The Austin Technology Council hosted the third annual Austin Tech Hall of Fame at the offices of Wise at The Domain in Austin, Texas. Two hundred members of the Austin tech community came together to honor the builders, founders, and leaders whose work laid the foundation of one of the most dynamic technology ecosystems in the world.
In this episode, Thom Singer recaps the evening and goes deeper on why the Austin Technology Council created the Hall of Fame, what it means to build a program designed to last eight years, and why honoring the past is one of the most important investments a community can make in its future.
The theme of the evening was simple but powerful. Celebrate the past. Be present in the now. Look to the future.
The more Thom has studied thriving ecosystems, the more convinced he has become that the future of a city is stronger when people understand the story they are joining. History gives newcomers context. It gives longtime residents pride. And it gives leaders a clearer sense of what must be protected while everything around them changes. Austin is growing and changing at a pace that makes it easy to lose that thread. The Hall of Fame exists to make sure that does not happen.
The 2026 Foundational/Legacy Inductees
Each year the Austin Technology Council inducts eight foundational and legacy honorees, people who were building things in Austin before it was obvious the city would become what it is today. This year those eight were Ken DeAngelis, Hugh Forrest, Brett A. Hurt, Joe McCall, Robert Metcalfe, Jan Ryan, Joel Trammell, and Peter Zandan.
Two hundred people got to sit in a room and hear these eight individuals reflect on their careers, their decisions, and the community they helped create. That kind of direct transmission of history is rare. It is also exactly what a healthy ecosystem needs.
The 2026 Current Year Inductee
Tyson Tuttle, former CEO of Silicon Labs and current CEO and co-founder of Circuit, was announced as the 2026 current year inductee into the Austin Tech Hall of Fame.
The 2026 First Time Founder Award
Will Wilder was named the 2026 winner of the First Time Founder Award, an honor the Austin Technology Council has presented every year since the Hall of Fame launched. The award recognizes entrepreneurs navigating the specific challenges and milestones of building their first company.
An Eight-Year Vision
The Austin Technology Council sees the Hall of Fame as a long-term commitment, not an annual event. There are close to 70 people who helped lay the foundation of Austin tech. Honoring all of them at once would do justice to none of them. The goal is to take the time each year to tell a small number of those stories well, to give those people the room to actually be heard, and to build something over time that the entire ecosystem can point to and say, this is where we came from.
By the end of this program, the Austin Tech Hall of Fame will represent a living record of the people and decisions that made Austin what it is.
Why This Matters
The Austin Technology Council exists to connect Austin's tech ecosystem through community, collaboration, and conversation. Thom believes the city will have a stronger future if people choose to be one community rather than a collection of silos. The Hall of Fame is one of the most tangible ways the ATC makes that case, year after year, by putting the right people in a room and asking them to share what they know.
If you are new to Austin, this is the story you are joining. If you have been here a long time, this is the story you helped write. And if you are leading something right now, this is the foundation you are building on.
Learn More
Austin Technology Council: austintechnologycouncil.com
