Austin Next

Jason Scharf
  • 5.0 (12)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Austin is building the new tech, cultural, and intellectual stack. The region is a living laboratory to answer a single question: How do you build a global innovation superpower? Host Jason Scharf dissects innovation from the individual to the ecosystem. From the soundstage to the data center to the fab, we decode the mechanics of Austin's innovation ecosystem. As Atoms, Bits, and Intelligence converge, we explore how Hard Tech scale, digital velocity, and creative density collide. This is an audit of the future. We map the physics of the flywheel so builders and investors can navigate the chaos.

  1. Innovation Ecosystems Are Inherited | Nait Jones

    19H AGO

    Innovation Ecosystems Are Inherited | Nait Jones

    The hype that landed on Austin in 2021 was correct and at the same time ahead of the curve. Nait Jones, serial founder and former a16z partner who arrived in Silicon Valley in 2011 at the Web 2 moment and moved to Austin during the pandemic, argues that the fundamentals have now caught up Jones traces what he calls a spiritual succession. A direct genealogy from Arthur Rock's invention of venture capital through Fairchild, Intel, Dell, and UT research into the current generation of robotics, defense, and energy infrastructure concentrated within a 200-mile radius. The city's defensible moat is where intelligence meets the physical world, the hardware and the software built as one.  The result will look nothing like what came before it. Agenda 0:00 Intro + Silicon Valley 2011 and the Web 2 Gold Rush 9:17 How The Social Network Changed the Talent Pipeline 11:16 Inside the a16z Partner Meeting 14:48 Spiritual Succession from Arthur Rock to Austin 18:06 The 2021 Hype Was Real, Just Early 20:26 California and Delaware's Self-Inflicted Wounds23:43 The 200-Mile Radius26:26 Permission to Build and the Sunlight Metaphor 30:20 Foundational Models Belong to SF 34:48 Third Places and Connective Tissue 42:29 The Storytelling Gap 45:44 Six-Month Vesting in the AI Era 49:04 Seedance, Suno, and the Creation-Consumption Collapse 54:59 The Barbell of Synthetic Media and Analog Craft 59:27 Copyright, IP, and the Entertainment Layer Cake Guest LinksNait Jones: X, LinkedInAdtwin: Website, LinkedIn -------------------Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedInEcosystem Metacognition Substack

    1h 2m
  2. The Western Canon in the Age of Vibe Coding | Carlos Carvalho, President, University of Austin

    MAR 11

    The Western Canon in the Age of Vibe Coding | Carlos Carvalho, President, University of Austin

    American universities stopped optimizing for students a long time ago. The University of Austin was built as a direct counter to that failure. Carlos Carvalho, its president, brings a statistician's precision to the diagnosis, tracing the causal chain from dropped standards to credential collapse while building an institution with no tuition and no government money, staking its survival entirely on student outcomes 20 years out. The conversation moves from the financial architecture of a university, through a curriculum that starts with Plato before it touches Python, to the deeper question of what a university owes a civilization in the age of AI and whether Austin is the right place to answer it. Agenda0:00 Intro + Three Years In 9:42 The $300M Bet 15:42 The Conglomerate Problem 21:42 Western Canon First 28:42 What AI Changes About Teaching 34:42 The Bastrop Lab 41:42 UATX in the Austin Ecosystem 48:42 Atoms vs Bits in Texas 53:42 American Exceptionalism as Mission 59:42 The Hit Pieces 1:06:42 The UCSD Math Collapse 1:11:42 Grade Inflation as Decay 1:14:42 AI and the Soul Problem Guest BioCarlos Carvalho is the President of the University of Austin. Prior to taking on this role, he spent 15 years as a professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, where he held the La Quinta Centennial Professorship and founded the Salem Center for Policy. A native of Brazil, Dr. Carvalho earned his doctorate in statistics from Duke University and has also taught at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His research focuses on Bayesian statistics in complex, high-dimensional problems with applications ranging from economics to genetics to public policy. At UATX, he is leading a bold effort to build a new university that stands for American principles and academic excellence. Guest LinksUniversity of Austin: Website, Substack, Instagram, X, LinkedIn -------------------Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedInEcosystem Metacognition Substack

    1h 13m
  3. Bootstrap vs. VC: Speed Costs Control | Rob Taylor, Silverton Partners

    FEB 19

    Bootstrap vs. VC: Speed Costs Control | Rob Taylor, Silverton Partners

    The decision to bootstrap a business or raise venture capital is not just financial. It is physics. You are choosing which system to operate within, which rules will govern your company, and whose incentives will shape your options at every inflection point. Rob Taylor has lived both realities. He spent years building venture-backed companies, raising millions in institutional capital. His brother Chris bootstrapped a company for 20 years and owned nearly 100% at exit. They sold their companies the same year and ended up in roughly the same place financially. The question is what do you optimize for, and the nature of that question is changing daily in the age of AI. Recorded live at Red Fridge Society. The Agenda 0:00 Intro + Defining Bootstrap vs. VC 7:23 Is Your Business VC-Backable 11:54 The Ecosystem You Gain with Institutional Capital 15:03 The Ownership Curve 20:36 Control and Governance 26:24 Disruption in the AI Era 32:41 How Fund Size Shapes Investment Behavior 37:43 The Bootstrap-VC Overlap 40:54 Choosing Your Partner 45:14 The Incremental Approach to RaisingGuest LinksRob Taylor: LinkedIn, Silverton PartnersRed Fridge Society -------------------Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedInEcosystem Metacognition Substack

