Apollo 11 lunar module as it rested on lunar surface (Source: NASA)

There’s no doubt that Houston is a city of innovation. In 2021, Houston companies raised more than $2 billion in venture capital funding – nearly tripling the previous year’s amount and setting a record, according to the Partnership’s analysis of Pitchbook data. These numbers speak to the city’s thriving innovation ecosystem. Houston has a long history of innovation dating back to the 1900s. Here are five transformative accomplishments that Houstonians can celebrate.  

 
•    Apollo 11 Mission 

Houston put the first men, Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., on the moon with the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969. NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center (now the Johnson Space Center) oversaw every facet of the planning, design, training and execution of the Apollo moon missions.
•    First artificial heart 
On April 4, 1969, Dr. Denton A. Cooley performed the world’s first total artificial heart implant at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital. The recipient lived 46 hours with the artificial heart until he received a human heart. 
•    Domed sports stadiums 

The Astrodome was the world’s first domed air-conditioned indoor stadium. It opened on April 9, 1965, and was dubbed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” It was home to the Houston Astros for more than three decades. Roy Mark Hofheinz, former Houston mayor and Harris County judge, pitched the indoor venue to get more people to attend sporting events because well, it’s hot and humid in Houston. Houston architects Hermon Lloyd and W.B. Morgan designed the dome in collaboration with the Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson firm.  
•    First public broadcast TV station
KUHT-TV was the nation’s first public broadcast television station. It signed on the air for the first time on May 25, 1953. University of Houston President Dr. Walter Kemmerer proposed the educational television station. KUHT helped “establish the foundation for ‘distance education,’ a staple of contemporary higher education today,” according to Houston History magazine.
•    The Weed Eater
Houston entrepreneur George Ballas invented the Weed Eater in 1972. Ballas came up with the grass trimming solution as he watched the spinning bristles in an automatic car wash. By 1977, sales topped $80 million. Weed Eater still exists today as a brand that includes mowers, hedge trimmers and blowers.

Houston has been at the center for world-changing innovations in energy, life sciences and aerospace for more than a century, and it continues to build on that reputation. In 2017, Houston Exponential launched to strengthen and grow the region’s innovation ecosystem by attracting talent and supporting startups or organizations trying to scale up. HX was born from the Partnership’s Innovation Task Force and the Mayor’s Task Force on Innovation.

Information technology and health care were the top two industries with the most investment in 2021. Information technology raised $632.1 million and health care raised $518.4 million.

Industry experts are confident Houston is well-positioned to become a national leader in tech innovation due to its vast support system, economic strength, diverse and collaborative culture, and quality of life. There are more than 50 incubator and accelerator programs and startup development organizations in the region.

Read the Partnership’s latest Venture Capital report here. Learn more about the tremendous growth in Houston’s tech ecosystem in the Houston Tech Report.