The Austin Forum on Technology and Society

What The Austin Forum on Technology and Society does

The Austin Forum on Technology and Society is a community engagement organization founded in 2006 by Jay Boisseau in Austin, Texas. It operates a recurring calendar of monthly technology events — in-person presentations and networking sessions, online discussion events (typically book discussions), and in-person meetups — covering topics including AI, quantum computing, robotics, space technology, cybersecurity, blockchain, 3D printing, and energy tech. Events are hosted at rotating Austin venues including Austin Central Library, Austin Community College's Rio Grande Campus, Capital Factory, Google Austin, and Remedy Bar, with online sessions delivered via Google Meet. The Forum maintains a podcast, a Slack community for year-round engagement, and an extensive archive of recorded presentations.

The organization is operationally supported by Vizias, a small professional services firm co-founded by Boisseau in 2014, which provides staffing and execution through its non-profit arm, Vizias Research, Education, and Outreach. The Forum's core technology is an event management and community engagement platform built around Squarespace (website), Eventbrite and Ticketbud (registration), Google Meet (virtual events), and Slack (community). No proprietary software products, AI models, or APIs were identified in the source data.

The Forum monetizes through two primary streams: sponsorship tiers (Annual Partners, Champions, and Friends) from technology companies such as AMD, NVIDIA, Dell Technologies, Google Austin, SXSW, Capital Factory, Good Systems (UT Austin), Austin Tech Council, Austin AI Alliance, Adapter, and Atchley CPAs; and paid registration for select workshops and special events (typically $10–20 via Eventbrite), while most monthly presentations remain free to attend. The customer base consists of Austin-area tech professionals, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts attending events, plus corporate sponsors seeking community visibility, talent engagement, and thought leadership positioning within the Austin technology ecosystem.

Name

The Austin Forum on Technology and Society

Legal name

The Austin Forum on Technology & Society

Website

https://austinforum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Austin Forum on Technology and Society is an Austin-based community engagement organization founded in 2006 that hosts monthly technology events, workshops, and online discussions for tech leaders, experts, and enthusiasts, supported by corporate sponsorships and modest event registration fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Technology Community Events

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interest-Based Communities & Forums (BPAMABAC), Virtual Conferences & Summits (Webinars, Keynotes) (MPAGAOAA), Training, Enablement & Talent Development Summits (THAHAMAH)

Keywords

• Technology community events
• Monthly tech meetups
• Emerging tech forums
• Tech society discussions
• Community engagement programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Event Sponsorships and Partnerships: The Austin Forum relies on Annual Partners, Champions, and Friends for sponsorship and support. Sponsors provide funding to support events and community programming.
2. Event Registration Fees: Some events require paid registration via Eventbrite or Ticketbud, while others are free to attend.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Austin Forum on Technology and Society operates a recurring monthly program of community technology events consisting of in-person expert-led presentations and networking, online book/panel discussions, and in-person hands-on meetups, covering topics such as AI, quantum computing, robotics, cybersecurity, blockchain, space technology, 3D printing, and energy technology. Complementing these events are a podcast and a member Slack community, while a subset of workshops require paid registration sold through Eventbrite and Ticketbud.

Product overview

The Austin Forum on Technology and Society is a community engagement platform that connects a diverse community of tech leaders, experts, and enthusiasts to explore transformative technologies. It operates as a single unified offering centered around monthly events rather than a modular software product. The core service includes three types of recurring events each month: in-person presentation and networking events featuring expert speakers on technology topics; online discussion events (typically book discussions or panel conversations); and in-person meetups for hands-on workshops and community building. Topics covered span AI, quantum computing, robotics, space tech, cybersecurity, blockchain, 3D printing, energy tech, and more. Additional community touchpoints include a podcast and a Slack community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Monthly Technology Presentation and Networking Events Recurring monthly in-person events featuring expert speakers on a single emerging-technology topic (e.g., AI in education, data centers, HPC), followed by audience Q&A and networking, held at Austin venues such as Austin Central Library, ACC Rio Grande, Capital Factory, and Google Austin, and free to attend for the Austin tech community.
• Paid Hands-On Technology Workshops Workshops requiring paid registration sold via Eventbrite or Ticketbud, focused on hands-on skill-building in areas such as building software with AI and prompt engineering, targeted at Austin-based tech professionals and developers seeking practical, applied training.
• Online Technology and Book Discussion Events Recurring online discussions hosted via Google Meet, including facilitated book discussions on technology-themed non-fiction (e.g., 'The Infinity Machine' by Sebastian Mallaby) and panel conversations that extend community access nationally and internationally beyond the Austin in-person audience.

