Wise, a global technology company specializing in international money transfers, announced Tuesday a 200% expansion of its Austin office, bringing its total footprint to 90,000 square feet across three floors in Domain Tower II.
The expansion reinforces the company’s commitment to North America and positions Austin as a critical hub for the London-based fintech firm. Wise employs more than 700 people in the U.S. and continues hiring across engineering, product, marketing and customer support functions.
“The expansion of our Austin office hub is a powerful testament to the opportunity we have in North America,” said Isabel Naidoo, chief people officer at Wise. “Austin’s dynamic and developing technology landscape serves as an exciting backdrop that will support the Wise team as we continue to build offerings that meet the international money needs of our growing customer base.”
The Domain office houses cross-functional teams and features workspace designed to promote collaboration and innovation. Amenities include a multi-faith prayer room, quiet room and wellness room with massage chairs.
Design elements reflect Austin’s character, with ceiling fixtures inspired by the State Capitol building, wave-shaped furniture echoing the Colorado River and bat-themed murals created by employees’ children.
The expansion comes as Wise targets North American customers seeking alternatives to high-fee wire transfers and slow international transactions. The company’s mission centers on eliminating barriers in cross-border money movement.
Mayor Kirk Watson praised the investment.
“Wise is a great example of the kind of innovative, high-growth businesses that make Austin a leading hub for tech companies,” Watson said. “It demonstrates that Austin remains one of the best places to start and grow a business.”
The announcement follows continued growth in Austin’s technology sector, which has attracted numerous global companies seeking access to technical talent and favorable business conditions.
Jim Breyer, the venture capitalist who made his first billion from an early Facebook investment, was featured on the cover of Forbes magazine’s September issue as his fortune doubled to $3.8 billion following the public debut of cryptocurrency firm Circle Internet Group.
Breyer, 64, moved his firm Breyer Capital from Silicon Valley to Austin in 2020 and now works alongside his two adult sons as partners. The Forbes profile detailed his investment career and his renewed focus on artificial intelligence applications in healthcare.
Circle’s June initial public offering sent the company’s market capitalization to $55 billion as investors bought shares in the creator of USDC, a stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasury bills. Breyer, the second-largest individual shareholder, cashed out nearly $100 million in mid-August while retaining an 8% stake worth more than $1.7 billion.
The Circle windfall marks Breyer’s fourth investment returning at least 100 times his initial stake. He first invested in the company in 2013 at 27 cents per share, four years after Bitcoin’s introduction.
Breyer gained billionaire status in 2011 after Accel Partners’ 2005 investment of $12.7 million in Facebook at four cents per share. The social network recently traded at $743 per share. He topped Forbes’ Midas list of best venture capital investors three consecutive years from 2011 to 2013.
His other major wins include early investments in Spotify, Etsy, Marvel Entertainment and the Boston Celtics. Breyer sold his Celtics stake this year when the franchise was valued at $6.1 billion.
In 2020, Breyer brought his sons Daniel, 30, and Ted, 28, into Breyer Capital as partners, transforming the firm into an active family office. Daniel published his first novel in April while Ted has focused on cryptocurrency investments since college.
A year after relocating to Austin, Breyer shifted his investment strategy toward companies developing AI solutions for life sciences and healthcare. In April, he hired Morgan Cheatham, a venture capitalist pursuing a medical degree, as partner to lead those efforts.
One of Breyer Capital’s most successful healthcare AI bets is OpenEvidence, a free app allowing doctors to consult medical research. The company raised $210 million in July at a $3.5 billion valuation. Forty percent of U.S. doctors have signed up for the service.
Breyer faced personal tragedy in February 2024 when his wife Angela Chao, CEO of shipping company Foremost Group, died in an accident at the couple’s Texas ranch. He is raising their 5-year-old son with help from two nannies, according to the Forbes’ article.
“So much of it is, I persevere for that little five-year-old, ensuring that I’m the best dad possible and the best dad and partner to the rest of the family,” Breyer told Forbes.
The venture capitalist, who serves on Blackstone’s board, has embraced Texas life, owning more than 20 pairs of cowboy boots and attending 90% of University of Texas Longhorns football games.
Austin Tech Week is a five-day celebration running October 20-24 at Capital Factory, bringing together entrepreneurs, tech leaders and investors. The event includes workshops, panel discussions, networking opportunities and investor meetings.
