Business
February 22, 2024
Texas Finally Reclaims the Moon
A Houston company’s vessel returns America to the most remote portion of our state for the first time since 1972.
Technology
Reporting and analysis about the business and innovations of technology in Texas
Business
January 22, 2024
An Austin Start-up’s (Expensive) Plan to Transform the Wireless Business
Deploying “DeWi” technology, Really Wireless will offer hosts cash, plus free service for transmitting their broadband to nearby cellphones via rooftop radios.
Business
November 9, 2023
At AfroTech in Austin, Black Workers Seek Opportunities in a “Tense” Industry
Black Texans make up only 9 percent of the technology workforce statewide. The 25,000 attendees of the nation’s largest Black tech conference hope to change that.
News & Politics
October 31, 2023
We’re Not Cruising Into a Driverless Future Just Yet
For a few months this summer, autonomous vehicles roamed the streets of Austin. Self-driving trucks shuttle freight across the state. The autonomous future is here—but its arrival is fraught.
News & Politics
October 4, 2023
Are You There, God? It’s Me, ChatGPT.
A pastor in Austin asked the artificial intelligence chatbot to write an entire Sunday service. It bombed.
Style & Design
October 2, 2023
Meet the Fashion Designer Creating Cowboy Boots With a Little Help From AI
Nevena Christi of El Paso’s Rocketbuster Boots uses artificial intelligence to streamline the creative process and craft out-of-this-world advertising.
Business
June 29, 2023
Mapping the Mysteries—And the Dangers—of the Ocean Depths
Founded by a pair of former Navy SEALs, Austin-based Terradepth has ambitious plans to deploy a fully autonomous fleet of submersibles to continually monitor the seafloor.
News & Politics
June 27, 2023
The Texan Who Never, Ever Ran Out of Energy
Remembering John Goodenough, who was well into his fifties when he developed a battery that changed the world.
Politics & Policy
May 26, 2023
Two Texas Indie Developers Made It Big on Twitter a Decade Ago. Now They’re Fighting It.
After Elon Musk killed their Twitter app, two software developers in the North Texas suburbs are trying to shape the future of social media.
Business
May 15, 2023
The Star Trek Tech Selling Luxury Condos in Austin
For the developer of a complex of multimillion-dollar hilltop homes, today’s slowing market spurred a marketing innovation. Enter the holodeck.
Tacos
February 2, 2023
We Asked ChatGPT to Define a Taco. Here’s What It Said.
The AI-powered chatbot has been making headlines recently, so we hit it with our hardest taco-related questions to test its mettle.
Texas Icons
January 17, 2023
Dallas Was the Birthplace of the Microchip Revolution
If your dishwasher works properly, you probably have a long-ago Texas Instruments employee to thank.
News & Politics
November 9, 2022
Inside Texas A&M’s New Military Combat Lab
At the high-tech testing ground near College Station, the Army can develop its future drones, missiles, lasers, and vehicles.
News & Politics
October 27, 2022
It’s Okay to Fear the Robot Dogs Coming to UT
Scientists are unleashing the computerized canines on the Austin campus to study how humans interact with them.
Business
July 29, 2022
This Immigrant Entrepreneur Got His Start Hawking Jewelry in Houston Flea Markets. Now He’s Taking on Amazon.
Cart.com’s Omair Tariq is out to prove his tech company is a giant-killer.
Business
July 19, 2022
The Climate Crisis Spells Big Business for Carbon Capture
At a recent expo in Houston, innovators claimed they can spare us a global catastrophe—and make billions in the process.
News & Politics
July 14, 2022
A Plan to Bridge Odessa’s Digital Divide Comes Down to Earth
After a pilot program with Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites, officials are opting to dig Biden-backed fiber to bring the internet to rural families.
Energy
July 11, 2022
Bitcoin Miners Could Save the Texas Grid—or Sink It
Our state struggles to serve Texans’ needs on the hottest and coldest days. So why are we welcoming the energy-hogging cryptocurrency industry?
Business
June 16, 2022
As Bitcoin Falls, Austin Hosts a Crypto Bacchanalia
Digital currencies are tanking, but that didn’t stop more than 20,000 blockchain enthusiasts from throwing a week-long party.
News & Politics
April 8, 2022
A Virtual Revolution in Air Force Training
“Mixed-reality” tools are in development in San Antonio and Wichita Falls for the next generation of airmen.
News & Politics
March 8, 2022
You Won’t Escape SXSW 2022 Without Knowing About Crypto
Read our guide and avoid getting talked at by a crypto bro, at SXSW or anywhere else.
Business
January 19, 2022
This Lockhart Greenhouse Wants to Grow Your Salad Using Robots
Iron Ox, a San Francisco–area company with a Texas-bred CEO, builds greenhouses that use data to yield pretty produce.
Business
December 15, 2021
Can This UT Professor Clean Up Outer Space?
Moriba Jah, a self-proclaimed “space environmentalist,” has joined a new effort to map the millions of bits of discarded debris orbiting the Earth.
News & Politics
November 15, 2021
The Newest Texans Are Not Who You Think They Are
The record influx of recent arrivals from all over might be exactly what the state needs. That includes Californians. (And no, they’re not turning Texas blue.)
Technology
November 8, 2021
Can Virtual Reality Make Older Adults Happier and Healthier?
A Plano company claims its immersive experiences—from scuba diving to jazz concerts—represent the future of eldercare.
