lets network

Round Rock entrepreneurs to work together on the city's first Startup Day

Get those pitches ready for May 2.

Calling all entrepreneurs and visionaries in the Austin area: A new event in Round Rock is bringing together innovators of all kinds to its inaugural Round Rock Startup Day on Thursday, May 2.

Hosted by the Round Rock Chamber at the Texas State University Round Rock Campus, the all-day event will provide diverse, hands-on experiences for business enthusiasts and professionals through a variety workshops, speaker sessions, and networking opportunities.

"This event is a testament to our commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and supporting the growth of startups in our community," said Round Rock Chamber president and CEO Jordan Robinson in a statement.

Attendees can bring their best startup ideas to compete in the "Round Rock Pitch Competition," presenting their companies to a panel of judges for the chance to win a grand prize.

Four expert-led speaker sessions will take place throughout the afternoon, sharing success stories and valuable advice for new or active entrepreneurs. Sellerant founder and CGO Kenan Rappuchi will lead a session covering early stage sales, and 2023 Pitch Competition champion Lauren Fleming will share the success story on her company: Hem Support Wear. The remaining two speakers will be announced at a later date, according to the website.

Up-and-coming entrepreneurs can also apply to attend the Buildership Workshop, which will foster an "interactive and collaborative environment" for participants to build their skillset, according to workshop hosts Builders & Backers.

"The workshop will cover various aspects of the entrepreneurial journey, including idea generation, validation, market research, and business modeling," the workshop webs ite says. "Participants can expect to gain valuable insights into each step of the process, equipping them with the foundational skills necessary to launch and manage a successful business."

Registration for the inaugural Round Rock Startup Day is free. More information and a day-of schedule can be found on roundrockchamber.org.

round rock innovation business startup entrepreneurs austin

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