    48 min
  4. Patient Capital in the Age of the $10B Seed | Brian Smith, S3 Ventures

    JAN 21

    Patient Capital in the Age of the $10B Seed | Brian Smith, S3 Ventures

    The current venture market is defined by a dangerous decoupling of capital from reality. While the industry chases $10B seed valuations and trillion-dollar infrastructure bets, Brian Smith and S3 Ventures are executing a "Discipline Arbitrage." They argue that the real returns in AI will not come from the massive CapEx spenders, but from the application layer that solves boring, regulated, enterprise problems. This episode audits the structural risks of the current AI wave and explains why staying as a small fund may be the ultimate competitive advantage. Agenda 01:30 Cisco Moment & 28 Bellagios06:31 Applications First, Agents Next19:06 2021 Bubble vs 2025 Reality32:55 Defining Patient Capital44:09 Strategic Advantage of Small Funds53:03 Return to AtomsGuest LinksBrian Smith, S3 Ventures (Website, X, LinkedIn)  -------------------Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedInEcosystem Metacognition Substack

    52 min
  5. The Semiconductor Moment for the Mind

    JAN 14

    The Semiconductor Moment for the Mind

    The market is mispricing the human brain. Some Investors view Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) and other neurotech as the next iteration of the medical device, a slightly better stent or a more advanced catheter. This is a category error. As Matt Angle (Paradromics) and Connor Glass (Phantom Neuro) articulate its not a product, its the next modem. The parallel is the internet in 1993. We are moving from a low-bandwidth, text-based era of biology into a streaming, high-fidelity era. This shift requires a convergence of disciplines, Material science, analog engineering, and machine learning, mirroring the semiconductor boom of the 1960s. Austin, with its unique trinity of industrial scale, software speed, and risk-tolerance, has emerged as the global command center for this revolution The Agenda: 0:00 - Intro 02:48 - Electrical Input and Output of the Body 08:13 - Navigating the Valley of Death via DARPA 16:54 - Moral Hazard of Regulatory Caution 23:45 - BCI as the Next Internet 37:51 - Capital Stack and the Platform Shift 50:31 - Declaring Austin the Global Neurotech Capital 55:23 - Convergence of Semiconductor DisciplinesGuest LinksMatt Angle: LinkedIn, Paradromics (Website, X, LinkedIn)Connor Glass: LinkedIn, Phantom Neuro (Website, X, LinkedIn) -------------------Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedInEcosystem Metacognition Substack

    1h 8m
  6. Combat as the Minimum Viable Product | Cix Liv, REK

    12/10/2025

    Combat as the Minimum Viable Product | Cix Liv, REK

    Cix Liv challenges the Silicon Valley consensus that humanoid robots belong in the warehouse or the battlefield. By explicitly rejecting the “Terminator” military arbitrage and the “Jetsons” domestic servant model, REK validates a new thesis: entertainment is the only sector where the reliability is acceptable and economically viable.  The discussion dissects the unit economics of robot combat, the “context window” required for mainstream sport adoption, and why American “lawyer culture” is fundamentally losing the hardware war to Chinese “engineering culture” explored in Dan Wang’s Breakneck This is a forensic look at building “Real Steel” without government grants or safe software margins. The Agenda: 00:00 - Beta Testing Robot Roadshows05:06 - Defining the Real Steel Concept07:14 - "Context Window" of Violence vs. eSports16:59 - State of Bipedal Balance & Chinese Hardware26:02 - Robot Soldier vs Real Steel Decision33:01 - B2B SaaS Brain Drain37:01 - Unit Economics: Reliability Arbitrage45:04 - Tech Stack of Tele-Operation52:07 - Dan Wang’s Breakneck Thesis: Engineer China vs Lawyer US57:37 - Bringing Detroit to TexasGuest Links REK: Website, X, Instagram, LinkedIn Follow Cix: X, LinkedIn -------------------Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedInEcosystem Metacognition Substack

