About
We bet on the hardest problems — early.
Capital Factory is the venture firm at the center of Texas. We've been the most active early-stage investor in the state since 2010, and we back founders building things most people think are impossible.
We do it two ways. The Texas Fund writes the first cash check into deep and frontier technology — national security, healthcare, next-generation industrial. All Access plugs a thousand-plus companies into the introductions, customers, and capital that turn an idea into an outcome.
We started as a software accelerator in 2009 and grew into the firm those founders choose first. The portfolio tells the story: Apptronik's humanoids on the factory floor, Saronic's autonomous ships, Paradromics in the human brain, Firefly on the surface of the Moon. The common thread is nerve — and a network that shows up when it counts.
If you're building something ambitious in Texas, this is where you start.
How we got here.
From a five-companies-a-year accelerator in the downturn to the venture firm at the center of Texas — here's the path.
2009
Capital Factory is founded
Joshua Baer starts Capital Factory in Austin as a mentorship-driven software accelerator — five companies a year, in the teeth of the downturn.
2010
Texas' most active investor
Per Pitchbook, Capital Factory has been the most active early-stage investor in Texas every year since 2010.
2013
Move to the Omni — a center of gravity
Capital Factory moves into the downtown Omni building on East 7th, building out the floors that become the heart of Austin's tech scene.
2017
The Texas Startup Manifesto
Capital Factory publishes its thesis to treat the whole state as one city — Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio — connecting founders to investors statewide.
2019
Center for Defense Innovation opens
23,000 sq ft of public-private collaboration space opens with Army Futures Command, AFWERX, and DIU as tenants — later the Center for Dual-Use Innovation.
2021
The Texas Fund launches
Capital Factory's flagship venture vehicle writes its first cash checks — formalizing the evolution from accelerator into a venture firm.
2022
Backing frontier tech
Capital Factory makes its first investment in humanoid-robotics company Apptronik — emblematic of the shift toward deep and frontier technology.
2023
Fellowship Fund launches
A new fund opens the door even wider, broadening who gets access to Capital Factory's capital and network.
2023
Intuitive Machines goes public
Portfolio company Intuitive Machines begins trading on Nasdaq (LUNR) in February — a Capital Factory–backed company headed to the Moon.
2025
Voyager Technologies IPOs
Space-and-defense company Voyager Technologies lists on the NYSE (VOYG) in June, closing its first day up more than 80%.
2025
Firefly Aerospace IPOs
Launch-and-lunar company Firefly Aerospace lists on the Nasdaq (FLY) in August at a multi-billion-dollar valuation.
2026
Texas Fund II opens
The second Texas Fund opens — doubling down on cash investments into the most ambitious deep- and frontier-tech founders.
2026
STATION Austin launches
Capital Factory launches STATION Austin — a non-profit carrying the community, programming, and innovation mission forward in perpetuity.
Say howdy.
The fastest way in is to pick a door above. For everything else, email us at howdy@capitalfactory.com.