By LAURA LOREK
Founder of Silicon Hills News
Austin’s tech industry continued to boom in 2013.
Austin ranked number one on the Milken Institute’s list of best performing cities for 2013.
Austin ranked number two on Livability Index’s list of the best U.S. cities for people 35 and under.
It was a big year for high-tech startups with President Obama’s visit to Capital Factory in May to shine the light on all the innovation springing forth from Austin. Then the first Techstars Austin class debuted.
In April, Google announced Austin is the latest city to get its 1 Gigabit high speed Internet network. The launch of Google Fiber in Austin means that high tech startups will continue to flourish as 1 Gigabit high speed Internet becomes a standard. AT&T also launched its 1 Gigabit network.
And the world’s biggest startup, Dell went private in a $24.9 billion buyout led by Michael Dell, its founder.
National Instruments also announced a major expansion and Apple began manufacturing its latest computers in Austin.
And RetailMeNot went public in the biggest tech IPO of the year.
Bob Metcalfe’s invention, Ethernet, turned 40 years old.
On the downside, the $100 million startup Calxeda ceased operations and laid off its staff weeks before Christmas.
And the community lost a major champion and supporter of Austin technology with the death of Scott Robinson, the former Austin Chair for The Startup America Partnership.
The news of Robinson’s death was one of the posts with the most traffic in 2013, which shows that Silicon Hills News isn’t a traditional mainstream media publication. We’re part of the community we cover. We’re a startup covering startups and that’s evident in some of the stories that garnered the most traffic on the site for Austin technology in 2013.
1. Big Data Creating Big Opportunities for Entrepreneurs to Solve Big Problems
2. Main Street Hub Provides 24/7 Social Media Monitoring for Businesses
3. Mapping the Austin Tech Startup Scene
4. The Bitcoin Industry Takes Root in Austin
5. TechStars introduces its first Austin Class
6. Virgin America’s Nerd Bird Flight from Austin to San Francisco
7. Patent Trolls Threaten to Bankrupt Companies and Stifle Innovation
8. A Slice of Silicon Hills News Features Austin-based Maker Square
9. The State of Austin’s Tech Scene
10. Icon Lets People Create a “Wicked Smart” Digital Business Card
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