Key Austin Tech Week Events:
Wednesday, Oct 22 – Various sessions and networking events at Capital Factory (austintech.com for full schedule)
Thursday, Oct 23, 8:00-9:00 AM – Austin Technology Council breakfast session at Accenture, 323 Congress Ave, 3rd Floor
Friday, Oct 24 – Final day of Austin Tech Week main programming
Friday-Sunday, Oct 24-26, 5:00 PM – Austin Tech Week AI Hackathon hosted by Nvidia and AITX, featuring hands-on building and collaboration with Austin’s top developers
OTHER UPCOMING TECH EVENTS
Monday, Oct 27, 6:00 PM – The Rising Trend of One-Person Businesses Meetup at Capital Factory Austin Centre
Monday, Oct 27, 6:30 PM – Austin Enlightenment Society Meetup at Capital Factory Austin Centre
Monday, Oct 27, 6:30 PM – Bescy ATX Meetup at Capital Factory Austin Centre
Base Power announced Monday it has raised $1 billion in Series C financing to accelerate nationwide expansion of its residential battery storage network.
The round was led by Addition, with participation from all major existing investors including Trust Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Thrive Capital, Lightspeed and Andreessen Horowitz. New investors include Ribbit, CapitalG, Spark, BOND, Lowercarbon and 1789, according to a company statement.
The Austin-based startup, founded in 2023, installs battery systems in homes that provide backup power during outages while allowing the grid to draw on stored electricity during peak demand periods.
“The chance to reinvent our power system comes once in a generation,” said Zach Dell, CEO and co-founder. “The challenge ahead requires the best engineers and operators to solve it and we’re scaling the team to make our abundant energy future a reality.”
In less than two years, Base has deployed more than 100 megawatt-hours of residential battery capacity across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Greater Houston and the Austin region. The company has partnered with homebuilder Lennar and several utilities.
Base is building its first energy storage and power electronics factory at the former Austin American-Statesman printing press site in downtown Austin to meet growing demand.
The company recently qualified for Texas’s Aggregated Distributed Energy Resource program, which allows distributed batteries to be combined and bid directly into the state’s power grid. The program generates additional revenue that helps Base lower costs for homeowners.
“The only way to add capacity to the grid is physically deploying hardware, and we need to make that here in the U.S., ourselves,” said Justin Lopas, COO and co-founder.
Austin TX downtown panorama skyline cityscape. The Boardwalk Trail at Lady Bird Lake.
Austin Tech Week kicked off Monday, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and technology leaders for five days of programming across the city.
The annual event, running Oct. 20-24, features more than 50 gatherings ranging from early-morning networking walks to pitch competitions and evening social events. Now in its second decade, Austin Tech Week is produced in partnership between Jacqueline Hughes, Joshua Baer and Capital Factory.
Highlights include the Seed + Series A Female Founder & Investor Dinner on Monday, sponsored by J.P. Morgan, and the Austin Venture Day on Tuesday, which will feature founders who have raised more than $100 million discussing the city’s tech ecosystem.
Wednesday’s programming includes a VC and founder panel on consumer innovation, while Thursday features MoFo Fall 2025 Pitch Day at Capital Factory and the comedy-infused “Your Startup Sucks” live pitch show.
The week concludes Friday with a Morning Reset gathering and White Collar Fight Night, where Austin professionals compete in boxing matches.
Many events require advance registration through Luma or other platforms. A complete schedule is available at austintech.com.
A groundbreaking collaboration between New Zealand’s Ngāi Tahu Research Centre, Texas-based genetic engineering company Colossal Biosciences, and filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson aims to bring back the extinct South Island Giant Moa through advanced de-extinction technology.
The initiative, announced Tuseday represents the first indigenous-coordinated de-extinction project and places Māori values and traditional ecological knowledge at the center of species restoration efforts.
The South Island Giant Moa, which stood up to 3.6 meters tall and weighed approximately 230 kilograms, went extinct about 600 years ago following Polynesian settlement. The flightless birds, comprising nine distinct species, played crucial ecological roles in New Zealand’s forests and grasslands for millions of years.
