Thank you to the Austin Technology Incubator at UT Austin for creating the Austin startup scene as we know it!
This is no exaggeration: Austin’s startup community would not have taken off without the solid foundation laid by the Austin Technology Incubator, the longest running active tech incubator in the United States. When I came to Austin in 1999, ATI was one of the only organizations supporting entrepreneurs in Texas. We’re extremely fortunate to be where we are today as a company because of ATI’s influence; they’ve paved the way for entrepreneurs, incubators and accelerators and their impact has rippled through generations of startups since they started 30 years ago.
I had the privilege of attending ATI’s 30th anniversary celebration this week at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, where they announced Capital Factory as the recipient of the Laura Kilcrease Civic Entrepreneurship Award. This prestigious recognition was given to all of Capital Factory for our work in helping support the Austin startup ecosystem, and it’s the first time it has ever been given to another organization instead of a person. It was quite an honor to be in the company of previous awardees which include Michael Dell, Pike Powers, Governor Greg Abbott, Manoj Saxena, Dr. Matt Winkler and many other outstanding leaders.
It meant a lot to me that Laura Kilcrease was there in person to present the award which is named after her as the founding Executive Director of ATI. She is an icon of the Austin technology and investor community and not someone who seeks the limelight — she’s always lifting others up and tonight was no exception. Thank you Laura for everything you’ve done to create this community that I love so much and for staying connected year after year.
I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the impact that ATI has made towards entrepreneurial innovation here in Austin and across the world. ATI was founded in 1989 by entrepreneur and tech ambassador Dr. George Kozmetsky and first led by Laura Kilcrease. ATI is a tech incubator affiliated with The University of Texas at Austin that serves student and faculty entrepreneurs, as well as those in the greater Austin community, to explore deep tech solutions that address the world’s challenges. During the late 80s there was simply nothing else like ATI on the playing field, and the concept of an incubator was virtually unknown. Fast forward 30 years — they’ve now successfully graduated over 300 companies through their program, raised over $1.7 billion and have contributed $3 billion to the overall economy.
No organization lasts for decades by being rigid and staying the same. Everything must evolve and ATI has stayed relevant by evolving too. Semiconductors, IT, health, cleantech, water, energy… ATI has always been looking “where the puck is going” as hockey legend Wayne Gretsky would say. In 2018, ATI made a shift to focus specifically on deep tech. This means that they are working hard at finding solutions to big problems while taking the time to nurture ideas and make real change in the world in areas such as Healthcare, Mobility, Energy and Circular Economy.
I know that ATI will continue to grow and thrive under the leadership of Mitch Jacobson. He brings a fresh perspective and has worked hard to find synergies with other entrepreneurial organizations at UT Austin and in the state of Texas. It’s been a pleasure working together with him on companies that transition from ATI to Capital Factory, from SEAL to Longhorn Startup, and in the reverse direction as well. I love seeing ATI companies and SEAL students working at Capital Factory, Longhorn Startup students working at the Blackstone Launchpad, and Capital Factory startups participating in Texas Venture Labs. Collaboration on campus is at record levels and it’s in no small part due to Mitch.
Some of ATI’s most well-known success stories include Favor, Smarter Sorting, ICON, Spredfast and Xeris Pharmaceuticals. ATI has also helped develop organizations in the industry such as Austin Technology Council (ATC), Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN), Tech Ranch Austin and many others. It’s safe to say that Austin wouldn’t be a tech town if it weren’t for ATI and Capital Factory wouldn’t be here either.
On behalf of everyone at Capital Factory — thank you ATI.
We all would like to extend a huge thank you to Austin Technology Incubator for this award, and for creating the Austin startup scene as we know it today. This award is an incredible honor coming from an organization that has so immensely helped shape our identity in this city. It’s also a testament to the collaborative, rising-tide mentality of Austin. Austin is a place where it is safe to try new things. We want to continue working alongside our peers in order to encourage growth in Austin’s startup ecosystem, and support as many bright entrepreneurs as possible. Now is the time to focus on Austin’s potential to use technology to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges in a way that starts locally and scales globally.
