Every Last Word

Dallas Innovates’ signature series capturing what leaders across North Texas are saying — in their own words — about innovation, impact, and what’s next.

The Last Word: o9 Solutions’ Chakri Gottemukkala on Building a Multi-Billion-Dollar Digital Brain

by | Nov 27, 2023
Dallas-based o9 Solutions has defied the odds in the world of tech unicorns. In just three years, o9's valuation has nearly quadrupled to hit $3.7 billion recently, bucking a trend of declining values for later-stage tech companies.
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The Last Word: Hill Perot Rallies North Texas Leaders to Accelerate Innovation
by | Nov 16, 2023
NYSE President Lynn Martin was in Dallas last week meeting with business leaders of some of the 50-plus DFW companies listed on the NYSE, as well as others that may be looking to go public. She was definitely on business-friendly ground in both the city and the Lone Star State, since more than 200 of the nearly 2,400 companies listed on the NYSE are based in Texas.
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The Last Word: NYSE’s Lynn Martin on Having Over 200 Listed Companies in the Lone Star State
by | Nov 15, 2023
NYSE President Lynn Martin was in Dallas last week meeting with business leaders of some of the 50-plus DFW companies listed on the NYSE, as well as others that may be looking to go public. She was definitely on business-friendly ground in both the city and the Lone Star State, since more than 200 of the nearly 2,400 companies listed on the NYSE are based in Texas.
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The Last Word: GEW North Texas on This Week’s Region-Wide Entrepreneurship Event
by | Nov 14, 2023
GEW North Texas—which kicked off Monday and runs through Sunday November 19—is part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, held in cities worldwide one week each November. The movement aims to inspire entrepreneurs around the globe while fostering connections and increasing collaboration within their ecosystems.
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The Last Word: Bree Kramer on a Rescued Sea Turtle with an Innovative Weighted Vest at Dallas Children’s Aquarium

by | Nov 9, 2023
One of the newest residents of the Dallas Children's Aquarium had a big problem after he was injured by a boat: A spinal injury had turned his life upside down. Trapped air—also known as "bubble butt syndrome"—made him float vertically and helplessly at the top of the sea. 
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The Last Word: UTA’s Melanie Sattler on a $200K Grant for a Highway Price Estimation and Visualization Tool
by | Nov 8, 2023
UTA researcher Mohsen Shahandashti, an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, is building a price estimation and visualization tool for the Texas Department of Transportation through a $200,000 U.S. DOT grant.
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The Last Word: Dallas College’s Ben Magill On the SMU-Led Proposal Landing the Texoma National Semiconductor Tech Hub, 1 of 4 in the U.S.
by | Nov 7, 2023
In late October, Dallas won its second federal innovation hub award in two months when the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub landed in the city as part of 31 nationwide tech hubs designated by the Biden-Harris administration.
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The Last Word: Dialexa’s Scott Harper on Founders Who Can’t Handle the Truth
by | Nov 6, 2023
Mizzen+Main Founder and Chairman Kevin Lavelle caused a bit of a stir on LinkedIn recently when he wrote candidly about the need for venture capitalists to provide feedback to founders— especially when they're passing on a pitch. 
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The Last Word: Texas Rangers GM Chris Young’s January Mission For His Team

by | Nov 2, 2023
All of North Texas has been going bonkers since the Texas Rangers won the 2023 World Series last night, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 and snagging the series with four wins against only one loss. Way back in January, GM Chris Young told the Dallas Regional Chamber that this was the team's goal.
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The Last Word: Gov. Abbott On Why Texas Ranks No. 1 for ‘Top State Business Climate’ in 2023
by | Nov 1, 2023
Texas just topped Site Selection’s annual ranking of state business climates. The state, typically in the top five business climate rankings, placed No. 3 last year. The No. 1 ranking follows another recent win—Texas won the publication's Governor's Cup for total capital investment projects for the 11th straight year in March.
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The Last Word: Video Game Veteran Steve Bocska on Why ‘Real Engagement’ is the Key to Loyalty Programs
by | Oct 31, 2023
“We’re disrupting loyalty. So what better place to do it than where loyalty was created?” said PUG Founder and CEO Steve Bocska. He noted that Fort Worth-based American Airlines spawned the entire loyalty industry in 1981 by launching the first successful airline loyalty program.
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The Last Word: Fluor’s Richard Meserole on Partnering with Sweden’s Altris AB on a Sodium-ion Battery Facility
by | Oct 30, 2023
Irving-based Fluor Corporation announced Thursday that its Advanced Technologies & Life Sciences business line has been selected by Altris AB (whose CEO, Björn Mårlid, is seen above) to provide front-end engineering and design services for the world’s first industrial-scale sodium-ion battery production facility in Sandviken, Sweden.
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The Last Word: Clark Hunt On DFW’s Chances To Land a Big, Maybe THE Big, World Cup Match

by | Oct 26, 2023
Dallas billionaire Clark Hunt, owner of the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, sat down with Anurag Jain at the Venture Dallas Summit on Wednesday. Hunt—the chairman and CEO of both the Chiefs and FC Dallas—was the headliner for the first event at the annual summit for innovators and investors at the Bush Center.
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The Last Word: Southlake Police Innovate Community Relations with Emergency Uber Eats Delivery
by | Oct 25, 2023
An Uber Eats driver was involved in a car crash in Southlake recently, and the city's police and fire departments went to the scene. The driver turned out to be OK, but was unable to finish delivering an order of fresh-grilled hibachi from Hashi Japanese Kitchen. That's when Corporal Tejada and Officer Grace stepped up to finish the job for the gig worker—and in a sense, gig workers everywhere. 
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The Last Word: Kelly Kitchens on Garland’s Campy ‘It Came From Texas Film Festival’
by | Oct 23, 2023
Some of America’s favorite movies are filled with campy, schlock-y, over-the-top fun—and a lot them were filmed right here in Texas. This weekend, the city of Garland and Garland Cultural Arts are gearing up to celebrate them with the first annual It Came From Texas Film Festival, October 28 and 29 at the Plaza Theater on State Street in Garland.
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The Last Word: Nicole Small On Why the Dallas-Based ARPA-H Hub Is Focused on Clinical Trials
by | Oct 20, 2023
The Dallas-based customer experience hub of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health had its official launch yesterday at Pegasus Park. The hub's first mission: making it easier for Americans from across the country to take part in clinical trials, through the Advancing Clinical Trial Readiness Initiative.
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