In continuation of our series exploring tech hubs around the world, we take a look what the tech scene in Austin, Texas has to offer
We’ve all heard the saying “Keep Austin weird”. For decades, the city was known as a quirky metropolis filled with good food, brilliant live music and a diverse population. But, it wasn’t really a big player when it came to impressive startups or emerging industries.
However, in the last thirty years, that has changed dramatically. Austin has been enjoying something of a renaissance. In fact, the US’s southernmost city is now frequently touted as one of the most exciting tech hubs on the planet.
While it hasn’t overtaken places like California or New York (yet!), the Texas capital is constantly gaining ground. Tech employees are flocking to the city in their droves, spurred on by the amazing culture and more reasonable cost of living. According to LinkedIn data, Texas is the top state in the nation for tech worker migration.
Companies started to pay attention too! Last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company will move its headquarters to Austin. And in 2019, the city’s Chamber of Commerce recorded 58 relocations to the Austin area (not including companies opening second offices there, such as Amazon and Google).
The result of both trends has been a boom in tech entrepreneurship and creativity. So, if you want to be a part of the action, take a look at our guide to the Austin tech scene.
E-commerce
Traditionally, Austin has been home to some of the biggest success stories in retail, including the Whole Foods Market grocery chain and Yeti drinkware. More recently, the city is home to a growing e-commerce sector.
Online shopping has seen a monumental rise over the last decade or so, and this has been spurred on even further since the COVID-19 pandemic. E-commerce is a promising sector in Austin, and two of the city’s most notable companies are Volusion and BigCommerce.
PayPal is also a huge employer in the area and due to the company’s size, they are always recruiting for a variety of different roles. You can explore their open roles here.
Big data
The data management industry needs a couple of things to survive, skilled talent, cost-effective infrastructure such as electricity and secure data storage. Austin has all of these things in spades.
The city is also located in the central time zone and has a very low risk for natural disasters which are two important things to consider in the US. Austin has already attracted some impressive brands such as Citigroup and IBM.
Experian is another big hitter in Austin. This global information services company provides data and analytical tools to their clients around the world. You can check out their open roles on the Information Age jobs board now.
A guide to working in the Atlanta tech scene
Information Technology
IT has a rich history in Austin. In fact, computer giant Dell was founded in a Texas University dorm room back in 1984. The company’s headquarters are still in nearby Round Rock.
It is estimated that more than 17,600 technology firms employ over 203,700 workers in Texas today, with companies like Apple and Wipro continuing to expand.
One prime company that has migrated to Austin in recent years is Oracle. Founded in Santa Clara, California in 1977, Oracle offers their customers a variety of different cloud applications and cloud platform services. In 2019, the company made headlines as it decided to move its headquarters to Texas. This move was seen by many as a key indicator that Austin’s future is bright.
Logistics
Did you know that between 2014 and 2022, the US trucking industry made 732.3 billion dollars?
Transport and logistics is a huge industry in the United States, and Austin is definitely getting a piece of the pie. The Texas capital is home to a wealth of unicorn companies such as Uber and Arrive Logistics. However, there are also plenty of exciting start-ups and SMEs to look out for.
One company to watch is TuSimple. Founded in 2015, this brand operates self-driving trucks and develops commercial ready Level 4 fully autonomous driving solutions for the logistics industry. Take a look at their open roles here.
Check out more amazing Austin job opportunities on our Jobbio jobs board.
