Skip to main content

New Collaboration Aims to Bolster Region's Aerospace Innovation Ecosystem

Published Jul 14, 2022 by Brina Morales

The Ion announces new partnership with NASA's Johnson Space Center

The Ion announces new partnership with NASA's Johnson Space Center

The Ion is taking a giant leap in innovation by partnering with NASA’s Johnson Space Center to launch a “technology transfer center” at the Ion to bolster the Houston-Galveston region’s aerospace innovation ecosystem. 

According to a release, the private-public partnership will include events, programming and initiatives to develop new technologies for the commercial and private space industries and “accelerate tomorrow’s space endeavors” by giving entrepreneurs access to NASA’s IP portfolio.

“This partnership will allow us to increase startups through our aerospace accelerator targeting minority businesses and help achieve NASA’s goals to enhance scientific and technological knowledge to benefit all of humankind, as we propel commercialization of space and work to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Houston has a large pool of aerospace talent and expertise with more than 23,000 professionals. The Houston Spaceport also positions the region as a leader in the emerging commercial space flight sector.

In 2021, the Ion launched the Aerospace Innovation Accelerator for Minority Business Enterprises, which develops businesses tackling aerospace-related challenges with the support of NASA and DivInc.

“Together our Ion community of startups, entrepreneurs and academic institutions, across industries and disciplines – from health care to sports, to ecommerce to resiliency – is the perfect place for human performance and for NASA to derive talent. Just as NASA is the perfect team to inspire our Ion community to reach for the stars. Together we will safeguard Houston’s title as ‘Space City’ and advance the global space industry for future missions,” said Jan E. Odegard, Executive Director of the Ion.

The new collaboration is yet another example of recent prominent announcements underscoring the momentum in Houston’s aerospace industry.
 
 

Related News

Construction

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

12/6/24
[PRESS RELEASE] 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
[PRESS RELEASE] 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

Executive Partners