Business
October 28, 2021
No Signs Yet of a Tech Texodus
But recruiters warn that the state’s abortion restrictions could prove a barrier to attracting top talent, especially among women.
News & Politics
October 20, 2021
Can This Company Take Pet Cloning Mainstream?
You love your pet. You love her so much that if you could, you’d buy an exact copy of her. Well, you can! Take it from Blake Russell, president of ViaGen Pets & Equine—and owner of a very unusual horse farm.
Business
September 16, 2021
Inside the Extremely Hot Business of Bitcoin Mining in Big Spring
A Minnesota company is hunting for cryptocurrency on the eastern edge of the Permian Basin—with plans for a big expansion in Texas.
Business
September 13, 2021
This Texan Aims to Resurrect the Woolly Mammoth to Save the Planet
Ben Lamm’s latest company, Colossal, hopes to reverse climate change by reintroducing the long-extinct creature to the Arctic. What could go wrong?
Health
September 10, 2021
Jamie Wheal Is Austin’s Cassandra of Techno-Optimism
Wheal became a guru in the city’s self-optimization scene, hobnobbing with the likes of Elon Musk. But will anyone listen to his warnings about the movement that brought him renown?
Technology
July 14, 2021
Art Blocks Brings Big Money to Artists Who Paint With Code
The Houston-based website makes use of blockchain technology—and an element of surprise—to attract a sizable new audience for computer-generated works.
Business
June 29, 2021
The Delivery Robots Are Your Friends, Says Delivery-Robot Company
Our intrepid reporter biked behind the human whose job it is to follow, and help train, Austin’s new pizza-delivery robots.
Health
June 22, 2021
Houston’s Luminare Crunches Medical Data to Save Lives
Houston-based Luminare’s software analyzes patient records to detect sepsis.
Business
April 8, 2021
How Austin’s Start-up Sector Won the Pandemic
The city’s tech industry enjoyed big-time growth despite—or because of?—the nation’s difficult past year.
Politics & Policy
April 8, 2021
How the Digital Divide Is Failing Texas Students—And Why That Might Be About to Change
For rural families who lack reliable, high-speed internet, Zoom-style instruction is a luxury.
Health
January 22, 2021
A New Microscope Developed at Rice Could Revolutionize Cancer Surgeries
Enhanced by deep-learning artificial intelligence, the device promises to aid in the removal of tumors.
Business
January 3, 2021
No, Austin Won’t Become Silicon Valley 2.0
Attracting so many tech companies and workers from California isn’t going to transform the city into another San Francisco—for both the better and worse.
Music
December 18, 2020
The ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ Reboot Is Ready to Kick Some Ass, Mourn Some Wives
Plus, Kacey Musgraves heads to Sesame Street, Jessica Simpson’s life becomes (another) TV show, and the year in McConaughey drawls to a close.
Business
December 17, 2020
Russian Hackers Thrust Texas Company SolarWinds Into the Spotlight
The Austin firm whose software has become nearly ubiquitous in the networks of the federal government and Fortune 500 companies reportedly left its clients vulnerable.
Business
December 17, 2020
Welcome to Texas, Elon Musk. You Don’t Have to Move to Austin.
The founder of Tesla and SpaceX says he’s relocating to the Lone Star State. But which of our tech hubs is the best fit for the eccentric billionaire?
Being Texan
December 8, 2020
How Zoom Spanish Classes Are Saving My Sanity During the Pandemic
When my Austin lessons went virtual, I discovered the joy—and distraction—in thinking about unfamiliar pronunciation, irregular verbs, and past tenses in these challenging times.
News & Politics
November 25, 2020
Why Is GameStop Selling PlayStation 5 Consoles Only in Stores on Black Friday?
Every other retailer has made this holiday season’s hottest item an online exclusive during the pandemic—except the Grapevine-based chain.
News & Politics
August 11, 2020
Many Students Couldn’t Connect to Online Classes in the Spring. Will This Fall Be Different?
Almost 2 million Texas children don’t have access to a computer or internet at home, according to a TEA report.
Health
July 16, 2020
How Robots Are Revolutionizing Nursing
Automated helpers, like Diligent Robotics’ Moxi, could reduce the risks to frontline medical workers.
Health
June 18, 2020
How the Pandemic Revealed an Unexpected Benefit of Telehealth
Heart failure nurse Suzanne Ohlmann finds intimacy in challenging circumstances.
News & Politics
May 14, 2020
How Single People Are Speed-Dating Via Zoom in Light of the Pandemic
Intrepid online daters are exploring ways to establish emotional intimacy, one ten-minute date at a time.
Business
March 10, 2020
Wellness, Beauty Masks, and Beyoncé: Inside Houston’s First Coworking Space for Women
The newly opened Sesh Coworking arrives as the number of female entrepreneurs in the city is on the rise.
News & Politics
January 3, 2020
How Close Are We to Creating Human Organs on a 3D Printer?
A Rice University professor's recent breakthrough may mean that a science fictional scenario is within reach.
Business
December 3, 2019
How One Texas Entrepreneur Aims to Transform the World With Artificial Intelligence
A conversation with Ben Lamm of Hypergiant, on solving climate change, the surveillance state, and our automated future.
Arts & Entertainment
October 2, 2019
A Dallas Director Opens a Virtual Window to World War I in Austin
Academy Award winner Brandon Oldenburg discusses conceptualizing War Remains, an interactive virtual reality experience.