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Dear Texas Economic Development Stakeholders,
This month, the eyes of the country and the world were on Texas after the devastating historic flooding around Central Texas. We continue to join in solidarity with Texans across the state for the families, communities and businesses devastated by this tragedy. As true Texans, we stand together in times of hardship. In the face of these difficult times, the strength and resilience of Texans and of our Texas communities continues to shine through.
We'd like to direct all those interested in making a donation to the flood recovery fund, in support of all affected counties, to the Central Texas Flood Recovery Fund. For information on disaster recovery and preparation resources for communities and businesses across Texas, please visit our website here.
In this issue of the Texas Business Bulletin, you'll find information on loan programs for small businesses, including the new Texas Micro-Business Disaster Recovery (MBDR) Loan Program and a snapshot on some Texas hometown heroes.
As always, please be sure to visit our website, follow us on social media or reach out to a member of our team if we can be of any assistance.
Thank you for your prayers, words of sympathy and support at this time of need.
-Adriana Cruz, EDT Executive Director
  Unemployment Rate: 4%
Workforce: 15.8 million
Jobs Added Over the Year: 198,300
Home to more than 3.3 million small businesses, Texas is focused on ensuring our state remains the best in the country to start and run a business. The information on the programs listed can help small and micro-businesses who are rebuilding and recovering:
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Texas Micro-Business Disaster Recovery (MBDR) Loan Program: provides zero-interest loans to eligible Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) for purposes of making interest-bearing loans to qualifying micro-businesses with no more than 20 employees that have difficulty in accessing capital following a federal, state or local declared disaster. CDFIs are encouraged to apply to participate in the program now and before potential disasters strike.
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Texas Small Business Credit Initiative (TSBCI) Program: supports small business growth and helps create new jobs through increased access to small business funding. The latest listing of approved financial institutions (FIs) is now available online as well as a new, simplified application process for financial institutions. FIs should visit the TSBCI Portal to apply, and small businesses should reach out to an approved lender.
In times of need, Texans help Texans. And that’s especially true when it comes to Texas businesses stepping up to support recovery and aid flood relief in Central Texas.
H-E-B was one of the first Texas-based companies to jump into action, deploying a convoy of trucks filled with food and supplies to the disaster-stricken areas. The Butt Family, H-E-B and the H.E. Butt Foundation also announced a $5 million donation to various flood relief organizations as well as providing gift cards to local nonprofits and organizations in the region. H-E-B has a strong history in the region. Florence Butt started C.C. Butt Grocery Store in Kerrville with $60 back in 1905.
Another hometown hero founded in Kerrville, James Avery pledged a $1 million donation for relief efforts. Additionally, all proceeds from sales of the jeweler’s “Deep in the Heart of Texas” charm will be donated to disaster relief.
The outpouring of support from companies across the state has been heartwarming. This is not an inclusive list by any means, others stepping forward to lend a helping hand include AT&T, Kendra Scott, ExxonMobil, USAA, Bank of America, Frost Bank, Wells Fargo, Verizon, Toyota, Caterpillar, ACL Fest and Live Nation, Whataburger, Raising Cane’s and many more. In addition, countless other businesses have donated emergency supplies and a multitude of restaurants across the region have dedicated a portion of proceeds to ongoing flood relief efforts.
Thank you to all the businesses, communities and volunteers who are rallying together to help support the Texas Hill Country and Central Texas through these difficult times.
 The AI Frontier Starts in Texas
A rendering of the data center campus for the first Stargate Project in Abilene. (Photo Credit: Crusoe Energy/CoStar)
America's next frontier of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is building right here in Texas.
The state's high-tech sector has long been a major player in the U.S. economy and Texas is now poised to lead in new advanced technologies, notably AI and data centers.
Thanks to abundant and available space, a pro-growth regulatory environment, leadership in data center operations and new demand from emerging and rapidly expanding AI technologies, Texas is positioned for significant growth in this industry.
The state is already home to some of the most promising AI companies with the arrival of numerous firms in the last couple years, such as Cognigy, Verily Life Sciences, ABBYY, Thoughtful Automation and others.
These investments are spurring AI jobs in Texas, which are projected to grow by 27% over the next decade, with Texas currently ranking #4 nationally for total AI-related jobs postings (source).
Most notably, Texas was chosen for the Stargate Project—a $500 billion AI data center project bringing between 10-20 data centers to an 895-acre campus in Abilene (source). The project is being led by SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle and is expected to create thousands of jobs and boost the entire state's economy.
Additionally, in early 2025, Apple announced a $500 billion investment to the U.S. including a 250,000-square-foot AI server manufacturing facility in Houston (source).
These AI mega-facilities are powered by one of the most extensive state data center infrastructure networks in the U.S. As of September 2024, Texas is home to 279 data centers (source), with Dallas ranking as the fourth-largest data center market in the world (source).