Quantifiable outcome

• One of the pillars of Austin tech scene since 2006
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SXSWcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSXSW is a key partner for Austin's tech ecosystem. Austin Forum collaborates with SXSW on events and programming, including SXSW Interactive Preview sessions and annual recaps. Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, regularly participates as a speaker at Austin Forum events.
• AMDcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAMD is a featured partner and speaker sponsor at Austin Forum events. The company logo appears on the Austin Forum website as a partner, and AMD executives like Michael Ignatowski and Michael Schulte regularly present at events.
• NVIDIAcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNVIDIA is a featured partner with executives like Marc Hamilton participating in Austin Forum events. NVIDIA sponsors speaker presentations on AI, HPC, and related topics.
• Good Systems (UT Austin)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGood Systems at UT Austin is a research group focused on ethical AI that partners with Austin Forum on events and programming. Sherri Greenberg serves as chairperson of Good Systems, Ethical AI at UT Austin.
• Capital FactorycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCapital Factory is Austin's startup hub and hosts multiple Austin Forum events including workshops and meetups. Provides venue and promotional support for community events.
• Austin Technology CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustin Technology Council (ATC), led by CEO Thom Singer, collaborates with Austin Forum on community events and programming. ATC CEO participates as speaker and host at Forum events.
• Austin AI AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustin AI Alliance is a community organization focused on AI that co-hosts events with Austin Forum, including the Data Center Dialogue town hall.
• Google AustinminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGoogle Austin hosts Austin Forum events at their Austin office location (500 West 2nd Street) including Supercomputing and Cloud Computing presentations.
• Dell TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDell Technologies is a featured partner with executives like Michael Shepherd and Tom Bishop participating in events. Dell has been involved in Austin Forum programming for many years.
• AdapterminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdapter appears as a logo partner on the Austin Forum website, indicating a marketing or sponsorship relationship.
• Atchley CPAsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAtchley CPAs appears as a partner on the Austin Forum website as a Champions-level supporter of the community.
• ViziascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVizias is the parent organization and operational team behind Austin Forum. Founded by Jay Boisseau in 2014, Vizias staff lead, execute, and support the Austin Forum through Vizias Research, Education, and Outreach, a non-profit dedicated to using technology for positive social impact.
• Austin Community College (ACC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustin Community College hosts Austin Forum events at the ACC Rio Grande Campus Center for Government & Civic Service. This is the primary venue for many monthly presentations.
• Remedy BarminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRemedy Bar is a recurring venue and partner for Austin Forum meetups, happy hours, and community events. Located at 360 Nueces Street, Austin.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Churchill Club: Silicon Valley-based technology and business forum hosting executive dinners, panels, and networking events for tech leaders and innovators. Same model as Austin Forum: invitation-leaning forums connecting tech executives with emerging technology and policy discussions.
• Austin Technology Council: Austin's tech industry association that convenes technology executives through events and programming. Closest direct peer in the same geography, with overlapping mission of tech community building and leadership networking.
• GeekWire: Pacific Northwest tech news and community organization hosting events, podcasts, and meetups for the technology ecosystem. Comparable as a regional tech community builder combining content, events, and audience engagement.
• Capital Factory: Austin-based startup hub and accelerator hosting community events, meetups, and educational programming for tech entrepreneurs. Comparable as a community-led engagement platform that aggregates Austin's tech ecosystem through events and partnerships.
• Silicon Valley Forum: Long-running Silicon Valley tech community organization that hosts executive events, summits, and networking for technology leaders and enthusiasts. Directly comparable to Austin Forum as a regional tech community engagement platform with similar programming cadence and audience.
• TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs): Global non-profit fostering entrepreneurship through local chapter events, networking forums, and educational programming. Directly comparable as a community-led, chapter-based tech leadership forum with sponsorship and event-driven monetization.

Broad incumbents

• SXSW: Massive annual Austin-based technology, music, and culture festival that is a listed partner of Austin Forum. Functions as a broader incumbent in the same Austin tech event ecosystem with overlapping speaker and audience pools.
• Web Summit: Large-scale global technology conference operator (Web Summit, Collision, Paddy Cosgrave's events). Comparable at the business-model level—sponsorship-driven, community-led tech conferences—but at vastly larger scale.

Others

• Long Now Foundation: Non-profit focused on long-term thinking that hosts public talks and seminars (The Interval, Seminars About Long-term Thinking) bringing experts and the public together. Thematically comparable to Austin Forum's technology-and-society framing and community lecture model.

Emerging players

• Meetup: Online platform for organizing local in-person and virtual community events and interest-based groups. Functionally enables the same community-driven tech meetups that Austin Forum runs, but as a horizontal platform serving many communities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/austinforum
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheAustinForum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/austinforum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Austin Forum on Technology and Society