30 under 30

Two Austin superstars land on prestigious 30 Under 30 list

Two Austin entrepreneurs have landed on Inc.'s30 Under 30 list, which honors young superstars that are making waves. The annual list gives props to innovators behind some of the most buzzworthy companies in the country.

The first Austin-based company on the list is the Zebra, which has been billed as the "Kayak of auto insurance." Just as Kayak quickly compares airfare and travel rates among different travel websites, the Zebra compares automobile insurance rates from more than 200 providers.

The Zebra was founded by Adam Lyons in 2012. The young entrepreneur boldly emailed Mark Cuban explaining the gist of the company, and the business tycoon took the bait, becoming one of the Zebra's first investors.

Since its nationwide launch last year, the site has seen plenty of success. But Lyons doesn't plan on sticking to auto insurance. "We want folks to save by bundling, and plan to demystify every personal line of insurance," Lyons tells Inc. "We started with auto insurance because there's about $180 billion in premiums written each year, but will expand into other markets within 18 months. We want to be the one-stop shop for everything insurance."

Just as Lyons recognized the need to shake up the insurance game, Austinite Douglas Hanna saw an opportunity to make the customer service sector more helpful. Help.com is Hanna's startup company that crafts customer service software that is "friendly enough for smaller companies but powerful enough for larger ones," according to Inc.

There's a rather large demand for simple, scalable customer service software that can be easily used by companies big and small. "Hanna has a knack for not only having a finger on the pulse of the customer, but for also knowing where they're going next," Hanna's colleague Chip Bell tells Inc. The company hasn't launched yet (the software is scheduled to be available this summer), but Hanna has already drastically impacted the customer service market.

You can vote for the Zebra and Help.com as your favorite 30 Under 30 company here.

Adam Lyons, CEO and founder of the Zebra.

Adam Lyons_the Zebra_insurance company_2015

Courtesy of the Zebra

Adam Lyons, CEO and founder of the Zebra.

unspecified

Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

traffic self-driving cars innovation