The Greater Houston Partnership celebrates our members making important announcements and sharing news about their operations and impact in our region. Learn more about some of those announcements over the last month below.
Business Moves
- Baker Hughes acquires Continental Disc Corporation (CDC), a leading manufacturer of rupture discs and other pressure relief products. This acquisition will strengthen Baker Hughes’ portfolio of flow control solutions, particularly in overpressure protection, and will be integrated into its Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) segment.
- Baylor College of Medicine leases a 15,200-square-foot facility at 1725 Hughes Landing Blvd. in The Woodlands for its second Baylor Medicine Comprehensive Healthcare Clinic. This new clinic, marking its first outside the Texas Medical Center, will offer personalized care through membership-based Concierge Healthcare and Executive 360 programs.
- Cadence Bank completes its acquisition of Industry Bancshares Inc. This merger significantly expands Cadence Bank’s presence in Texas, adding approximately $4.4 billion in assets and creating a combined network of over 380 branches across the South and Texas.
- Over 60 Texas-based companies appear on Forbes’ 2025 list of the world’s 2,000 biggest publicly traded companies with ExxonMobil as the highest-ranked Texas company at No. 13 worldwide. This list identifies the world’s largest publicly traded companies based on metrics like sales, profit, assets, and market value.
- Houston First Corporation prepares to build a 7,165-square-foot structure attached to the Lynn Wyatt Square for the Performing Arts, creating a new rentable event space with aim to significantly enhance Downtown Houston’s appeal.
- Intuitive Machines expands its operations at the Houston Spaceport with a $12 million investment, adding more land and extending its lease to build new facilities for lunar exploration and other space ventures. Concurrently, Intuitive Machines and San Jacinto College are collaborating on a new biopharmaceutical material handling training program to develop a skilled workforce for space-based pharmaceutical production and recovery.
- Kroger consolidates its Dallas and Houston Divisions into a single Texas Division, effective August 1. This strategic move aims to create efficiencies and enhance the shopping experience across over 210 stores and 26,000 associates, following the retirement of Laura Gump.
- Midway plans a $5 million project to rebuild a collapsed central green space and its underlying detention vault at Memorial Green in Houston, with construction slated to begin in July 2025.
- Rice University breaks ground on a new Office of Development and Alumni Relations within The Ion building at 4201 Main St. The university has filed plans for this $2 million project, with construction anticipated to begin in August and conclude in November.
- The Friedkin Group launches Pursuit Sports, a new entity created to oversee and support its growing portfolio of professional sports properties. This new company will manage clubs such as A.S. Roma, A.S. Cannes, and Everton F.C., aiming to centralize operations, enhance performance, and explore future acquisitions in the sports industry.
- University of Houston announces the development the $30.5 million Population Health Complex in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine within the Texas Medical Center area, with completion expected in fall 2026. The 50,000-square-foot facility will serve as the new home for UH’s Population Health Initiative, which focuses on studying socioeconomic factors influencing healthcare outcomes.
Education
- Houston Community College has officially approved a name change to Houston City College, effective September 5, 2025. This rebranding reflects the institution’s expanded academic mission, which now includes offering baccalaureate degrees, and aims to better position it for long-term growth and student success.
- Houston Community College partners with Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office to provide law enforcement cadets opportunity to earn 24 college credit hours for their police academy training. This collaboration aims to elevate educational standards within local law enforcement and provide academic opportunities for cadets upon completing their basic peace officer course and state licensing exam.
- Texas A&M University School of Engineering Medicine (TAMU EnMed) seeks accreditation to become an independent medical school, a process that could see it welcome its first class as early as 2028. In addition to its current MD and ME program, the school is developing an on-site incubator for early-stage medical technology and digital health companies, leveraging its clinical partnership with Houston Methodist.
- University of Houston-Downtown establishes a Center for Crime, Urban Research, and Education (C-CURE) within its new “Launchpad” downtown location at 1801 Main Street. This center aims to foster innovative solutions to urban challenges through rigorous research, provide technical assistance to local agencies, and advance the criminal justice field.
- The University of Houston advances to the semifinals of the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines competition with its “Biomanufacturing of Chemicals and Materials for Sustainability (BioMS)” proposal. This initiative aims to establish a biomanufacturing ecosystem in the Greater Houston region.
- UTHealth Houston launches the Future Nurses Fund, backed by an initial $5 million gift, to significantly expand nursing education and scholarship opportunities and address the critical nursing shortage and accelerate the preparation of future nurses.
