Austin Next

In this culminating episode of Austin Next's first era, Jason engages with AndiBot, the AI-powered chatbot that amalgamates the insights of 19 innovation thinkers. Together, they explore AndiBot’s perspectives on how Austin can ascend to a superstar innovation hub. Later, Michael joins in for a reflective discussion on the AI's capabilities and the insights shared. Plus, don’t miss our special announcement that marks the beginning of a new chapter for Austin Next.

Episode Highlights

• The Austin Next Dynamic Innovation ChatBot, or AndiBot, is an AI-powered chatbot anchored on ChatGPT, and is powered by a “hivemind” that brings together the intellectual prowess of innovation trailblazers such as Clayton Christensen, Everett Rogers, and Mariana Mazzucato.
• Tasked with unraveling insights and forging new pathways, AndiBot endeavors to illuminate the steps necessary for Austin to transition from a thriving ecosystem to a superstar innovation hub.
• Characterizing an innovation superstar hub, AndiBot outlines the quintessential traits: setting global trends, attracting a diverse talent pool, nurturing groundbreaking innovations, fostering a spirited entrepreneurial culture, establishing global collaborations, and achieving brand ubiquity in innovation.
• AndiBot evaluates Austin’s innovation ecosystem at 7.5 with Silicon Valley as the pinnacle scoring a 10. She commends Austin's startup landscape, academic strength, and appeal to tech giants, but signals the imperatives of escalating startup density, talent diversity, capital influx, and global network expansion.
• Jason and Michael reflect on the AndiBot interview and discuss the shift from coding to prompting in AI technology, signaling the emergence of more sophisticated and intuitive user interfaces.
• Exploring Austin's startup landscape, they articulate the connection between productivity and external perception, proposing that a boost in perceived value could stimulate infrastructural improvements.
• Jason spotlights Austin’s ability to “punch above its weight” noting the discrepancies between Austin's startup infrastructure rank (25th in the country) and its high ranking in exit values (6th in the nation, 9th globally) according to a recent Dealroom report.
• This episode marks a transition as Michael is taking a step back from the podcast and will return as the occasional guest.
• What’s next Austin? “I honestly believe only good things are going to happen next. I think we're going to have a recession nationwide within the next six months. But Austin, as we've discussed, is the last in and the first out. We need to keep Austin weird. It has worked so far for this town.”

Episode Links

The Next Generation of Tech Ecosystems Report by Dealroom

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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

The combination of a booming population and an accelerating business sector, as well as the desire to "de-carbonize" creates a real challenge. In this episode we talk with Bill McCamley, the Executive Director at Transit Forward and Christy Cardenas, the Managing Partner at Grit Ventures. The discussion delves into the diverse and rapidly changing world of energy generation, the role of transportation in energy consumption, and how Austin’s power grid will change over the next five years.

Episode Highlights

• Texas has a unique and diverse generation mix with a strong focus on natural gas and coal, but a growing interest in renewables like wind, solar, geothermal, and hydrogen.
• The advancements in battery storage technology, government funding for better batteries, and the emergence of new business models for mature battery technologies.
• The shift from gas stations to electric vehicle (EV) charging points and the challenges in figuring out the infrastructure for EV charging points.
• The impact of individual decisions on power consumption in a city like Austin and the role of transportation in energy consumption.
• The impact of housing development on the generation, distribution, and usage of power, with a focus on ETOD, multi-use development near transit lines, and reducing compatibility restrictions.
• What’s next Austin - Bill believes that building more density around transit corridors, changing housing ordinances to allow for multi-use development, and reducing compatibility restrictions will be key in the next four to five years for the generation, distribution, and usage of power in Austin.
• What’s next Austin - Christy “There is so much money and so much brain power chasing these solutions, whether it's fusion, nuclear fusion, better forms of generation, better forms of storage that we, as a state, with a huge component of our economy tied to oil and gas, best get in front of it and be a part of that energy revolution.”

Episode Links

Bill McCamley: Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Christy Cardenas: Linkedin, Twitter

Grit Ventures: Website, Linkedin, Twitter

Transit Forward: Website, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube

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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

We are traveling back to our very first episode with John Sibley Butler of UT Austin. Professor Butler has been a part of the ecosystem for decades and takes us through a journey from the beginning of the ecosystem to what it is today. We can't explore what's next before we know where we have been.

Original episode aired July 13, 2021

Episode Links

John Sibley Butler: UT Austin Bio, LinkedIn, Twitter

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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

William Hurley, better known as whurley, is the founder and CEO of StrangeWorks, a quantum computing startup that makes the power of quantum computing easily accessible and available to all. He shares expertise on the topic and explains what quantum computing is, how it works, and its potential impact on industries such as healthcare, material science, and artificial intelligence. We also dive into the democratizing power of technology and Austin’s growth as a deep tech hub.

Episode Highlights

• “Quantum computing is the future of humanity. It is the computational ability that we need to build other forms of computing... They'll be amorphic, neuromorphic, DNA-based things.”
• Quantum mechanics’ unique properties allow computation of formerly intractable problems that classical computers require evaluation times of millions of years.
• 2023 may be to quantum technology what 1963 was to the space race.
• When they launched Strangeworks, it was about humanizing quantum. The idea is to get into as many hands as possible.
• ChatGPT’s rapid massive adoption has shown the power of UX innovation on top of complex technology and quantum is ripe for such an innovation.
• What’s next Austin? “It needs to be community-focused, collaboratively driven with a cause, with a purpose. And that would be to build an ecosystem that supports an entrepreneur, whether they're me, or you, or some kid at UT or ACC or whatever that has an idea so that everybody can get a chance.”

Episode Links

Strangeworks: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

William Hurley: LinkedIn, Facebook, Website, Twitter, Instagram

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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

With an estimated 10 million more Texans calling the state home by 2036, it's important that we address the big challenges that come with growth. Texas 2036 is focused on providing nonpartisan ideas and data-driven solutions to break through the gridlock on issues that matter most to all Texans. In this episode, we are joined by AJ Rodriguez, Executive Vice President of Texas 2036, and John Hryhorchuk, SVP of Policy and Advocacy. We delve into the role of Texas 2036 in shaping the state's narrative and vision for the future, as well as discussing the organization's focus on the intersection of policy, data, and advocacy.

Episode Highlights

• The budget for the current legislative session in Texas is expected to be different due to the historic surplus.
• The stability of Texas' state budget is due to a combination of factors, including a lack of state income tax, a reliance on sales tax, property taxes, oil industry taxes, and economic stabilization funds.
• The Texas 2036 organization and legislators are discussing the state's K-12 and university systems.
• There is a growing recognition that there are multiple pathways to earning a living wage in Texas, and that skills-based hiring and industry-based credentials are becoming increasingly important.
• There are new ideas in community college funding by moving away from a model focused on credit hours and towards performance-based funding model looking at student outcomes.
• What’s next Austin? “We are blessed to have so many people moving to Texas. We're blessed to have population growth. We need more water, right? We need more roads. We need to make sure our education system is working for our children.”

Episode Links

Texas 2036: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter

Texas 2036 Strategic Plan

AJ Rodriguez: LinkedIn, Twitter

John Hryhorchuk: LinkedIn, Twitter

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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack