir, Co-founder, Allthenticate  Think Diffusion  In 2023, three-time startup founder Phu Ngo produced Think Diffusion, an advanced AI video production platform. Think Diffusion has already established itself with noteworthy names, producing animated content for Toyota, McDonald’s and even a music video for Toni Braxton. Think Diffusion leverages cutting-edge open-source AI technologies to offer a comprehensive and integrated platform for AI art and video generation. Its commitment to open-source has led three universities - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, PVCC-Melbourne, and the National University of Singapore - to adopt Think Diffusion for their innovation labs.  Think Diffusion was started by Ngo, a Vietnamese-born Houstonian whose family found opportunity in the Lone Star State as he was growing up. Following an education at UT-Austin and UC-Santa Barbara, Ngo established himself as a software developer, eventually launching three startups. Think Diffusion spun out of Kinetic Chain Labs following a special request for animated video content, which resulted in an ultra-sophisticated art generator. For Ngo, Houston serves as an ideal place to start a business and call home.  “Houston is home for me, it has great tax advantages and there’s a lot to like. I’m excited by the growing tech hub forming here – I think the startup community at the Ion is a great example of that. On top of that, the food is amazing, the weather is great, and you get a great ROI on your money – it’s amazing here in terms of quality of life.” – Phu Ngo, CEO, Think Diffusion  Currently, Think Diffusion states that it is working on launching new experimental open-source products, expanding into AI-generated text and music, and increasing its focus on the education industry. Looking ahead, the team is ready to embrace the challenges and advantages that the future of AI could bring.  Learn more about Houston’s tech and innovation ecosystem. 

Often referred to as the “Boating Capital of Texas”, Bay Area Houston is a top destination for businesses, families, and tourists, thanks in part to its close proximity to Galveston and Houston.  Encompassing a widely diverse region, the Bay Area stretches from Pasadena to Galveston, consisting of communities such as La Porte, Seabrook, Clear Lake Shores, Webster, Friendswood, League City, Dickinson, Texas City, and La Marque.  Boasting the nation’s third largest concentration of recreational boating centers and a variety of amateur sports, outdoor activities, beaches and parks, the Bay Area’s waterfront contributes to its high quality of life and has propelled growth in its recreation and tourism industry, while population growth in the area and the arrival of new facilities has buoyed the region’s health care sector.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey, the Bay Area has experienced consistent growth in population, income, and employment since 2016 and is home to over 560,000 residents, based on 2019 data from the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership.  Business Climate  Home to the NASA Johnson Space Center, Ellington Airport, and one of the world’s only truly urban commercial spaceports, Bay Area Houston is known as the nexus for Houston’s aerospace and aviation industries.  Additionally, the Bay Area is also an important hub for transportation and logistics, health care and life sciences, and tourism. Other industries of note include specialty chemical, maritime, and recreation.  Its robust industrial presence is supported by the construction of several industrial parks and complexes, as well as new warehouse and distribution centers and facilities.   Packwell, a plastics bagging and logistics company based in La Porte, recently broke ground on a 725,000-square-foot resin packaging facility at Port Houston’s Bayport Industrial Complex while Kao Corporation recently broke ground on a $250 million tertiary amine production plant in Pasadena.  Business Developments  Houston Spaceport  The Houston Spaceport serves as a center for collaboration and innovation in the aerospace community. Earlier this year, the company announced that it will launch Phase II of its expansion project with plans to begin work within the next 12 months. Phase II will stretch over 300 acres, offering more parcels for aerospace companies, a hotel, restaurants, and retail space.  Axiom Space broke ground this spring on a 23-acre campus that will house its new headquarters and space station production facility at the Spaceport. The campus will contain spaces for astronaut training, mission control facilities, and engineering development and testing labs. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in December 2023 to officially open the first phase of the development. Axiom has also leased space in Webster for engineering and production operations.  Collins Aerospace recently opened a 120,000-square-foot facility that will allow for expanded operations, manufacturing, and testing. Its new facility will support the development and testing of several key space systems, including the next-generation spacesuit.  Intuitive Machines broke ground on 12.5 acres at the Houston Spaceport with a 125,000-square-foot facility under construction that will house office, laboratory, production, assembly, and test space.  Mixed Use  A number of communities in the Bay Area Houston region have mixed use developments planned, including Seabrook, League City, Texas City, Friendswood, and more.  Seabrook Plaza on NASA Parkway is a 15-acre, $170 million mixed-use waterfront development that will feature two Margaritaville-branded hotels. The development will also include a 10,000-square-foot event center, a seven-story apartment complex, and 20,000 square feet of waterfront dining.  Riverview at Clear Creek in League City is another waterfront mixed-use development spanning 59 acres that will include a hotel, multifamily project, townhomes, an amphitheater, boardwalk and trails, and retail space and restaurants. The project also has marina infrastructure work currently underway.  Plaza 96 is a 75,000-square-foot mixed use development in League City that will have space for retail, restaurants, medical offices, and office warehouses. It is expected to break ground this year. One Sixty One in downtown Friendswood is a 5.5-acre development anchored by a boutique hotel and banquet room. The project will also include residences and executive offices, restaurants, retail, collaborative spaces, and a green rooftop experience. New construction began this spring. Click to expand Rendering of One Sixty One boutique hotel Photo courtesy of Banfield Properties, Inc.   Recreation & Tourism  Peninsula Beach Resort is a 110-acre resort development on Bolivar Peninsula at Crystal Beach that will include over 200 beach houses and cottages, in addition to five mid-rise condominium buildings and 50 RV sites. The development will also include a clubhouse, beach bar, and an FAA-approved airport, making it the only fly-in beach resort in the U.S.  Great Wolf Lodge broke ground on a new hotel, indoor waterpark, and conference center in Webster in 2022, with the resort planned to open in 2024. Representing a $200 million investment, the 27-acre site will also boast a 58,000-square-foot family entertainment center called Great Wolf Adventure Park.  Education  Bay Area Houston is home to several higher education institutions, including the University of Houston-Clear Lake, which touts one of the most complete biotechnology graduate programs in the state, as well as San Jacinto College, College of the Mainland, Lee College, and Houston Community College.  College of the Mainland, a community college in Texas City with locations in League City and La Marque, opened its Industrial Careers Building in fall 2022 and has several new buildings planned, including a 134,000-square-foot library and classroom building, a 20,000-square-foot corporate and continuing education center, a 50,000-square-foot public services center, and a three-story classroom building.  Lee College recently opened its new 11,000-square-foot Corporate Training Center that will offer hands-on technical training, including onboarding and upskilling, and leadership development for employees of all levels. The center will give students and employees the opportunity to work with equipment that is being used in the field, as well as a number of training labs.  San Jacinto College is planning to launch a new degree program in spring 2024 that seeks to fill the workforce gap in early childhood education. The new Bachelor of Applied Science in education will target paraprofessionals and individuals who work for other early-learning programs.  Learn more about Houston’s surrounding regions.