Editor's note: Here's a roundup of the most-read Houston innovation news this week. Notable Houston tech and startup stories from InnovationMap and its daily newsletter include a Houston company being named a best place to work and a new executive joining a fast-growing startup.
16 Houston-based companies named to U.S. News' Best Places to Work
Houston is tied with Dallas-Fort Worth for the most top employers in Texas. Photo by Thaddious Thomas on Unsplash
More than a dozen Houston-based companies are being highlighted in U.S. News & World Report's 2024-2025 Best Companies to Work For rankings.
The annual report surveys publicly listed companies around the world to determine the best employers based on six criteria, including work-life balance and flexibility, quality of salary and benefits, job and company stability, and career opportunities and professional development. Companies are not ranked, but rather selected based on reader surveys and publicly available data about each workplace.
For the 2024-2025 report, U.S. News analyzed 549 companies across 29 different lists, including an overall Best Companies list with the 300 best companies in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Bermuda, 24 industry lists and four regional lists. Read more.
$1 Million Gift to Rice University Will Establish Pioneering Neuropolicy Center in Houston
Harry Yang and Weiman Gao donated $1 million to the Baker Institute for Public Policy to establish an interdisciplinary neuropolicy program. Photo from rice.edu
A large donation to Rice University will help researchers better understand how the human brain works.
Harry Yang and Weiman Gao have donated $1 million to the Baker Institute for Public Policy to establish an interdisciplinary neuropolicy program.
Neuropolicy is an emerging field that studies how brain health and function can help drive economic growth.
“The Neuropolicy Program is at the forefront of pioneering data analysis, empirical research, and policy applications,” said Harris Ayre, program leader and senior research fellow in brain health at the Baker Institute. Read more.
University of Houston teams up with angel group to reach and skill up future investors
The partnership between UH and HAN will strengthen 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 develop startup investors among University of Houston alumni.
The partnership will strengthen accredited early-stage investors and accelerate opportunities for aspiring startup investors, the university said in a news release.
“Investors play a vital role in the startup ecosystem, and this initiative provides a shortcut for our alumni to become angel investors. Our vision is to have even more investors with deep ties to UH who support world-class innovation in our local community and beyond,” said Ramanan Krishnamoorthi, the university's vice chancellor for energy and innovation. Read more.
Educational equity-focused nonprofit uses robotics and AI to better serve Houston's kids
Collaborative for Children focuses on using social-emotional learning robots and programming technology toys. Photo courtesy of Collaborative for Children
Educators generally believe that children are best equipped and interested in learning when they are under five, as this is the best time to build a broad, strong foundation for lifelong literacy and well-being.
This sentiment is close to home for Collaborative for Children, a Houston-based nonprofit whose mission is to dramatically improve the quality of early childhood education and provide access to cutting-edge technology to all children, especially those from low-income and marginalized communities, through its Centers of Excellence.
“The reason this organization was founded almost 40 years ago was because a group of Houston-area philanthropists proposed that this was incredibly important because 90 percent of the brain develops or grows between the ages of zero and five,” Melanie Johnson, president and CEO of Collaborative for Children, told InnovationMap. Read more.
Ex-Shopify exec joins Houston scaleup e-commerce software company
Fast-growing Cart.com has appointed a new Chief People Officer. Photo courtesy of Cart.com
Cart.com, the Houston-based e-commerce software and services company, has hired a former Shopify executive as its chief human resources officer.
Prior to joining Cart.com, Lani Doyle served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Strategic Solutions Group, a healthcare software provider. Prior to that, she served as Vice President of HR and Talent Operations at 6 River Systems, a warehouse software and robotics provider. Prior to that, she served as Head of Talent Development and Operations at Shopify, an enterprise e-commerce platform that posted 2023 revenue of $7.1 billion.
“Cart.com is one of the fastest growing companies in commerce today, and I'm excited to partner with our team to drive growth and scalability,” Doyle said in a news release. “I look forward to helping shape our company's culture and developing programs that support and elevate our high-performing team so they can achieve their ambitious goals.” Read more.