“Our earliest ancestors in this place lived alongside moa and our records, both archaeological and oral, contain knowledge about these birds and their environs,” said Kyle Davis, a Ngāi Tahu archaeologist who recently guided Colossal scientists to cave sites containing moa fossils.
The Ngāi Tahu Research Centre, established in 2011 at the University of Canterbury, will direct all aspects of the project. Professor Mike Stevens, the center’s director, noted that moa harvesting helped transform tropical East Polynesian explorers into subtropical South Polynesian Māori during the 14th and 15th centuries.
“The loss of moa, through over-harvesting and habitat modification, was a salutary lesson as to the New Zealand archipelago’s ‘fragile plenty,'” Stevens said.
Colossal Biosciences has committed significant investment to build biotechnology infrastructure in New Zealand and protect its unique biological heritage. The company will sequence and rebuild genomes for all nine moa species and develop conservation assessments for potential rewilding sites.
“This partnership represents a new model where indigenous leadership guides scientific endeavors,” said Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of Colossal Biosciences. “Traditional ecological knowledge and cultural context are essential to responsible de-extinction and species preservation efforts.”
The project will follow a phased approach beginning with expeditions to recover ancient DNA, followed by genomic analysis, gene identification, and development of reproductive technologies. All technology developed will be open-sourced and available for conservation purposes under Ngāi Tahu Research Centre direction.
Dr. Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer, emphasized the scientific value of combining indigenous knowledge with genomic technology. “By studying ancient DNA, we can gain insights into how these keystone species shaped New Zealand’s unique biodiversity,” she said.
The partnership also includes plans for economic development through ecotourism ventures and educational programs that will create employment pathways for Māori researchers and educators.
Sir Peter Jackson, who helped bring the partners together, expressed enthusiasm about the mission. “With the recent resurrection of the dire wolf, Colossal has also made real the possibility of bringing back lost species,” Jackson said, referencing the company’s previous de-extinction work.
Paul Scofield, senior curator of natural history at Canterbury Museum and an adjunct professor at the University of Canterbury, called the initiative “an unprecedented opportunity to recreate lost taonga (treasured) moa species.”
Canterbury Museum holds the world’s largest collection of moa remains. The museum’s founder, Sir Julius von Haast, built this collection through extensive excavations and exchanges with overseas institutions.
The project has received financial support from Robert Nelsen, managing director of ARCH Venture Partners, who said supporting the initiative “just felt like one of those projects that needed the right collaboration to make happen.”
Beyond moa restoration, the partnership will establish a genetic repository of culturally significant plants and animals, creating what organizers call a new model for indigenous leadership in scientific innovation.
Research indicates moa populations were stable until human arrival, with extinction occurring within a century of Polynesian settlement. The rapid extinction represents one of the most well-documented examples of human impact on megafauna.
The collaboration extends longstanding Ngāi Tahu involvement in species protection and ecological restoration while building on the research center’s record of international partnerships.
In a groundbreaking scientific achievement, Colossal Biosciences announced Tuesday the successful birth of three dire wolves, marking the first-ever de-extinction of an animal species previously lost to time.
The dire wolf, extinct for over 12,500 years, was a large North American canid often associated with the fictional creatures from HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” According to Colossal, the rebirth represents a critical milestone in their de-extinction technologies and pathway toward reviving other extinct species.
“Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies,” said Colossal CEO Ben Lamm. “It was once said, ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.'”
The company’s achievement extends beyond the dire wolf, with scientists also successfully birthing two litters of cloned red wolves—North America’s most critically endangered wolf species—using a novel blood cloning approach.
The three dire wolf pups include two adolescent males named Romulus and Remus, and one female named Khaleesi. The red wolf litters consist of one adolescent female named Hope and three male puppies: Blaze, Cinder and Ash.
Harvard geneticist and Colossal co-founder Dr. George Church noted that the dire wolf project involved “the largest number of precise genomic edits in a healthy vertebrate so far,” with 20 unique precision germline edits, including 15 from ancient gene variants.
The wolves currently reside on a 2,000-acre ecological preserve certified by the American Humane Society and registered with the USDA. The facility features specialized engagement zones, redundant security measures and continuous monitoring to ensure animal welfare.
“The de-extinction of the dire wolf is more than a biological revival. Its birth symbolizes a reawakening – a return of an ancient spirit to the world,” said MHA Nation Tribal Chairman Mark Fox, highlighting the cultural significance of the achievement.
