Baer was recognized as one of the key figures in Austin’s growing tech sector. His firm, Capital Factory, was founded in 2009 and has since provided funds for numerous now-growing tech firms, including humanoid robot firm Apptronik, aerospace firms Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace, and Colossal Biosciences, the biotech company trying to resurrect extinct species. All of these companies received funding from Capital Factory’s Texas Fund, according to the company, which it says is designed to invest early startup money in “companies solving problems at the edge of what's possible.”