High Tech’s Impact on Austin
Austin’s journey to high-tech haven really began in earnest with winning the site selection for MCC and SEMATECH. And progress continued with the investments of IBM, Dell, Motorola, AMD, Freescale (now NXP), and even upstarts like Trilogy who moved here in the 90’s. Investments from firms like Austin Ventures kept the ball rolling. But it’s hard for anyone to argue that the landscape for Austin technology firms has ever been better than it has been the last 12 months or so.
And the impact that high tech has had on Austin is astounding. Technology companies have funded the remaking of the Austin skyline, and the build out of offices and apartments in the Domain and much of North Austin. The largesse of high tech has helped fund music and the arts in Austin (and yet, we can do better/more!), and it has helped fund new schools (Magellan International, Headwaters, IST, and others), and put money into existing educational programs. High tech money is rewarding innovation in the restaurant business as well.
It’s hard to imagine Austin any other way — unless of course you lived here in some previous era. I’ve been in Austin since 1994, which makes me a newcomer in some circles, but I’ve likely been in Austin longer than well north of 50% of the population here.
In 2020, there were over 170,000 high tech jobs in Austin, and over 8,000 firms represented. So while high tech represents 15% of all firms in Austin, with # of employees representing 16–17% of the total. But the impact of high tech is disproportionately high because high tech payroll ($) represents over 32% of Austin’s payroll. And that was as of 2020.
Austin’s high tech business has entered a new phase in recent years. For many years our economy generated interesting startups that sold to bigger firms, and supported small outposts of major firms (Google, Facebook, Apple, etc.). Today, Austin supports large outposts of these firms: Apple’s second biggest location outside of Cupertino; Google occupying an entire high-rise downtown; and Facebook recently committing to the same in Austin’s tallest building. And Austin sports many public companies that were homegrown. Austin is also the home of Vista Equity, and new crop of investment firms (VC, Angel, and Private Equity) that are putting money into scaling high tech firms in Austin in a way that they just weren’t supported in prior decades.
So you see companies like:
- Sailpoint going public, then private again via Private Equity
- Bumble going public
- Locally sourced unicorns like EverlyWell and Iodine Software raising massive sums of money
- the 36 Companies moving headquarters to Austin in 2021…!
And if you’re wondering how Austin has been doing since the pandemic struck, look no further than this economic update from the Chamber:
While Austin employment took a massive hit, along with the rest of the country and the world, the recovery has been steep, and impressive.
It’s into this context that I want to pause to talk about something else: Austin Technology Council. This is an organization that has represented the Austin Tech Community to Austin and the world for 30 years.
This year we have the opportunity to appoint a new CEO to take us forward and to rethink what ATC can mean to an Austin tech community that is surging and basking in the glow of success within Austin, rather than the Austin tech community of the 90’s that was a brash upstart trying to get attention.
We’ve appointed Thom Singer as the new CEO of Austin Technology Council, and the coverage of that news has been gratifyingly positive, because I think everyone can see that Thom is both a super-connector, and a passionate advocate for Austin (and Austin Tech!). I’m so excited for what comes next for ATC.
The Austin American-Statesman interviewed Thom Singer for their story just the other day.
Singer, a self-described evangelist for Austin’s business and tech community, takes the helm of the organization as Austin is growing in importance as an international technology hub. Tech workers now make up nearly 20% of all jobs in the Austin metro area, according to a 2021 report from the Austin Chamber of Commerce.
Singer said he and the tech council are ready to help shape what the future looks like for the Austin technology sector.
It’s a great interview and shows how Thom is going to be a great listener in this process of defining the next 30 years of Austin Technology Council advocacy.
Read further about it in the Austin Business Journal:
“Thom has made a career of helping technology companies and associations and will be an inspiring leader for our community as technology continues to drive the Austin economy,” Scott Francis, CEO and founder of BP3 Global and chair of the ATC board, stated. “Who better to connect, network and community build than someone who has made a career out of helping other people make transformative connections in their professional careers?”
And the official release by the Austin Technology Council:
“Austin is known as a leader in the world of technology, and we cannot take that for granted,” Singer said. “I want to see ATC continue to be a catalyst for future growth and am seeking engagement from leaders who want to embrace the best parts of our tech community. We need expanded dialogue and collaboration to continue to lead.”
One of the things I have loved about Austin’s technology community is the way that we help each other and are there for each other. There’s no doubt that ATC will have to redefine its role in the tech community here, because so much has changed since our early days, and the last 2 years have changed so much more. Thom is embarking on a tour to talk to anyone and everyone who wants to be a part of the Austin tech community and help us support tech companies making a difference in Austin and beyond.
I have every confidence that Thom is the right person to lead us into our second 30 years as an organization supporting the Austin technology community. Join me in welcoming him into the fold!
One more thing… as we talk bout how the Austin tech miracle enters a new phase, the Austin Business Journal has just published an article that really drives the point home. Austin’s tech economy has become very diversified — and has impacts on massive physical plant investment in a way that most techies don’t really think about. Read the article linked, it is full of information about major infrastructure projects that are reshaping tech in Austin:
- CelLink’s new factory in Georgetown
- Samsung’s facility under construction in Taylor, along with investments in other facilities from Applied Materials, NXP, and Infineon
- Tesla’s new HQ and Factory
- A record number of relocations in 2021
- Massive high-rises downtown that are largely rented by our high tech compatriots: Google, Meta, TikTok, Indeed, etc.
The Austin Chamber of Commerce and Opportunity Austin deserve a lot of credit for helping shepherd these deals through: it is making Austin a more diverse economy overall.
Originally published at https://sfrancisatx.substack.com on July 11, 2022.
Scott Francis is CEO and Founder at BP3 — where we focus on process as the lens to drive business value: because if your business matters, your process matters.
