It’s been about a year since we began to hear that the first AI data center with the Stargate project would be built in Abilene. Since then this community has started to see the ripple effects which have been noticeable in traffic, the short-term rental and housing markets, and other sectors of the local economy. It’s also sparking new investment and development. One new startup aims to harness innovation in the advanced energy sector
Several dozen people gathered last week at the Abilene Country Club to hear about plans for a new startup designed to organize innovation in the Big Country.
The effort is led by Michael Bob Starr, a former Dyess Air Force Base commander, who says the idea for Paradox Labs was inspired by Abilene’s long-standing culture of generosity and collaboration—most notably reflected in the strength of the community foundation.
“You know we’re the 29th largest city in Texas, and we have the 10th largest community foundation,” Starr said. “We are the community that other communities in Texas, and beyond, look to in order to figure out how to do generosity right.”
Starr said he wants to replicate that same coordinated approach—this time focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. He pointed to the Abilene Community Foundation, now more than 40 years old, as an example of how intentional leadership can shape a region’s future.
Paradox Labs is not a venture capital firm, incubator, or accelerator, Starr explained. Instead, it is a venture studio—a model that actively builds companies from the ground up and typically holds more equity, and sometimes more control, in the businesses it helps launch.
After exploring several potential focus areas, Starr said the studio will concentrate initially on what he calls “advanced energy.” The goal is to build companies that develop software, analytics, and automation to improve how energy is generated, stored, and consumed.
He believes Abilene is uniquely positioned for that work.
“With all the new initiatives and projects going in, including the Fermi nuclear power project in Amarillo, Abilene is the funnel to get to all that activity,” Starr said. “With the addition of data centers, we’ve added new energy consumers alongside large energy producers. That’s the kind of environment that promotes innovative activity.”
Paradox Labs is launching with the support of Nine-Point-Eight Collective, a firm that has helped establish more than two dozen venture studios nationwide. Co-founder J.T. Benton said innovation is no longer confined to coastal hubs or major metros like Dallas and Austin.
“Here we sit in this energy hotbed, where AI data centers and available scale will bring parts of the value chain here,” Benton said. “That changes the game. It changes the capitalization of a place and reshuffles where value can be built.”
Benton said Abilene’s proximity to AI data centers, ACU’s nuclear research initiatives, and major energy producers give the city what he described as “unfair advantages.”
“It’s got corporations and institutions—such as universities—that bring ideas, potential capital, and problem definition, along with talent,” Benton said. “The Air Force base is a source of talent. The universities are a source of talent. Corporations here are a source of talent to help build these ventures.”
Paradox Labs has also brought on industry veteran Stan McHann as an advisor. McHann has spent decades working in technology and energy and recently sold one of his own companies to Honeywell. He said one of his roles will be helping innovators refine their ideas so they resonate with industry decision-makers.
“This has to be part of the solution for them—not just something they’re buying because it’s an AI product,” McHann said. “It has to solve a real engineering problem, an operational problem, or a financial problem, or they won’t listen.”
Building credibility and connecting innovators with real-world needs is central to Starr’s vision.
“We have innovators here that are capable of changing the world,” Starr said. “They’re not doing it because we don’t have sufficient resources and support around them to help them see a viable path—from idea, to solution, to company, and then unleashing it on the world. That’s the problem I’m trying to solve.”
As Paradox Labs works to build community support, Starr said his long-term vision is for solutions developed in the Big Country to have global impact. If the advanced energy focus proves successful, he hopes to expand the venture studio into additional sectors in the future.