The startup scene in United States

The City of Midland describes energy as a major influence on its economy. UTPB says its Office of Innovation & Commercialization (OIC), developed in 2021, supports university startups and outside startups engaging with the university.

UTPB reports that its Center for Energy and Economic Diversification (CEED) in Midland has 30,000 square feet of workforce, research, and commercialization space, and that renovations were completed in 2024. UTPB identifies OIC, SBDC, TWEI, and the Advanced Manufacturing Center as CEED's principal occupants. UTPB locates the Advanced Manufacturing Center at CEED on its Midland campus and describes access for campus users and outside individuals and companies.

UTPB's Small Business Development Center describes itself as university-hosted support for new and existing Midland-Odessa businesses, advertises consulting without a consulting fee, and states a federal eligibility condition of U.S. citizenship or legal residence. The Midland Entrepreneurial Challenge limits business eligibility to actual or planned operations within Midland city limits and advertises individual UTPB SBDC coaching and a $500,000 finalist prize pool. Its 2026-27 registration was listed as closed on October 4, 2026.

AST SpaceMobile's timeline attributes its founding in Midland by Abel Avellan to May 2017; MDC dates a partnership bringing AST's headquarters and satellite manufacturing to Midland to late 2018. MDC attributes low-Earth-orbit satellite design and manufacturing to AST's Midland facility and identifies BlueWalker 3 as manufactured in Midland and launched in fall 2022. MDC also identifies Midland as a testing location for Firehawk hybrid rocket engines and Castelion rocket engines and propulsion systems.

UTPB describes the Texas Water and Energy Institute's research as addressing produced water, wastewater, and drinking water. UTPB directs university inventors to disclose technologies through Wellspring-Sophia using university credentials, and says OIC evaluates disclosed inventions before selecting protection and commercialization strategies.