It's clear that Texas is leading the nation's data center development boom. Not counting Stargate, Texas has already surpassed the existing dominant data center market in North Virginia for new construction (1,191 megawatts of colocation power underway in major Texas cities compared to 1,071 megawatts of power in the pipeline in Northern Virginia).
Texas is where new innovations and new technologies are brought to life, and the state is perfectly positioned to continue to foster the nation’s emerging AI economy and data center development.
We hope that you'll join us at a Governor's Small Business Summit near you! Take your entrepreneurial journey to new heights by connecting with resources and information to help start, strengthen and grow a business in Texas. These events bring together local, state and federal resource partners to provide key insights on critical business topics. There's also opportunity to network with other business owners and hear from subject-matter experts to gain timely, relevant and actionable advice.
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July 24: Governor’s Small Business Summit — Waxahachie (Last chance to register!)
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August 7: Governor’s Small Business Summit — Pharr
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August 21: Governor’s Small Business Summit — Big Lake
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September 11: Governor’s Small Business Summit — Eagle Pass
 
Prysmian and Encore Wire broke ground on their new state-of-the-art medium voltage cable production facility in McKinney.
Texas' success in attracting the most corporate expansion and relocation projects in the U.S. is due to a unique combination of competitive business advantages that are found only in Texas. For more on these business advantages, visit our Why Texas webpages. Here are some recently announced projects in regions across the state:
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Tokyo Electron in Austin: Tokyo Electron's technical training and R&D center in Austin will help bolster Texas’ leadership in the semiconductor industry. The facility is expected to create more than $30 million in capital investment. A Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF) grant of $3,080,000 was extended to the company.
- MGC Pure Chemicals America in Killeen: MGC Pure Chemicals America, Inc. will expand production operations in Killeen, investing more than $150 million. A TSIF grant of $5.3 million was extended to the company.
- NTxBio in Plano: NTxBio is growing in Texas with a new biomanufacturing facility in Plano. The project will create more than 170 new jobs and $31 million in capital investment. The company was extended a TSIF grant of $1,479,000.
- JPMS in Dallas County: John Paul Mitchell Systems (JPMS) is expanding its corporate headquarters to Texas. The project is expected to create more than $12 million in capital investment and bring 80 new jobs to Dallas County. A Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant of $640,000 was extended to JPMS.
- Prysmian & Encore Wire in McKinney: Italian-based Prysmian broke ground on a $500 million expansion project at the company's Encore Wire copper wire and cable manufacturing plant in McKinney.
- GCP Paper USA in New Caney: GCP Paper USA, Inc. began construction on its $400 million manufacturing facility in New Caney, expected to create 250 new jobs.
  "It ain't bragging if it's true!" Here are some of the recent accolades Texas has received:
- Texas was named the Best Business Climate in the nation by Business Facilities for the third year in a row.
- Texas won a 12th Gold Shovel Award from Area Development for outstanding job creation and capital investment projects in 2024.
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Texas took the #1 spot on Site Selection's 2025 Sustainability Rankings. Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington also took the top two spots among U.S. metros for sustainability.
- Dallas (#1), Austin (#2) and Houston (#5) were mentioned among CBRE's list of Top Markets that Gained HQs between 2018-2024.
- Three Texas cities/areas took the top spots on TransUnion's Top Inbound & Outbound Markets, which ranks top locations where Americans relocated to in 2024: North Houston (#1); Fort Worth (#2) and Austin (#3).
Download the latest Top Texas Touts to your mobile device for talking points you can take on-the-go—everything from economic expansion, job creation, workforce, industry, infrastructure, education and more.
The EDT team continues to participate in various meetings, events and engagements with our economic development partners and stakeholders. Here's a selection of just a few of the many recent activities. To see more updates from EDT Executive Director Adriana Cruz, check out her updates on LinkedIn!
Meeting with Taiwan Minister of Economic Affairs Kuo
 Governor Greg Abbott held a meeting with the Taiwan Minister of Economic Affairs Jyh-Huei Kuo to discuss strengthening robust economic partnerships and new investments in technology between Texas and Taiwan. Read more in the Governor's press release.
 SelectUSA Investment Summit
 Texas was well represented at the 2025 SelectUSA Investment Summit, which took place in May in National Harbor, Maryland. With a Texas-sized booth and the largest state delegation at the summit—83 Texans and 53 organizations—the delegation promoted Texas as a premier business location to the world. Thanks to our partners at the Texas Economic Development Corporation (TxEDC) and Team Texas!
 Paris Air Show
 In June, EDT and TxEDC hosted a delegation of Texas businesses and communities in the Texas booth at the Paris Air Show. The delegation promoted Texas to the global aerospace and aviation industry as a leading destination for investment and job creation. Texas also took home the top award for booth design among all participating U.S. state booths!
GlobalWafers Grand Opening
 EDT Executive Director Adriana Cruz attended the grand opening and ribbon cutting of GlobalWafers' new wafer fabrication facility in Sherman. Congratulations to the company and the community on this remarkable new facility, which will further Texas' leadership in semiconductor manufacturing!
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