I am alarmed by Austin’s increasing role in producing military and surveillance technology used to murder and surveil our communities both overseas and at home. Most concerning are Capital Factory's connections with Israeli military and surveillance companies and venture capitalist firms, as well as its role in connecting those companies to the US market. This is disturbing and unacceptable. TVP, one of Capital Factory's partners, boasts of enabling war profiteers to use their "intimate understanding of the modern battlefield and its challenges" from Gaza to develop more murder tech. This is not the kind of company that anyone should work with or support, let alone a firm whose public face claims to support progressive causes.

Many international organizations and human rights experts have determined that Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide under international law. In view of this, alongside Israel's attacks on the West Bank and escalations in Lebanon and the broader region, companies and countries across the world have cut ties with the Israeli military industry.

It is time for Capital Factory to do the same.

Austin talent should not be used to commit mass murder, and I, as someone who calls Austin home, I do not want to live in a city with an economy not reliant upon human misery. Our city should not become a hub for genocide tech.

We demand that Capital Factory:

1. Drop connections with all venture capitalist firms, companies, and institutions that are involved in the Israeli military, intelligence, and surveillance industries or who profit from genocide, including Texas Venture Partners (TVP), NightDragon, and 8VC. This includes ending the partnership with TVP’s DoD Readiness Program, which brings genocide technology into the US market.

2. Divest Capital Factory's investment funds, including the Texas Fund, from all startups which are connected to the Israeli military and surveillance industries, including dual-use companies.

3. Drop connections with weapon manufacturers who have been found to be connected to genocide profiteering, such as BAE Systems and Palantir.