Local business leaders are going to bat for Austin following publication of a Wall Street Journal article declaring that “Austin’s reign as a tech hub might be coming to an end.”

The Wall Street Journal article, published Tuesday, is based on a report from San Francisco-based venture capital firm SignalFire questioning whether Austin (as well as Houston) is losing its luster as a tech hub.

“Lagging infrastructure, a cultural mismatch, fluctuating housing costs, and a renewed emphasis on hybrid [return to office] policies are motivating startup employees to live closer to traditional hubs,” the SignalFire report said. “Last year, Austin, which was a post-pandemic growth leader, saw a 6% drop in headcount at VC-backed startups.”

Citing SignalFire data, the Journal went on to say that in Austin, employment at “big tech” companies — representing the top 15 tech employers based on their market value — declined 1.6 percent in 2024, and startup employment dropped 4.9 percent.

Austin, according to the Journal, “is now bleeding tech talent that is flowing back to the coasts” — places such as San Francisco and New York City.

Thom Singer, CEO of the Austin Technology Council, takes issue with the article’s premise. He complains that the article leans heavily on anecdotes from people who moved to Austin and left not long after arriving. That perspective doesn’t take into account the thousands of entrepreneurs, executives, creative professionals, and others who continue to build their future in Austin, he says.

“The narrative that Austin’s reign as a tech hub ‘might be coming to an end’ doesn’t reflect the broader picture we see from within the ecosystem,” says Singer.

For example, he notes that “big tech” employment in Austin grew by around 40 percent from 2018 to 2023. So it’s only natural, he said, that there’d be a “modest correction” in the hiring trend.

The Opportunity Austin economic development organization offered its own Journal rebuttal in a blog post.

“The Austin region is strong, resilient, and outperforming many of its large-market peers," Over the past five years, rapid growth has reshaped our economy, and the region has risen to meet both the opportunities and the challenges that come with it,” according to the blog post.

“In an era where many tech hubs are facing uncertainty, Austin is charting a different path grounded in innovation, workforce development, and long-term economic sustainability. The data backs this up,” Opportunity Austin added.

One sliver of data cited in the blog post: Since 2018, jobs in software publishing, IT services, and computer systems design have jumped 46 percent in the Austin area.

“Austin’s story isn’t one of decline. It’s one of deliberate evolution. We’re not chasing trends, we’re continuing to foster a robust ecosystem of innovation and capital growth,” Opportunity Austin noted. “The last few years brought rapid growth and a resilience for prosperity for the entire region. Austin is ensuring our economic momentum is sustained and the region continues to thrive.”

Nonetheless, the newspaper quoted Asher Bantock, SignalFire’s head of research, as saying the idea of Austin evolving into “a new startup hub didn’t materialize.” Bantock added that Austin’s fluctuating cost of living and outdated infrastructure have frustrated transplants like Gabriel Farid Guerra.

Guerra relocated from New York City to Austin in 2022, only to be disillusioned by Austin’s networking scene, tech opportunities and public transit system, according to the Journal. He soon exited Austin for Boston and Washington, D.C., before landing in San Francisco as head of growth at GitHub software provider Blacksmith.

The Journal ended the article with Guerra’s conclusion that Austin is “kind of dead.”

“Our region is not just a flash-in-the-pan boomtown,” Singer said. “The article implied our tech boom began only five years ago. Wrong. It goes back many decades.”

“We’re not interested in chasing the old model of a tech hub, and we have never tried to be Silicon Valley,” he added. “We’re building our own way. And from what we’re seeing at the Austin Technology Council, the next chapter is just getting started.”