A brand new Texas town, backed by billionaires, is rapidly emerging as an unlikely frontier for the tech elite. Proto-Town, a 1,200-acre campus in Lockhart, is taking shape as a community for 'startup cowboys,' offering ranch-style living alongside opportunities to develop cutting-edge technology, including drones, solar panels, and even nuclear energy.
The $100 million experiment is partly funded by venture capitalist Josh Kushner, husband of supermodel Karlie Kloss and brother-in-law to Ivanka Trump. Other investors include hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman and Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam. So far, 12 companies have joined the sprawling ranch ecosystem, where founders are building everything from autonomous bulldozers to basketball court-sized drones.
Despite attracting shiny new innovators, Proto-Town is a far cry from gleaming Silicon Valley. Co-founder Josh Farahzad describes it as a 'man-campus' with a 'frat-house atmosphere,' centered on nonstop projects rather than partying and alcohol. Residents live together in a lone ranch-style home and surrounding trailers, working from morning to night using the robotics facility and drone-building site.
Life in Proto-Town
When not tearing around the campus on dirt bikes, the so-called 'startup cowboys' work tirelessly. They often eat as a group and pass downtime riding dirt bikes, making trips to Lockhart for barbecue or heading into downtown Austin for dancing. 'I don’t have to shop for groceries, I don’t have to drive anywhere, my dogs don’t need leashes,' said Daniel Weddle, 41, who lives with his partner and two dogs in a trailer. He quit his hometown in Indiana and left an event venue to test a machine that 3D-prints homes from dirt and clay.
Becoming a resident is like a college fraternity rush: prospective companies live and work there for a few days before founders decide if they make the cut. Early-stage startups often pay only for room and board, while more established companies lease land to test products.
Vision and Values
Founders Farahzad, 26, and Merle Nye, 28, wanted the ranch to reflect the US as a titan of cowboys and innovators. Farahzad said that in Silicon Valley, many who share that view have aligned with the Trump administration, something he says has no place in the 'man campus.' Instead, Proto-Town is apolitical, aiming to return to 'timeless virtues that made America really dynamic.'
Evan Lipofsky, a 22-year-old college dropout working on solar-powered cooling panels, said, 'Here it's not just LinkedIn and fake buttons that you're clicking.'
Companies on Site
Companies include Bedrock Robotics, founded by ex-Waymo engineers, building autonomous construction technology. CEO Boris Sofman visited last year for land to test autonomous excavators and was sold on Proto-Town. Nearby, Ethan Blagg’s Dynamo is building gigantic drones to lift heavy materials. Past walking trails, Terran Robotics tests a robotic hammer to compact dirt into adobe homes.
Oklo, a nuclear technology company, is building a test reactor in Proto-Town to produce isotopes for cancer therapy and manufacturing. CEO Jake Dewitte praised the fast pace: 'We will have gone from a greenfield to a reactor splitting atoms in less than 10 months. That's Manhattan Project-era speed.'
Origins and Growth
Proto-Town began with two Duke friends and a connection to longtime Texas politician John Cyruer. In 2022, Lockhart was a contender for a Micron semiconductor facility but lost. Farahzad recalled: 'We’re going to build a city.' They launched Proto-Town in 2024 with under six figures in funding. Despite initial resistance and scorpion-infested housing, the project thrived. Last month, it was valued at $100 million after raising $20 million from Ackman, Kushner, and Ehrsam.
Nye said tech hubs like Silicon Valley were too restrictive and expensive, while Proto-Town eases business stress. 'You’re so unconstrained in terms of the physical space out here that you can think in a different pattern,' he added. The founders cite China’s Shenzhen as inspiration, aiming to build an 'American Shenzhen.'
