Samsung Pledges $22.8M in Central Texas as Second Taylor Chip Fab Nears Construction; Austin Sensing Co. Raises $15M

Samsung puts more money into its Taylor community programs, a counter-drone startup and an AI homebuying platform close new rounds, and Austin-based Tesla shows off its long-delayed Roadster.

Samsung Austin Semiconductor announced $22.84 million in community and workforce investments Thursday and said it will start building a second chip plant in Taylor next month. Also on Thursday, Austin Sensing Co. said it had raised $15 million for its drone-detection hardware, and Austin-based Homa closed a $5 million seed round for its AI homebuying platform. That night, Tesla unveiled the second-generation Roadster.

Samsung commits $22.84M to Taylor-area programs, sets November start for second fab

Samsung Austin Semiconductor announced $22.84 million in 2026 community and workforce investments at an event at its Taylor plant on Thursday, the Taylor Press reported. The biggest piece is a new grant program called Spark!, which gives $10 million to 14 nonprofits and public entities in Taylor and Manor. Taylor ISD gets $2.45 million, and the City of Taylor gets $1 million. Samsung is also putting $1.5 million into a skilled-trades pathway with Taylor ISD for electrical, welding, pipefitting, and HVAC training. It will expand its paid summer internships for Taylor ISD students from 24 to 30 starting in 2027. Partnerships with UT Austin, Texas A&M and other schools add about $2.66 million a year.

Construction on Samsung’s second Taylor fab will begin in November, and the plant is expected to be running by 2030, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The first fab is entering qualification. Gases and chemicals are mostly on, and tools are being started up. John Taylor, the Samsung vice president who leads its Austin and Taylor sites, said the first fab is still on track to come online by the end of the year. He added, “We aren’t stopping just at one fab.”

The first fab will make chips on 2-nanometer technology, and Tesla is its only publicly named customer. Samsung has room for up to 10 plants on more than 1,200 acres near Taylor. That makes the Williamson County site one of the region’s biggest long-term job and supplier draws.

Austin Sensing Co. raises $15M to scale counter-drone sensors

Austin Sensing Co. has raised $15 million in total, Tectonic reported Thursday. That includes an $11 million seed round led by Bow Capital, with Bling Capital, Draper Associates, Mark VC, GTMfund and Ensemble VC participating. The rest is a roughly $4 million pre-seed round from last year.

The company builds airspace-awareness systems that detect and track drones using radio-frequency, radar, and acoustic sensors. It also offers a combined tower unit and its own command-and-control software, which can plug into other counter-drone platforms. Chief technology officer Isaac Duke described the strategy simply: “We build the software, we build the hardware.” Its website lists public-safety customers including the St. Lucie County and Martin County sheriff’s offices in Florida.

The company is ramping up production at a new 20,000-square-foot factory in Austin. Austin continues to grow as a counter-drone hub. Allen Control Systems recently expanded into a large North Austin manufacturing site after winning an Army counter-drone contract worth up to $500 million.

Homa raises $5M seed for AI homebuying platform

Austin-based Homa announced a $5 million seed round Thursday, led by Quiet Capital, with Restive Ventures and Cambrian Ventures participating. Homa is a licensed brokerage that runs an AI platform covering the whole homebuying process, from search and tours to offers, financing, and closing.

Its business model is based on commission rebates. When a seller offers a buyer-broker commission of up to 3%, Homa keeps 1% and returns the rest to the buyer. The company says those credits have averaged more than $10,000. Quiet Capital partner Michael Bloch said Homa “hands the customer real money back.”

Homa launched in Florida in 2025 and expanded to Texas in June. Axios reported that its first Texas deal was an Austin home. The new money will fund expansion into California, in-platform mortgage lending, and a mobile app. CEO Arman Javaherian, a former Zillow senior director, co-founded the company with Federico Campeotto, who holds a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence.

Tesla unveils second-generation Roadster

Austin-based Tesla unveiled its long-delayed second-generation Roadster Thursday night at a livestreamed event at SpaceX’s test site in McGregor, Fox Business reported. Tesla says some versions reach 60 mph in under a second and top 230 mph, using cold-gas thrusters developed with SpaceX. Tesla did not announce a price. Reservations require a $50,000 deposit for the Performance version and $250,000 for the Thrust version.

CEO Elon Musk said consumer production won’t start until 2028, Spectrum News reported. Tesla executives said earlier this year that the car would be built in Texas. Tesla reports third-quarter earnings Oct. 21.

Also in Silicon Hills

  • TSMC CEO C.C. Wei said the chipmaker has sent teams to evaluate a possible expansion in Texas and is in talks about the Musk-backed Terafab project. Wei insisted any fab involving TSMC must be run by TSMC (AP via KSAT, TrendForce).
  • Austin’s Silverton Partners led a $10 million Series A for New York-based Chariot Claims, an AI platform for consumer mass-arbitration claims (FinSMEs).
  • Thousands of Tesla owners gathered at Giga Texas for the “X Takeover” owners’ event (CBS Austin).
  • The second annual Austin AI Film Festival runs Oct. 16–17 at the Topfer at Zach Theatre, screening 40 films picked from more than 700 submissions (PR Newswire).

Only in Austin

Long before Austin had a Silicon Hills, it was showing off its tech with lights. In 1894, the city bought 31 secondhand “moonlight towers” from Detroit. Each was 165 feet tall and held six carbon-arc lamps, enough to light whole neighborhoods. Fifteen still stand, though only six remain in their original spots, and Austin’s are the only known surviving moonlight towers. One famously hosted the keg party in Dazed and Confused, though that scene was actually shot at a replica. The Zilker Park tower becomes the Zilker Holiday Tree every December (in the background).

Have a tip about Austin-area startups, funding, expansions, or layoffs? Send it to Silicon Hills News, and we’ll take a look.