To accomplish the de-extinction, scientists extracted and sequenced ancient DNA from two dire wolf fossils, assembled ancient genomes, identified gene variants specific to dire wolves and performed multiplex gene editing to a donor genome from the gray wolf, the dire wolf’s closest living relative.
The company’s analysis revealed dire wolves had white coat color and thick fur, adaptations consistent with ice age conditions. Their research also showed gray wolves share 99.5% of their DNA with dire wolves.
Dr. Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s Chief Science Officer, said their approach “sets a new standard for paleogenome reconstruction” and established “the genomic foundation for de-extinction.”
The technology developed for the dire wolf project has immediate conservation applications, as demonstrated by the birth of two litters of red wolves. With fewer than 20 red wolves remaining in North America, Colossal’s red wolves could increase the number of founding lineages in the captive breeding population by 25%.
“Colossal is drastically changing the prognosis for countless endangered species around the world,” said Aurelia Skipwith, former Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The company plans to eventually restore both species in secure ecological preserves, potentially on indigenous land.
Colossal Biosciences co-founder Ben Lamm joined actor Joe Manganiello at SXSW to discuss the company’s groundbreaking work in de-extinction and genetic engineering, revealing advances that could reshape conservation efforts and potentially extend human lifespans.
The Dallas-based startup, which has raised over $435 million in private funding, aims to bring back extinct species like the woolly mammoth and Tasmanian tiger (thylacine) through genetic engineering. Lamm highlighted that beyond the headline-grabbing de-extinction work, Colossal is developing technologies with applications in conservation, medicine and environmental remediation.
“Modern conservation isn’t working,” Lamm said. “The speed at which we’re eradicating species… we’re going to lose up to 50% of all biodiversity between now and 2050.”
Seven Key Takeaways:
Woolly Mouse Success: Colossal has created a genetically modified “woolly mouse” with mammoth genes, demonstrating that their genetic editing techniques work with high precision. This serves as a bridge to their mammoth resurrection project.
Genetic Recovery Process: The company uses DNA from museum specimens, living relatives, and convergent evolution analysis to reconstruct extinct species’ genomes, as exemplified by their work on the thylacine.
Environmental Impact: Reintroducing extinct keystone species could help combat climate change by preserving permafrost and restoring damaged ecosystems, potentially generating carbon credits.
Cancer Research Implications: While studying elephant cells for the mammoth project, researchers discovered mechanisms related to how elephants naturally resist cancer, which could have applications in human medicine.
Global Biobank Need: Lamm advocated for a “Manhattan Project-scale” effort to create a comprehensive biobank of endangered species’ genetic material before they disappear.
Business Model: Colossal monetizes its technology through spinoff companies, including one focused on plastic degradation and another on computational biology for human applications.
Longevity Research: Lamm predicted that within 20 years, advances in synthetic biology would lead to “longevity escape velocity,” where human lifespans could be significantly extended.
The session also touched on ethical considerations, with Lamm arguing that the choice not to pursue de-extinction technologies would be unethical given the ongoing biodiversity crisis. “I think we have a moral obligation and an ethical obligation to pursue technologies to at least undo some of the sins of the past,” he said.
Manganiello, who appears to be an investor in the company, expressed fascination with Colossal’s work and its potential to inspire younger generations to pursue science.
The company expects to continue quarterly meetings with federal government agencies to address ethical concerns and ensure transparency as their genetic engineering technologies advance.
Scientists at Colossal Biosciences have created genetically engineered mice with mammoth-like traits, marking a significant step toward the company’s ambitious goal of “de-extinction” of the woolly mammoth, the company announced Friday.
The “Colossal Woolly Mouse” exhibits multiple traits similar to those that once helped mammoths survive frigid environments, including dramatically altered coat color, texture and thickness. The mice resulted from simultaneous modification of seven genes in a single genome-editing process.
“The Colossal Woolly Mouse marks a watershed moment in our de-extinction mission,” said Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences. “By engineering multiple cold-tolerant traits from mammoth evolutionary pathways into a living model species, we’ve proven our ability to recreate complex genetic combinations.”
