Texas likes to describe itself as the land of freedom and enterprise—where innovators can build, drill, and dream without the bureaucratic chokehold that strangles other states. But for all its swagger about low taxes and pro-business policies, Texas ranks among the top five most regulated states in the nation, behind California, New York, and New Jersey.
That doesn’t sit well with Tanner Jones. The 25-year-old CEO of Vulcan Technologies, a new and fast-growing Texas company, is working to solve one of the most intractable problems in the American economy: the sheer complexity of its laws. His company’s flagship product, an artificial intelligence platform for “Legal Cartography,” helps private industry and government agencies navigate the vast web of local, state, and federal regulations that define what they can—and can’t—do.
“Legal cartography is exactly what it sounds like—it’s mapping the law,” Jones says. “A cartographer helps us understand geography and we help people understand the legal terrain.”
Jones, who studied at Dartmouth and once planned to become a lawyer, founded Vulcan Technologies to address what he calls a “bottleneck to American competitiveness.” In his view, one of the biggest barriers to growth in sectors like energy, infrastructure, and technology isn’t lack of talent or capital—it’s uncertainty
“Before a company can expand across state lines, it has to spend hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, just to figure out what’s legal.” He describes this as “time and money that could be spent building things.”
Vulcan’s AI system works by ingesting and continuously updating every statute, regulation, and court decision across all 50 states and the federal government. It then uses a layered approach—combining large language models, proprietary agents, and an easy user interface—to provide instant, accurate answers to even complex regulatory questions. Whether it’s a real estate developer in Austin or a renewable energy startup in West Texas, Vulcan’s goal is to help users “find the lawful path” through the maze of government requirements.
“This is not just about compliance,” Jones says. “It’s about confidence. Builders, innovators, and investors all need to know the rules before they can take risks. We’re giving them clarity so they can move forward.”
His company has already made waves in Virginia, where Governor Glenn Youngkin recently issued an executive order requiring all state agencies to use Vulcan’s AI to review their regulations. The platform helped identify thousands of outdated or unlawful clauses—some pointing to repealed statutes, others levying unauthorized fines. By cleaning up redundant and contradictory rules, the state was able to reduce regulatory volume by 25 percent and cut the average cost of building a new home by $24,000.
Youngkin’s goal, with Vulcan’s help, is to reach a 50 percent reduction by the time he leaves office.
Jones sees enormous potential for similar reforms in Texas. “Texas has the fifth most regulatory restrictions of any state in the country,” he says, citing data that counts how often state rules use words like prohibited, must not, or required. “That puts us in the same company as California and New York. And that’s not the company Texas wants to keep.”
He points out that Texas’ economic success has happened in spite of this regulatory load, not because of it. “It’s a bit like one of the Gulf monarchies,” he jokes. “We’re blessed with resources and size, but we’re operating with a system that’s far more complicated than it needs to be,” he says. “Imagine how much stronger the Texas economy could be if we actually made it easier to build.”
In his vision, Vulcan’s AI could become an essential tool for Texas policymakers, developers, and small business owners alike. It could help the new Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office—created by Senate Bill 14 last session—conduct faster, cheaper audits of the state’s administrative code. It could empower local officials to review ordinances for conflicts or redundancy. And it could give small businesses the same access to legal insight that big corporations already enjoy through armies of attorneys.
“Big companies can afford compliance departments,” Jones says. “Small businesses can’t.” He says that Vulcan is leveling the playing field, where “everyone gets to see the same legal map.”
The implications stretch beyond Texas. Jones envisions a future in which artificial intelligence helps strengthen—not erode—democratic governance. “We’re trying to build the optimistic future for AI,” he says. “The version that makes government accountable, transparent, and efficient.” In Jones’ view, “it’s about unleashing American abundance, not replacing people.”
He sees the mission is infectious. Since completing Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator’s accelerator program, Vulcan has raised more than $11 million in seed funding and is now expanding its footprint beyond Virginia. The company decided recently to settle in Texas, and operates from headquarters just off the UT campus in Austin.
Jones insists his company’s motivation isn’t just financial. “Our mission is simple,” he says. “We want to make it easier for Americans to build, innovate, and grow. The country was founded on that spirit. It’s time our laws caught up.”
If Vulcan Technologies has its way, Texas could once again become the model for what that spirit looks like—not just the biggest state for business, but the smartest.