Texas Innovation Ecosystems in the AI Era with Samantha Lewis, Partner Mercury Fund

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Austin Next

Jason Scharf

168 episodes

3 days ago

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.

All content for Austin Next is the property of Jason Scharf and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Technology

Business,

Management

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Texas Innovation Ecosystems in the AI Era with Samantha Lewis, Partner Mercury Fund

Austin Next

1 hour 3 minutes

9 months ago

Texas Innovation Ecosystems in the AI Era with Samantha Lewis, Partner Mercury Fund

The Texas innovation ecosystem is accelerating at breakneck speed as technologies like AI and institutions such as the Texas Stock Exchange reshape what is possible. Samantha Lewis, Partner at Mercury Fund, recently relocated to Austin from Houston to strengthen the firm's presence in the region. Our conversation reveals how the founders and funders in the Texas Triangle are positioning themselves during this tech revolution, and why the connections between Austin, Houston, and Dallas are a superpower that is just getting started.

Episode Highlights

Mercury Investment Thesis
Expansion to Austin
AI Competition Landscape
Importance of Founder Vision
Good Businesses vs VC Backable
Bits Meet Atoms
Healthcare Innovation Frontiers
Austin Growth Opportunity
Texas Stock Exchange Impact
High Speed Rail vs Airports
Texas Innovation Triangle and Collaboration
Houston Industry Challenges
Tech Inspiration Moments
What's Next Austin?
- "We're so excited to just hang out and see everybody, meet entrepreneurs, hopefully build a big fintech community here as time goes on...The more VC firms that are here, the better. The more entrepreneurs that are getting funding here, the better"

Samantha Lewis: X/Twitter, LinkedIn
Mercury Fund: Website, X/Twitter, LinkedIn

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