AUSTIN, Texas — Austin remembered one of the people who helped establish the city as a major hub for technology and innovation, honoring the late Josh Baer for a legacy that extended from startups to national security.
Baer was recognized for his role in building Austin’s technology community and, in particular, connecting entrepreneurs and emerging technology companies with the U.S. military.
“Austin would not be the city it is today without Josh Baer,” said Craig Cummings, general partner at Moonshots Capital and a military advisor to Baer.
Cummings said Baer also played an important role in establishing Austin as a center for national security innovation.
“From a defense perspective, national security perspective, he is the power behind making Austin a key node in the national security innovation ecosystem,” Cummings said.
Bridging Austin tech and the military
Baer had a particular talent for connecting communities that did not always operate the same way: entrepreneurs accustomed to moving at startup speed and a military built around large institutions and longstanding traditions.
Those who worked with him said Baer became a bridge between the two.
“He bridged the cultural institutional divide between commercial technology startups and the national security enterprise,” Lt. Gen. Miles Brown with the U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command said.
Brown credited Baer with helping create the momentum that ultimately brought Army Futures Command to Austin.
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“He was so pivotal because I think he might be the single most important factor, the tipping point, as it were, to the Army coming to Austin,” Brown said.
Congressman John Carter also remembered Baer as someone who understood when his involvement could make a difference.
“He was smart enough to know when to lend his support to something important,” Carter said.
Gordon Daugherty, Capital Factory co-founder and chairman, said Baer understood early on that bringing technology companies and the military together could benefit the country.
“Josh was effective because he just knew deep down in his heart that the intersection of technology and innovation and our military was going to be the right thing for our country,” Daugherty said.
A legacy that continues
The connection Baer helped build remains active today, with Austin technology companies continuing to work on national defense challenges.
“A lot of their portfolio companies here at Capital Factory are supporting the Department of Defense or the Department of War as we speak today,” said Ross T. Guieb, executive director of the Bush Combat Development Complex.
During the ceremony, Baer’s wife, Amy Baer, accepted two posthumous honors on his behalf: congressional recognition for his contributions and the Department of the Army Meritorious Public Service Medal.
The honors recognized an impact that friends and colleagues said could be seen throughout Austin’s technology and defense communities.
Baer spent much of his career looking toward what was next — from rockets and autonomous systems to other emerging technologies. Those who knew him said his curiosity and instinct for solving problems were defining parts of who he was.
Lt. Gen. Miles Brown offered his take on what Josh Baer may be doing now.
“He’s probably somewhere on the other side of the galaxy fixing things that people don’t know are broken yet.”
For the people who knew Josh Baer, that sounded about right.