In this episode, we take a discerning look at Startup Genome's Annual Ecosystem Report, seeking to comprehend what the data reveals about Austin's innovation landscape, while also critically examining and challenging it where discrepancies arise. Forrest Wright, Research Assessment Lead at Startup Genome, joins us to decode the metrics and shed light on Austin’s present and future trajectory in the innovation sector.

Episode Highlights

• Startup Genome's insightful report evaluates 290+ global startup ecosystems by scrutinizing six pivotal metrics: performance, funding, market reach, connectedness, talent, and knowledge.
• Despite a global 35% decline in startup funding in 2022, an unexpected trend emerged - the amount of funding per startup saw a significant surge, with AI cementing its position as a leading sector.
• Singapore's meteoric rise in the rankings from 18th to 8th is attributed to an influx of venture capital funding, the creation of 4 billion-dollar exits, and the emergence of 18 unicorns, including Coda Payments, which secured an impressive $690M in Series C. 
• Demonstrating resilience and harboring potential for growth, Austin holds steady at 25th in the rankings despite a 30% fall in large-scale exits, countered by its burgeoning count of 12 unicorns.
• Breyer Capital, Bedrock Capital, and 8VC are among the heavyweights moving to Austin, signaling a strong belief in its ecosystem. This migration starkly contrasts Startup Genome's more retrospective rankings and the forward-looking confidence expressed by these industry leaders.
• What’s next Austin? “The future is really bright. I think it actually bodes really well for Austin is you have these stalwart AI companies already there like SparkCognition, Mythic, and Tethr. I think they've all raised north of a hundred million dollars and some of them much more than that. And so I think this is a lot of built-in institutional knowledge that's going to be a real advantage for Austin compared to a lot of companies that are starting now to kind of jump on the bandwagon. Austin's going to have a real advantage there.”

Episode Links

Forrest Wright: LinkedIn

Startup Genome: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter
Startup Genome Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2023

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