Proto Town - Texas hardware founder campus

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Proto Town

A 1200-acre hardware campus in Central Texas. Founders live right next to their machines.

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About Proto Town

Proto Town is a 1200-acre ranch and hardware incubator located in Lockhart, Texas. Proto Town combines housing, machine shops, testing grounds, and manufacturing facilities at a single address.

Founders live on-site to build and test physical technologies, including autonomous bulldozers, drones, robotics, and nuclear research equipment. Early-stage startups pay for room and board, while established companies lease land for scaled testing. The project is designed to be a dense American manufacturing ecosystem operating as a frontier outpost for physical production.

Who it's for

Hardware FoundersDeep Tech StartupsDefense-Adjacent TeamsReindustrialists

Posts

Timeline

  1. Lockhart Loses Micron Bid

    Lockhart, TX misses Micron's $100 billion semiconductor fab leaving the city searching for an industrial future.

  2. Proto Town Founded

    Launched Proto Town with under $100,000.

  3. First Companies Move In

    Early hardware startups eg Pipedream Labs begin living and building on campus.

  4. County Development Agreement

    County unanimously approves the official development agreement for the 538 acre innovation hub.

  5. $20M Seed Round

    Closed $20M seed round backed by Bill Ackman and Coinbase cofounder Fred Ehrsam.

  6. Nuclear Reactor Plans Filed

    Filed preliminary plans for a 7,600 sq ft nuclear research reactor in Lockhart with a $23M estimated cost.

  7. Ashlee Vance profile

    Bloomberg journalist Ashlee Vance publishes an in-depth feature on Proto Town and its model for hardware reindustrialization.

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