Skip to main content

Innovation

Houston is where innovation and industry converge. Ours is a city that chooses to take humankind's boldest challenges head-on, from landing on the moon to developing the first artificial heart. And Houston's innovation ecosystem continues to thrive through programs like TMC Innovation Institute at the Texas Medical Center and spaces like the emerging Innovation District. 

#5

Houston ranks #5 in the U.S. in Fortune 1000 headquarters

Fortune 500
#3

Houston ranks #3 among U.S. metro areas in Fortune 500 headquarters

5.3%

Retail market vacancy rate is 5.3% as of Q3/24

Innovation Corridor

Houston’s Innovation Corridor is at the center of an extraordinarily powerful social and economic convergence. The four-mile-long Corridor is linked by light-rail, bike lanes, and pedestrian thoroughfares, and offers easy access to key industry and institutional players along with an unparalleled array of amenities. It runs from Downtown on the north end, south through Midtown, the Museum District and the Texas Medical Center. 

 

Innovation District

Rice University is currently developing a new innovation district in Midtown. Housed on a 16-acre site anchored by a former Sears building, the hub will bring the area's entrepreneurial, corporate and academic communities together. The nucleus of the Innovation District is The Ion, a nearly 300,000-square-foot structure that serves as a collaborative space for businesses at all stages of the innovation lifecycle. A number of companies and nonprofits have taken up residence in the development.

Houston Tech and Innovation Conversations at SXSW

A Data-Driven Look at Houston's Innovation Ecosystem

The Partnership's Josh Pherigo takes a data-driven look at the current trends in the startup space and the Houston region's momentum in building a thriving innovation ecosystem.

Watch

The Power of Diversity in Innovation

Jan Odegard of The Ion and Ashley DeWalt of DivInc Houston talk about the power of diversity within innovation.

Watch

Corporate Partnerships Drive Innovation in Life Sciences

Fiona Mack of JLABS at TMC discusses how Houston is quickly emerging as a hub for life sciences innovation.

Watch

The Houston Tech Report

This report outlines the tremendous growth in Houston’s tech ecosystem in recent years as evidenced by the expanding workforce as well as startup and venture capital activity. The report also highlights the region’s unique strengths in the sector. 

tech report cover.PNG

Houston Exponential

Houston Exponential is a dynamic organization that serves, organizes, champions and grows the region’s innovation ecosystem. HX is accelerating the development of Houston’s innovation economy, fostering a robust ecosystem that supports high-growth, high-impact startups. HX works to convene the ecosystem, helping to build an innovation district in Houston and attracting talent to the region and promoting Houston’s image, both locally and nationally, as a vibrant, innovative economy where startups thrive.

Houston's Innovation Partners

Related News

Construction

Construction Tech Pioneer Mercator.ai Launches AI- Powered Business Development Platform in Houston's $25B Commercial Construction Market

12/6/24
Construction projects are won through relationships, 65% of business developers' time is spent searching for leads. Mercator.ai brings its visionary AI business development platform to Houston, flipping that equation for Texas's largest construction market.   HOUSTON, TX (December 2024) -- Mercator.ai, the leading AI-powered business development platform for commercial construction, announced its expansion into the Houston market. This strategic move follows the company's successful launch in Austin earlier this year and marks another milestone in Mercator's ambitious Texas growth strategy.   Houston's robust commercial construction sector, a cornerstone of Texas's $22.3 billion construction industry, represents a strategic growth opportunity for Mercator.ai's innovative construction technology platform. The expansion enables Houston-based general contractors, subcontractors, and construction service providers to access real-time insight into upcoming project opportunities earlier than ever before.    "Houston's sprawling growth and increasing competitive landscape make it ripe for innovation and the perfect next step in our Texas expansion," said Chloe Smith, CEO & Co-founder of Mercator.ai. "Our platform transforms how construction professionals discover and qualify new projects, reducing weeks of business development research into minutes and enabling teams to start building mutually profitable relationships at the earliest possible project stage."   The platform's expansion into Houston includes:  Access to relationship mapping and contact information for key project stakeholders Complete coverage of private and public commercial and industrial construction projects across the City of Houston Real-time monitoring of early project signals including land and real estate transactions, permitting, and development proposals Houston construction firms using Mercator.ai gain measurable advantages in project pursuit efficiency. Early adopters report reduction in pursuit research time by over 50%, and increase in lead identification - identifying five times as many qualified opportunities in the same time traditionally spent in a single networking meeting. The platform's early project detection capabilities are especially valuable in Houston's fast-moving market, where being first to the opportunity often means a higher probability of winning the work.   Mercator.ai's expansion into Houston builds on the company's growing Texas presence, with plans to actively participate in key industry events and construction community initiatives throughout 2024 and 2025. The company will maintain its commitment to relationship-based business development while providing contractors with the digital tools to enhance their project and relationship intelligence.   "Houston's construction community is known for innovation and relationship-building," said Chloe Smith, CEO of Mercator.ai. "We're excited to offer Houston contractors a 7-day free trial of our platform, allowing teams to experience firsthand how early project detection can optimize their most limited resource - time."   General contractors and construction professionals interested in exploring Mercator's early project detection platform can visit www.mercator.ai to start their free trial.   About Mercator.ai  Mercator.ai is an AI-powered relationship-based business development software for General Contractors, Sub-Contractors, Suppliers, and Construction Service Providers. It is the fastest and most accurate way to find early, viable construction opportunities. From commercial to industrial projects, Mercator.ai provides 100% coverage of public and private opportunities from concept to completion in real-time. Empower your teams with real-time insights to develop targeted business development strategies in less time. 
Read More
Digital Technology