The company’s mammoth team identified key genes that impact hair and cold-adaptation traits through analyzing 121 mammoth and elephant genomes. Researchers then used a combination of gene-editing technologies to make eight edits simultaneously across seven genes.
The resulting mice display mammoth-like features including longer hair — up to three times the length of normal mice — woolly hair texture, wavy coats and golden coloration instead of the typical black or brown. The mice also carry modifications to genes involved in lipid metabolism, similar to those found in mammoths.
Dr. Beth Shapiro, chief science officer at Colossal, called the achievement “an important step toward validating our approach to resurrecting traits that have been lost to extinction.”
The genetic engineering breakthrough has implications beyond the laboratory, serving as a model for studying cold-climate adaptations in mammals and demonstrating how multiple genes work together to create physical traits.
Colossal Biosciences was founded by Lamm and Harvard geneticist George Church with the goal of using CRISPR gene-editing technology for species de-extinction. The company aims to resurrect extinct species like the woolly mammoth and thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) by recreating their genetics in living related species.
Renowned futurist Amy Webb delivered a sobering assessment of emerging technology convergences at South by Southwest on Saturday, warning that humanity has crossed into what she terms “the beyond” — a new era where artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and advanced sensors are merging to create unprecedented capabilities and challenges.
Webb, CEO of the newly rebranded Future Today Strategy Group (FTSG), presented findings from her organization’s 1,000-page annual Tech Trends Report, highlighting several developments that could fundamentally reshape society:
“Living intelligence is going to rewrite the rules of our reality as we know it today, and we are not prepared,” Webb told the audience. “Living intelligence is a system that can sense and learn and adapt and evolve.”
Key takeaways from Webb’s presentation include:
Multi-agent AI systems are developing the ability to collaborate, assign tasks, and make decisions without human input — demonstrated in recent experiments where autonomous agents spontaneously organized themselves, formed alliances, and developed their own communication methods.
AI systems are increasingly adopting non-human languages like Microsoft’s “Droid speak” to communicate with each other three times faster than when using human languages, which Webb described as “clumsy, imprecise and sometimes inaccurate” for machine communication.
The integration of physical sensors with AI is transforming systems from passive observers to active controllers, with examples ranging from injectable microscopic devices for human bodies to implantable electrodes that allow paralyzed individuals to control computers through thought.
Biology and technology are converging in startling ways, including the creation of the first commercial computers made with living human neurons, which Webb described as “the first living machines.”
Scientists are developing materials with properties not found in nature — “metamaterials” — including bricks that function like lungs to filter pollution and buildings that can switch between rigid and flexible states during earthquakes.
The fields of robotics and AI are making rapid advances, with Webb noting that embodiment through robots may be necessary for achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), as “AGI doesn’t exist without embodiment much in the same way that our human intelligence doesn’t really exist outside of a body.”
Major tech companies are rushing toward commercialized robots within five years, despite public statements suggesting longer timelines, with Webb highlighting recent breakthroughs in robot dexterity and adaptation.
The convergence of these technologies is creating what Webb calls a “technology supercycle” — a decades-long period of economic expansion followed by eventual correction or realignment.
Advancements in generative biology mean “anybody can get biology predictions in minutes,” potentially disrupting pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of physical products.
New capabilities in biological manufacturing include growing human teeth in pigs, creating rice with cow genes, and developing “sperm bots” to tackle fertility challenges.
Webb expressed concern about the ethical implications of these technologies, asking “whose brain parts are in these computers?” regarding the new neural computing systems.
The trends indicate a lack of coordinated planning or vision for the future being created, with Webb stating “there’s no vision for the world that we inhabit right now, there’s no long-term plan, there is no strategy.”
Webb warned that focusing too much on immediate discomforts — what she calls the “stone in your shoe effect” — prevents organizations and leaders from engaging in necessary long-term planning.
Public-private partnerships around these technologies could lead to problematic outcomes, with Webb presenting scenarios where technologies developed for consumer comfort could eventually be weaponized for political control.
The decisions made in the next decade “are going to determine the long-range fate of human civilization,” according to Webb’s research, requiring better strategic foresight and planning.
Webb concluded by urging attendees to challenge their existing beliefs and prepare for dramatic changes: “Remember you create the future every day with the decisions that you make. Every decision is a doorway that you can walk through to make tomorrow better.”
