This Is Epic

Epic Austin brand deemed one of the most innovative in America

Epic Provisions offers tasty, nutritional bars and bites in a variety of unique flavors.

Each year, CircleUp unveils the most innovative companies in America, and the 2015 roundup includes one epic local brand.

The 25 most innovative companies, which were revealed by Forbes, were selected by a group of industry professionals from a preliminary list of online submissions. These brands, says CircleUp, are redefining key aspects of our lives, such as how we eat and what we wear. The lineup that's dominated by companies that promote clean eating, active lifestyles and social awareness includes an Austin brand that embodies all three: Epic Provisions.

According to CircleUp, Epic Provisions is disrupting a market overrun by processed foods and leading a movement towards health-conscious snacking. The local company offers simple protein bars and snacks that are rich in nutrients and quality ingredients, heralding the paleo diet philosophy before it became one of the most popular dietary trends of the past few years.

Each Epic bar features organic, grass-fed meats without controversial additives such as grain, soy and dairy. Combine the guilt-free ingredients with unique flavors like Bison Bacon Cranberry, Chicken Sriracha and Pulled Pork Pineapple, and you have treats that are healthy and tasty.

Since Epic Provisions' founding by Taylor Collins and Katie Forrest in 2012, the company has grown to include a wide-range of meaty products, including shareable bites and trail mixes. Epic's snacks are now available at big-name retailers like Whole Foods Market and REI.

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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.

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