Austin Named Top Entrepreneurial City… And We’re Not Surprised
Another leaderboard, another #1 ranking for Austin. This time, Dealroom.co’s data highlights something many of us already know deep in our bones: Austin is the most entrepreneurial city in the United States.
Let’s look at the numbers. Our ecosystem has grown 12.6x since 2017… that’s nearly double the pace of Silicon Valley and three times faster than Boston or New York. In just the first half of 2025, Austin has already marked its third-best year ever for VC funding. We’re seeing exits and momentum across CPG, Data/AI, Proptech, EVTOL, and Semiconductors. The data tells a compelling story.
But anyone who lives and works in Austin tech already knew this was coming.
Because here, entrepreneurship is more than a stat… it’s a mindset, a daily rhythm, and a community ethic.
You Can Feel It in the Air
Walk into any coffee shop on South Congress or in North Austin’s Innovation Corridor and you’ll hear it. The pitch decks being refined, the product ideas getting stress-tested, the impromptu mentorship sessions happening between strangers who met five minutes ago.
That’s not an accident. That’s Austin.
This is a city where after work happy hour buzz goes late into the evening. Austin is where meetups aren’t vanity events… they’re lifelines.
And it’s not just the startup crowd. Our large employers, universities, investors, and civic leaders all lean in. Companies care about the community. UT Austin and other institutions are feeding talent and research into the ecosystem. And capital is flowing not only to the “hot” sectors, but to areas where founders are building for the long haul. And while those on the coast say we lack the Silicon Valley VC numbers… that is true of every city outside of Northern California.
Community Is the Secret Weapon
Austin didn’t stumble into this moment by chance. We’ve been building toward it for decades. While short timers think the “boom” began just a few years before they arrived…. those who have been committed to the Austin tech scene for a while knows that the foundation of our tech community can be traced back to the 1960s and 1970s.
The semiconductor boom of the 1980s put us on the map. The software wave of the 1990s gave us momentum. In the 2000s and 2010s, we saw diversification into medical technology, clean energy, creative tech, fintech, space tech, and more.
And now, in 2025, we’re in a full-blown renaissance of entrepreneurship backed by a citywide culture that doesn’t just tolerate innovation, it celebrates it.
At the center of this culture is one powerful truth: our people care. They engage. They invest their time and energy into building a better Austin for everyone. And while this is not true of everyone… those with too much “out for myself” vibe never seen to feel at home.
This collaborative spirit isn’t new… it’s baked into Austin’s DNA. And it’s the reason this city continues to outperform.
We Show Up
It’s easy to look at spreadsheets and think you understand what’s happening. But if you want to know why Austin is thriving, you have to do more than analyze the data.
You have to be in the room. Real leaders show up.
You have to attend the panels, join the breakfasts, walk the expo floors, and talk to the founders actually building the future. The spark is real, but you only catch it if you show up.
At the Austin Technology Council, we’ve made it our mission to be the thread that connects the generations, sectors, and stages of our tech community. As our organization goes through its own renaissance we seek the next generation of civic-minded leaders who want to shape the future. We are a grassroots organization that is returning to our grassroots focus. We are not “pay to play”. ATC is a community group that want to support all growth of tech in the region.
There’s no overnight success here. There’s just thousands of people rolling up their sleeves, collaborating, iterating, and building something meaningful.
The Future Isn’t Built Alone
Our job now is to keep this momentum going… not by patting ourselves on the back, but by doubling down on what works: connection, inclusion, innovation, and support. We roll our noses at bad press (re: the recent WSJ article that implied out tech boom was only for five years and that the end of our reign as a tech center was ending. It was a bad article and misleading about the realities of Austin). But at the same time we cannot overly believe the good press. Yes we are at or near the top of all kinds of lists… but we need to remain a scrappy innovation hub with a commitment to community, collaboration, and conversations.
If you’re building something here in Austin, plug into the community. If you’re new to town, introduce yourself. If you’ve been here for years, reach out to someone just getting started. Because in this city, everyone has something to offer… and all opportunities come from people.