Lauxera Capital Partners Acquires Galen Data

12/6/24
Paris (France), Houston (USA), San Francisco (USA) — November 25, 2024 — Lauxera Capital Partners announces the acquisition of Galen Data, a leading provider of secure, cloud-based connectivity solutions for medical devices. This transaction follows Lauxera’s 2022 acquisition of Matrix Requirements, a leading ALM and eQMS software solution for medical device R&D and Quality teams.  This strategic transaction brings together two industry leaders serving the same end-customers with highly complementary products. “The Galen team has built an exceptional product providing medical device companies a cost-effective, compliant, and secure solution for medical device cloud connectivity. Innovation in Medtech is no longer only about better electronic, metal, and plastic designs. Galen empowers Medtech companies to improve care by leveraging the data generated by their medical devices. “We are excited to work hand in hand with management to strengthen the company’s global commercial engine,” said Samuel Levy, Founding Partner, Lauxera Capital Partners.   For Galen Data, this acquisition represents an exciting new chapter with expanded financial resources and a broader, global team.   “We’re incredibly excited to join forces with Lauxera Capital Partners and Matrix Requirements. Their strategic insights and global reach will allow us to accelerate growth into new markets, expand our services, and continue delivering cutting-edge solutions to the medical device industry. This partnership empowers us to take our business to the next level and better serve our clients while pushing forward the innovation that’s at the core of everything we do,” Chris DuPont, CEO, Galen Data.  "This acquisition is an important step towards our vision to provide turnkey vertically-integrated software solutions to address pain points faced by medical devices companies. I am thrilled to welcome Galen’s team.” added Laurent Grandidier, Executive Chairman of the Board.  Lauxera Capital Partners was advised by Goodwin Proctor on legal and tax matters.  About Lauxera Capital Partners  Founded in January 2020, Lauxera Capital Partners is an independent asset management company based in France (Paris) and in the United States (San Francisco). Lauxera is a healthcare specialist investor working to promote the growth of European Healthtech companies. Its first fund, Lauxera Growth I, gathered 262m€ of capital from investors and had invested in 12 fast-growing Healthtech businesses in France, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the United States. Led by a team of life sciences entrepreneurs and professional healthcare investors with more than 50 years’ experience, Lauxera aims to support the international commercial expansion of Europe's most promising Healthtech innovations. Lauxera’s highly focused investment approach, its intimacy with the US healthcare ecosystem, its distinctive understanding of innovation trends across Europe and the operating and investment experience of its partners enables Lauxera to be a strong value-add partner for its investee companies.  About Galen Data  Galen Data provides a secure, cloud-based platform designed to connect medical devices to the cloud, allowing for real-time data collection, storage, and analysis. Galen’s platform is compliant with key medical device industry standards, including FDA, HIPAA, GDPR, and CE Marking, which helps medical device companies accelerate time-to-market while ensuring regulatory compliance. Galen Data’s solution simplifies the process of managing connected medical devices by offering a secure and scalable infrastructure tailored to the needs of healthcare technology providers.  Galen Data is an ISO 13485:2016 certified company and is HITRUST r2 Certified on AWS. 
Read More

Related Events

Signature Event

Rise to the Top

The Greater Houston Partnership is thrilled to invite you to the 14th Annual Rise to the Top, an empowering celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) on Friday, March 7, 2025. Join Houston's most…

Learn More
Learn More

Additional Resources

See below for additional resources in Innovation. 

Need more information about Innovation in Houston? Your dedicated team member can help:

  • Assist in site selection analysis
  • Assist in evaluating and applying for incentives
  • Aid in the permitting process
  • Provide data on key business facilities
  • Facilitate and foster key introductions
Looking for the rest of our team?
Partnership Staff
Have someone from our Innovation Strategy Office contact you:
Executive Partners