    1h 3m
  7. Is The Venture Capital Model Broken? | Andrew Romans, 7BC

    12/03/2025

    Is The Venture Capital Model Broken? | Andrew Romans, 7BC

    The venture capital model of the last two decades, characterized by the "30-minute rule" and the race to a quick IPO, is obsolete. We are witnessing a fundamental decoupling of capital from geography and a restructuring of how liquidity is manufactured. In this episode, Andrew Romans of 7BC Venture Capital argues that we have entered a new era where geopolitical friction is forcing a renaissance in hard tech, hedge funds have permanently altered the growth stage, and the "Series A" playbook has been rewritten by the realities of a market where companies stay private indefinitely. Highlights 01:05 Why 30 Firms Control the Market09:49 "Stay Private Forever" & The Secondary Market 19:51 Geopolitics, Supply Chains, & Defense Tech30:30 Hedge Fund Tourists & Founder-Led VCs37:11  The Death of the "30-Minute Rule" 47:35 Beyond "Silicon Hills" Guest LinksAndrew Romans: LinkedIn, X7BC Venture CapitalFireside with a VC: Apple, Spotify, YouTube -------------------Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedInEcosystem Metacognition Substack

    52 min
  8. Zachary Levi | Can Austin Build an Ark for Human Creativity?

    10/01/2025

    Zachary Levi | Can Austin Build an Ark for Human Creativity?

    How do we nurture and protect the most human endeavors of creation and discovery?  Zachary Levi joins us to discuss calling, technology, and a creative Ark in Austin. We move from one’s life mission to concrete plans for land and film incentives. The central question of our time is whether we ride the AI tsunami or get swept under it. Highlights 00:00 Opening and Zachary Levi’s journey to Austin05:53 Calling vs discovery13:48 Build the ark and fix Hollywood25:13 Community, work, and purpose30:20 Why Bastrop for Wyldwood38:05 Austin’s energy and first principles46:57 Film incentives and ROI54:00 AI reshapes studio vs creatives1:10:40 Purpose through creation and discovery1:19:07 What’s Next Austin?Guest BioZACHARY LEVI has proven himself a triple threat- he is an accomplished actor, singer, and dancer that was displayed with his Tony- nominated performance for “Best Leading Actor in a Musical” in the critically praised Broadway production, SHE LOVES ME. In August 2024, Zachary starred in HAROLD & THE PURPLE CRAYON for Sony, based on the wildly popular children’s book written by Crockett Johnson. He will next star in both MGM/Amazon’s SARAH’S OIL as well as Joe Carnahan’s real-life survivor thriller, NOT WITHOUT HOPE. Zac is also set to appear in HOTEL TEHRAN, a new thriller from writer-director, Guy Moshe. In March 2023, Levi reprised his role as Shazam! in the Warner Bros. DC franchise, SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS. Directed by David F. Sandberg, this was the follow-up to the first installment, SHAZAM! which held the #1 spot at the box office for weeks following its April 2019 release. In 2021, Zachary portrayed iconic NFL MVP and Hall of Fame quarterback, Kurt Warner in AMERICAN UNDERDOG for Lionsgate directed by Andrew and Jon Erwin. Zac will return with the Erwin brothers for another Lionsgate film THE UNBREAKABLE BOY, based on the true story of the most inspiring boy who touched and changed the lives of those around him in theaters February 21, 2025. In a fan favorite recurring role, Levi took home a SAG Award for “Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series” for season two and three of Amazon Studios’ Emmy winning series, THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL. The first season of the show won six Primetime Emmys, two Golden Globes, as well as a Peabody Award and two Critics’ Choice Awards. The second season won one Golden Globe, three Screen Actor Guild Awards, one PGA Award, two Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, one Critics Choice TV Award, and TV Program of the Year at the AFI Awards. Additional previous film credits include: CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET; TEDDY’S CHRISTMAS; APOLLO 10 ½: A SPACE AGE CHILDHOOD; THOR: THE DARK WORLD; ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL; and TANGLED. The song “I See the Light,” written for TANGLED (performed by Levi & Mandy Moore) was nominated that year for an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Original Song. The pair performed the duet at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards ceremony. “I See the Light” also won the Grammy Award for “Best Song Written for Visual Media” at the 54th Grammy Awards. Levi is best known for his fan favorite performance as Chuck Bartowski in the hit NBC series, CHUCK. Other previous TV credits include the Netflix mini-series ALIAS GRACE & HEROES REBORN. In June 2022, Levi made his author debut with his memoir, RADICAL LOVE: LEARNING TO ACCEPT YOURSELF AND OTHERS, which shares his emotional journey through a lifetime of crippling anxiety and depression to find joy, gratitude, and ultimate purpose Guest LinksZachary Levi: X, Instagram Wyldwood -------------------Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedInEcosystem Metacognition Substack

    1h 24m
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5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Austin is building the new tech, cultural, and intellectual stack. The region is a living laboratory to answer a single question: How do you build a global innovation superpower? Host Jason Scharf dissects innovation from the individual to the ecosystem. From the soundstage to the data center to the fab, we decode the mechanics of Austin's innovation ecosystem. As Atoms, Bits, and Intelligence converge, we explore how Hard Tech scale, digital velocity, and creative density collide. This is an audit of the future. We map the physics of the flywheel so builders and investors can navigate the chaos.

Information

  • Creator
    Jason Scharf
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    173
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2023
  • Show Website
    Austin Next

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