Austin Tech Alliance Adds More Founding Companies

The Austin Tech Alliance continues to expand its roster of member companies as it tries to turn the region’s sizable technology workforce into a voting bloc capable of affecting local policy.

The nonprofit announced Monday that it added six more “founding member” companies to its rolls:

• Silicon Laboratories Inc., maker of computer chips

• South by Southwest LLC, organizer of the annual festival and conference

• Aceable Inc., an provider of online and mobile education

• Localeur Inc., a platform for getting travel and tourism recommendations

• Convey Inc., a delivery logistics company

• FarBridge Inc., maker of virtual- and augmented-reality software.

Company memberships provide workers with access to a variety of resources, including policy papers and the opportunity to influence the direction of group’s advocacy efforts.

The Austin Tech Alliance has its roots in a Facebook discussion group founded in 2016 after Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. ceased ridesharing operations in the city in protest of local regulations. The ridesharing companies returned to Austin this week after statewide rules were signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Since then, the group has grown beyond its social network origin to become a 501(c)(6) membership-based organization led by full-time executive directorDavid Edmonson. In the run up to the 2016 general election, the group also released an app with information on City Council candidates and their positions.

The group is in the midst of a membership drive. The new member companies add to a growing list that already includes Google Inc., which has a significant local presence in Austin; WP Engine Inc., an Austin-based website hosting company; and Capital Factory, a downtown startup incubator.

This article was originally published on 5/31/17 by Michael Theis. 

Check out which companies got added to the list here.