Texas Just Hit Pause on Austin’s AI Data Center Boom

Welcome to Austin Founders Feed, your weekly rundown on the people, companies, events, and opportunities shaping one of the most exciting business scenes in the country.

This week, we are looking at Texas’ new pause on data-center development: 474 gigawatts of proposed demand, new disclosure requirements for developers, and what the review could mean for thousands of acres of projects planned around Austin.

Let's get to it.

Ken & Warren

Just east of Austin, rural Bastrop County has quietly become one of Central Texas' biggest data-center construction zones.

More than 5,500 acres of data-center projects are planned or under development around Cedar Creek, including billions of dollars of new infrastructure and a roughly 2,800-acre campus that AI company Anthropic has reportedly considered leasing.

Now, that 2,800-acre project appears to be among the first caught in a new statewide pause.

Texas has temporarily halted permits sought by data centers while ERCOT, the Public Utility Commission, and other state agencies review the industry's impact on the electric grid, water supply, and surrounding communities.

The scale is enormous.

ERCOT is currently considering more than 474 gigawatts of large-load requests, more than five times Texas' record peak electricity demand. According to the Governor's office, roughly 90% of that demand comes from data centers.

ERCOT is requiring developers of data centers 25 megawatts or larger seeking grid connections to submit detailed information about their projects.

That includes:

The state has also laid out several expectations for projects that eventually move forward.

According to the directive, data centers must cover the electrical infrastructure costs associated with their projects, report their electricity and water usage, avoid using water needed by surrounding communities, and comply with setback requirements intended to protect nearby properties.

Governor Abbott also said he plans to work with the Texas Legislature during its next session to eliminate financial incentives for data centers.

The next major dates:

October 12: Data-center disclosures are due to ERCOT.
October 19: TCEQ must update the Governor on its implementation.
December 10: ERCOT and PUCT plan to publish their findings.

For the thousands of acres of data-center development planned around Austin, those reviews will help determine which projects can move forward and under what conditions.

Conley Miller
Founder, FitLocal

Building Fit Local in Austin means figuring out two things: how to get people interested, and how to turn that interest into income for trainers. Our first month of a live client campaign gave us encouraging numbers and a conversion problem to work through.

We’ve been bootstrapping from day one. Here’s what I’m learning, how I’m thinking about the next stage, and where we’re putting our effort.

What we’re learning about getting attention

My biggest lesson so far has been in the creative: learning what earns attention and gets people interested enough to click. The organic strategy we built early also gave the paid campaign something to build on.

Those results give us a starting point for future campaigns. The next question is whether we can turn that attention into bookings.

The gap: downloads aren’t bookings

Of the first 100 downloads from month one, 2 converted. We’re now at 250 downloads overall, but downloads alone don’t tell us whether we’re building a business that works for trainers.

My read is that clients see the value in the platform’s convenience, accessibility, and transparency. We still have work to do to help them trust the trainer on the other side of the booking.

That’s the problem shaping our next moves.

Why we’re bringing people together

Our October 16 launch party is a chance to bring Austin’s fitness community together and show trainers the first month’s results.

I see it as part of the same trust challenge: getting people in a room, talking through what the platform can do, and making the relationships behind it more tangible.

Our Ask of Our Trainers: Help us build the runway

In the coming weeks, I’m asking current Fit Local trainers to subscribe to the platform. The thinking is straightforward: subscriptions can help fund the next stage while we work on converting client interest into bookings.

That also means doing the work to help trainers get value from it. I’ll sit down individually with each trainer to improve their profile, walk through platform updates, and discuss their goals.

For me, those conversations are part of the growth strategy. We need to understand what trainers need and help clients feel confident enough to book.

What we’re trying next

We’re introducing two offers:

The idea is to make the first booking easier, then give satisfied clients a reason to bring someone else in. We’ll need to see whether those offers translate into more sessions.

The next milestone

The early campaign results are encouraging. Now the work is turning that interest into revenue for trainers.

That’s what I’ll be watching next: whether stronger profiles, personal connections, and first-session offers help more people move from downloading Fit Local to booking through it.

Texas is still the No. 1 college football team in America after improving to 4–0 with a win over Tennessee this weekend. The Longhorns are officially one of Austin’s biggest entertainment businesses.

The numbers:

Texas football alone generated more than $181 million last year, while the broader athletics department brought in more than $350 million. DKR also gives Austin seven weekends this season where more than 100,000 fans can converge around campus, downtown and nearby businesses. And when the team is ranked No. 1, that engine gets an even bigger national spotlight.

Until next time,
Austin Founders Feed

Ken & Warren