Energy Transition
- Chevron acquires approximately 125,000 net acres across Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas in the lithium-rich Smackover Formation, marking its first step towards establishing a commercial-scale domestic lithium business. The company plans to utilize direct lithium extraction (DLE) to produce lithium from brines, aiming for a more efficient and environmentally friendly process to meet growing demand for critical minerals.
- Enbridge activates its first solar power project in Texas, the Orange Grove project, which generates 130 megawatts of energy and feeds into the ERCOT grid. Telecom giant AT&T has signed a long-term power purchase agreement to buy energy from Orange Grove, receiving renewable energy certificates rather than physically acquiring the power.
- Greentown Labs adds six Texas-based clean energy startups to its Houston incubator in Q2 2025, focusing on innovations like long-duration energy storage and 3D solar towers. These companies are part of a larger group of 13 startups that joined Greentown Labs’ incubators in Houston and Boston during the same period.
- Shell Energy Stadium integrates RightHear technology to enhance accessibility for fans with visual impairments and other navigation challenges. This innovative solution provides real-time audio guidance via a smartphone app, enabling inclusive and independent movement throughout the venue.
Health Care
- Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center achieves a medical first in the U.S. by performing the nation’s first fully robotic heart transplant. This groundbreaking procedure utilized a surgical robot to avoid a traditional sternotomy, offering benefits like increased precision, reduced risk of infection, and a potentially faster recovery for the patient.
Innovation
- Axiom Space collaborates with Oakley to create advanced visors for NASA’s Artemis III mission visor system. This partnership will integrate Oakley’s Prizm Lens Technology into Axiom Space’s visors, aiming to enhance clarity, contrast, and color recognition for astronauts on the moon.
- Daikin and the Astros Foundation have partnered to create the “Cooling Communities” program, an annual initiative to provide HVAC system upgrades in the Greater Houston area. The first donation of $55,000 went to the Bayland Community Center in Harris County Precinct 4 to install a new, energy-efficient HVAC system. This upgrade will help the community center, which is a vital hub for youth sports and senior programs, serve as a comfortable space and a refuge during extreme weather.
- Rice University’s HEXAspec secures a $500,000 NSF grant to enhance semiconductor chip thermal conductivity, aiming to boost computing power. This innovation allows graphic processing units (GPUs) to use less water and electricity while generating less heat, with significant implications for sustainable AI computing.
- Rice University students develop an adaptive exercise harness for astronauts, which won the Best Challenge Response Award at the 2025 TCC Wearables Workshop and University Challenge. This harness addresses the limitations of traditional versions by incorporating sensors for customized workouts, pneumatic padding for comfort, and real-time data feedback to improve astronaut health and safety during spaceflights.
- Rice University’s OpenStax collaborates with Microsoft to integrate OpenStax’s educational content with Microsoft’s AI innovation, the Learning Zone. This collaboration aims to provide educators and students with engaging and effective learning experiences through responsible AI technology and peer-reviewed educational resources.
- Researchers from Rice University and the University of Houston develop a new biomaterial with the potential to replace plastic, particularly for disposable water bottles. This fully biodegradable material, created through a biosynthesis technique, exhibits exceptional mechanical properties akin to some metals and glasses. The collaboration aims to mitigate environmental damage by offering an eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastics.
- NSF University of Houston Building Reliable Advances and Innovation in Neurotechnology (UH BRAIN) Center and TIRR Memorial Hermann develop the “MyoStep” soft exoskeleton to address motor impairments in children with cerebral palsy. This lightweight and discreet device uses smart fabrics and a wireless sensor network to collect real-time data and aims to improve the quality of life for children with the neurological disorder.
Transportation
- METRO initiates a pilot program in the Gulfton area to test new bus shelter designs featuring perforated panels aimed at lowering temperatures for waiting riders. This innovative approach seeks to increase airflow and provide more comfortable waiting environments, especially in neighborhoods identified with higher heat indexes.
- METRO expands its free on-demand METRORapid Circulator shuttle service to the Near Northside neighborhood, offering curb-to-curb transportation. This initiative aims to enhance connectivity for residents, providing easy access to local businesses, healthcare facilities, and METRORail and METRORapid transit stations.
- Sugar Land City Council approves a $195,674 “vertiport” study to assess the feasibility of an electric “air taxi service” in partnership with Wisk Air. This initiative aims to improve connectivity and reduce roadway congestion by introducing self-flying helicopters for travel within the Greater Houston area.
If you are a member and want us to help communicate news about your organization, please send a press release or information about the announcement to [email protected] and we will share it with our content team for possible inclusion in an upcoming roundup. Learn more about Partnership membership.