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Houston robotics innovator’s next mission, can’t-miss events and more trending news

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Editor’s Note:Let’s review the most read news stories of the week about innovation in Houston.InnovationMap’s Houston tech trends and startups articles and daily newsletter included a Houston innovator’s new startup, can’t-miss events and more.

Houston innovator bets on humanoid robotics with new startup

Nicolaus Radford, founder of Nauticus Robotics and IPO leader, shares details of his new company, PersonaAI. Image via LinkedIn

For his next move, Houston entrepreneur Nicolaus Radford has launched — in what he describes as an “anti-stealth” capability — a new company that hopes to take humanoid robotics out of science fiction novels and onto manufacturing floors.

Radford, who saw his last company, Nauticus Robotics, grow from inception to IPO, left the company in January. He tells InnovationMap that he started getting interesting offers from other robotics companies, but none of them were a good fit. But he just couldn’t get the idea of ​​advancing humanoid robotics out of his head.

“Humanoids are the holy grail of all robotics,” Radford says. “It’s what every science fiction writer has ever dreamed of.”

“That’s the future,” he continues. “And now, with the advent of generative AI in 2022, these machines seem to be much more capable, flexible, reprogrammable – they can reason in real time. That’s a huge challenge.” Continue reading.

Houston neurodegenerative disease company expands research collaboration with Houston Methodist

Coya Therapeutics announced an expanded research collaboration with the Houston Methodist Research Institute, as well as funding from the Johnson Center. Photo via TMC.edu

A clinical-stage Houston biotech company has expanded its collaboration with the Houston Methodist Research Institute, or HMRI.

Coya Therapeutics is already established enough to have gone public since late 2022, but there is still room to grow. With the help of a new sponsored research agreement, Coya will work on several initiatives. Coya is led by co-founder and CEO Howard Berman, who was inspired by his father’s dementia diagnosis.

“I was interested in what I could do for my dad,” Berman said on the Houston Innovators Podcast, explaining that he met renowned Houston Methodist neurologist and researcher Dr. Stanley Appel, who showed him that he was not only working on treatments that could help Berman’s late father, but that he had been able to stop the progression of ALS. Continue reading.

Why This Houston Healthcare Professional Took the Lead to Disrupt the Industry

Ayoade Joy Ademuyewo founded Lokum last year to create a solution to better connect medical specialists to healthcare facilities across the country. Photo courtesy of Lokum

Ayoade Joy Ademuyewo says anesthesia is “the coolest thing in the world.” That’s why she became a certified nurse anesthetist.

And this career, which she describes as “the perfect mix of science and art,” led her to the creation of her startup, Lokum.

Lokum App is a job search engine that aims to connect Ademuyewo’s peers with job opportunities. She explains that before her innovation, recruitment for nurse anesthetists was traditionally done through job sites 30 years older than her or through recruitment agencies that put them at a disadvantage.

“I didn’t want to use this job site because it was kind of difficult to use and I didn’t want to use it, and a lot of other people felt the same way,” she recalls. Continue reading.

3 Houston Innovators to Know This Week

This week, we’ve highlighted Houston innovators including Melanie Johnson of Collaborative for Children, Aditya Mohite of Rice University, and Lani Doyle of Cart.com. Photos courtesy

Each week, I introduce you to a handful of Houston innovators who have recently made headlines with news on innovative technology, investment activity, and more. This week’s group includes a nonprofit leader showcasing new technology, a Rice University professor focused on solar technology, and a new hire for a fast-growing Houston startup. Continue reading.

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