Texas, also known as the Lone Star State, is the second-largest U.S. state in terms of surface area, behind Alaska, and is the second-largest economic power in the United States, after California. Its GDP is comparable to that of Canada or South Korea. Its development is based in particular on the energy sector; it is the largest producer of energy in the United States, mainly fossil fuels, but is now looking for new alternatives. For example, Georgetown, near Austin, is one of the first cities in the world to be powered entirely by wind energy.

Texas has an infrastructure to match its economy, boosting the region’s dynamism: there are 26 commercial airports and 19 commercial ports. Houston alone boasts two international airports, George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and William P. Hobby (HOU), and the largest port on the Gulf of Mexico. On the cultural front, the Houston Ballet, Alley Theater and Houston Grand Opera offer internationally renowned cultural events. And because of the region’s diversity, multicultural festivals such as the Houston Lunar New Year, the Greek Festival and the Houston Japanese Festival also take place every year.

Texas is a particularly favorable state for business development, thanks to its skilled workforce, attractive cost of living, infrastructure and entrepreneur-friendly public policies. In this sense, Texas is one of only seven U.S. states where business and labor are tax-exempt; in terms of education, 90% of Texas students pass their high school graduation. The state’s infrastructure, particularly maritime, makes it America’s biggest exporter, with $375B in exports in 2021, including $50B in the tech sector.

These advantages are driving many large companies to relocate to Texas. It is the number one destination for corporate relocations within the United States. In 2022, Texas was home to 53 Fortune 500 companies, including Oracle, HP, Dell, AT&T and Tesla.

In the energy sector, the focus in recent years has been on diversifying and developing renewable energies. In the aerospace sector, the activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) encourage the development of projects for both civil and military applications in Houston. Texas also benefits from spending by the federal Department of Defense (DOD), which awarded $83B in contracts to Texas companies in 2020.

Texas has a world-renowned public research university system, the University of Texas System, is organized around 14 campuses located in most of the state’s major cities (Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso).

In Houston, Rice University is particularly renowned in the fields of nanomaterials and biotechnology, and boasts a ratio of 6 undergraduates to 1 professor, which fosters individual student development and group projects.

Funding for Texas higher education from the National Science Foundation (NSF)  is considerable, particularly for engineering and health specializations at the University of Texas Austin and Texas A&M..

Innovation and entrepreneurship are part of the DNA of Texas’ higher education institutions, and emphasis is placed on access to funding through their support structures, such as Texas A&M’s Clean Energy Incubator, and Texas Venture Connect  of the university network of the University of Texas System.

Texas’ “business friendly” reputation encourages the development of startups. Just three hours from Houston lies Austin, the state capital. Nicknamed Silicon Hills, it aims to become a direct competitor to Silicon Valley, and is home to numerous electronics giants including IBM, Dell and Oracle. Houston is also home to numerous innovation support structures, including: The Cannon, an incubator that has established partnerships with local and internationally recognized industrial partners such as Dell Technologies and Shell; Halliburton Labs and Eunike ventures, two accelerators focusing on energy startups; a branch of the Mass Challenge accelerator network; M1 Medtech, an accelerator specializing in biomedical technologies.