Energy Software Company Chooses Houston as US Headquarters

Chevron Unveils Completed Ion Office

CTV now has an office at The Ion. Photos courtesy of Gensler

Chevron Technology Ventures tapped Gensler to design their office at The Ion. According to Gensler, the office was designed to be “an innovative think tank and collaborative space within The Ion for its employees, and for interfacing with external consultants, partners, and vendors.”

According to Gensler, some of the office space design elements include:

• Chevron-branded biophilia wall, featuring various artifacts illustrating Chevron’s rich history in the energy industry
• Multiple meeting rooms for internal teams to collaborate on projects, vendors to demo and test emerging technologies, or host case competitions, recruiting events, and more.
• A dedicated recording studio with state-of-the-art acoustics and lighting serves as the hub for bringing videos and podcasts to life
• A coffee bar and social area

HTX Labs Receives $1.25 Million Air Force Grant

HTX Labs’ EMPACT product will be further developed to support the Air Force. Image courtesy of HTX Labs

HTX Labs, a Houston-based company that designs extended reality training for military and commercial purposes, announced earlier this month that it had been awarded a new Phase II small business innovation research contract. $1.25 million ventures with the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command to enhance its product, EMPACT Immersive Learning Platform, to facilitate collaborative, multi-role immersive learning capabilities in support of maintenance training of the B-52 aircraft.

“HTX Labs is thrilled to expand its presence within Global Strike Command and take on the challenge of assisting Global Strike in its mission to produce highly skilled, committed, and prepared Airmen. Our primary goal with this SBIR award is to draw building on the success of the immersive training programs we helped pilot within the AETC, and bringing those successful results and lessons learned to Global Strike,” said Chris Verret, President and Co-Founder, HTX Labs, in a press release.

“When coupled with EMPACT’s no-code immersive content creation tools, this capability will support just-in-time mission training, enabling the right training to be delivered at the right time – in geographically disparate locations to Airmen who need it,” he continued. .

The goals of the project are “to increase the throughput of the training pipeline, reduce overall training costs, and produce more fully mission-ready Airmen,” the statement said.

Scott Schneider, the company’s co-founder, recently joined the Houston Innovators podcast to discuss how he and his team have tapped into the military industry. Click here to listen.

Pitch competition reveals

Here’s who will present at The Cannon later this month. Photo courtesy of Le Canon

Dell for Startups is hosting a pitch contest at The Cannon on Wednesday, June 29, and the eight companies that will be pitching cash prizes have been announced.

Here’s what Houston businesses will be taking to the stage:

The contest judges are Andrea Course of Shell Ventures, Sunny Zhang of Born Global, Joey Sanchez of The Ion Houston, Sharita Humphrey of Black Girl Ventures, and Megan Wright and Lucas Chaya Del Pino of Dell Technologies.

Houston artist completes Greentown Labs mural

Hannah Bull painted a mural depicting the future of climate technology on the building in Greentown Houston. Photo courtesy of Greentown

Houston artist Hannah Bull was selected and commissioned by Greentown Labs to paint a mural outside of Greentown Houston. The project has been completed and the mural, titled “Powering the Future Through Climatetech”, can be found on the exterior east wall. Watch a timelapse of the painting by clicking here.