🔥What's hot in Houston's Innovation Ecosystem this week?

8/18/25 - 8/24/25

This Week's Tech Stories That Actually Matter

The week Google threw down the gauntlet, GitHub's CEO went rogue, and Texas schools got an AI makeover

Google Just Set the Stage for Phone Wars

August 20. Mark your calendars. Google's dropping four Pixel 10 devices at once: regular, Pro, Pro XL, and the debut Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

The kicker? Insiders say the water and dust resistance beats Samsung's best. Google's making a power play right before iPhone 17 season hits.

This fall just became a three-way slugfest.

GitHub's CEO Ditched Microsoft for Startup Life

Plot twist nobody saw coming: Thomas Dohmke just quit GitHub to chase his "startup roots." The guy who grew GitHub into a coding empire walked away from Microsoft's money machine.

Julia Liuson takes over while they hunt for a permanent replacement. Word is the next chapter focuses on nimble AI integrations, not just getting bigger.

Sometimes you gotta break up with the giant to build something new.

SpaceX Just Helped Bezos Fight Bezos

Mission 100 of the year: SpaceX launched 24 satellites for Amazon's Project Kuiper on August 11. That's Elon helping Jeff build a Starlink competitor worth $10 billion.

Customer beta starts soon. The internet space race just got weirder when your biggest rival becomes your launch partner.

Frenemies with rockets. What could go wrong?

HTC Wants to Beat Meta at the Glasses Game

Taiwan's HTC dropped Vive Eagle smart glasses: 49g frame, Zeiss lenses, real-time translation, and a $520 price tag. They're gunning for Meta Ray-Bans and betting people want AI on their face.

The wearable wars just got another player. Your sunglasses are about to get very smart.

Science Just Got a $152M AI Boost

The Allen Institute for AI landed massive funding: $75M from NSF, $77M from NVIDIA. The mission? Build open-source science models that make research faster and more collaborative.

Translation: AI is about to turbocharge how we discover new things.

SoftBank Turned a Car Factory Into an AI Goldmine

$375 million deal: SoftBank bought Foxconn's massive Ohio factory and flipped it into an AI data center production facility. Ohio just became a major player in America's AI infrastructure race.

Sometimes the best tech hubs hide in old manufacturing towns.

Texas Schools Are Going Full AI ( not exactly from this week, but I thought you all should know about this)

Austin, Dallas, and Houston school districts are piloting AI education platforms that personalize lessons, automate grading, and monitor student mental health in real-time.

Texas startups are leading the charge. The classroom revolution starts in the Lone Star State, then goes nationwide this fall.

Your kids' homework just got algorithmic.

https://alpha.school

That's your week. Google flexed, GitHub shuffled, and AI invaded everything from space to schools. The future keeps accelerating.


NOW HOUSTON, LET'S ROCKET NETWORK!

We are using emojis to guide subscribers in our event list 📅📍

🚀 - must attend

🔥🌶️ - something hot

🤓💻 - good for developers and other technical folks

🦄💰- venture capital and investing-related

- energy-related

♻️- renewable energy and sustainability-related

🏥 - health care related

🎖️🪖 - veteran or military related 

🏅 - sports tech related

₿ - web3 related

HERE ARE OUR PICKS FOR THIS WEEK

Monday, August 18

Tuesday, August 19

Wednesday, August 20

Thursday, August 21

Friday, August 22

If you’re like me, you'd benefit from quality referral partners, which is why you need to know about Sell Well 2025, hosted by my friend, Catherine Brown, and The Good Humans Growth Network®.

This conference is about more than business development training and networking. It’s about growing your ability to be a good referral partner, leader, and friend in business…without the “ick.” 

Here are the details for Sell Well 2025:

  • It’s being held September 11-12, in Houston, TX, at the Norris Conference Center at CityCentre

  • By popular request, it’s 2 full days of programming this year!

  • The keynote speakers are Andrea Waltz and Richard Fenton, authors of Go For No! and Go For No! The Sequel.

  • There will be 4 dynamic tracks to choose from with industry expert breakout speakers. 

1. Scale your Sales Team

2. Amplify your Fractional Business 

3. Optimize your Sales Systems 

4. Elevate your Personal Brand

I am excited to go because referral partners are BUSINESS GOLD, and most people treat them like afterthoughts.


Reply to this email and I’ll send you a code for $100 off your registration!

⚠️Hosting a tech meetup or startup event? Submit it via the RocketNetwork Event Submission Form to boost your visibility!

HOPEFULLY, USEFUL LINKS


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🚨Apply for up to $100K equity-free funding and one year of mentoring from Unicef - LINK

🚨Invest in Houston's first community-owned food-maker hub - LINK

🚨Black Founders Fund by Google - Register your interest

🚨Greater Houston Support Stack Program by Impact Hub Houston - Participant Form
🚨AI Voice Agents: 2025 Update - LINK

🚨$100,000 For Researchers, Builders and Creatives - LINK

🚨Apply to Startup Battlefield - APPLY

🚨Win up to $10,000 in cash & prizes! Will you accept The Challenge? Entries are open April 7 - June 15 - APPLY

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🚨Perplexity for Startups - Apply

🚨n8n is a powerful workflow automation platform that blends AI with business process automation—start building smarter workflows today - LINK

🚨Apply to the AI Futures Fund - Apply

🚨2025 SPE ATCE Startup Village | Application

🚨WALMART Innovation Day Application - Event: Oct 13–14 in Bentonville - APPLY
Deadline: June 30 (rolling review—apply early for faster feedback)

🚨Energy Tech Venture Forum Application -https://alliance.rice.edu/etvf

🚨The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2025

🚨AI FOUNDER SPRINT 2025

👉Entry Level Tech Jobs - LINK

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👉Start your targeted job search today with AI - LINK

That’s a wrap for now, RocketNetworkers,

Stay tuned, and keep grinding!

❤️ - ROCKET NETWORK TEAM

Disclaimer: The content in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by any sponsors. All opinions and information are those of the author and not of the sponsors or affiliated organizations.

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