The Austin Tech 2018 Year in Review

I wish I could watch a time-lapse of all the change that happened in the Austin tech scene in 2018. It would, in its own way, look like a jungle. A young jungle where more is growing than dying -- and new species emerge each day.

It's easy to get carried away on congratulating ourselves for our year in achievements.

But just consider a few of the high line items: Austin landed Apple's new $1 billion campus -- and didn't have to take on Amazon's HQ2, which many thought would be too much, too fast. The Army picked us for its Future Command headquarters. Everyone from Microsoft and Google to Capital One and Silver Lake poured new money into our tech ecosystem. Capital Factory, Techstars, WeWork, Work Well Win and several other accelerators and coworking spaces expanded in big ways. And local startups started taking on even bigger challenges -- from protecting against fake news to human-computer symbiosis and from 3D printing entire houses to landing on the moon.

Holy smokes, Austin. A sane person would say "slow down." But we aren't sane when it comes to startups.

Here's a list of Big Time stories that I think define 2018. Then, after that, a few more thoughts on what all this means.

Of course, none of this happens without the founders, employees, venture capitalists, mentors, friends and family that are behind these big names and big numbers. In 2018, we highlighted 25 of the people who are likely to drive the ecosystem in years to come. And we also partied with the 50 on Fire, which included several individuals making outsized contributions to the ecosystem.

It's tough to compare one year to the next -- there's too much and each year (each day, really) is unique.

But I see 2018 as a year of Austin's tech ecosystem maturing. That's happening in part because of big tech's increasing footprint in Austin. But it's also happening because of the growth of Capital Factory and Techstars, and the diversification of the scene with the addition of the Army Futures Command, as well as Dell Medical Center and new entrepreneurial programs at The University of Texas, St. Edwards University, Austin Community College and dozens of smaller programs throughout local schools.

Austin is constantly in the spotlight as a top place to live and start a business. It's unrealistic to assume that growth will continue at such a wild pace. But the way we added to the foundation of Austin's tech scene in 2018 sets us up for an incredible future.

Here's to a helluva year and a great 2019.