Will Taubenheim
Will Taubenheim is an American serial entrepreneur and AI engineer: the founder of Lost Frame Ventures, the co-founder and CEO of Next Pillar, and a four-time NASA award winner on the Terasynth team.
He builds the technology first, then the company around it: games played by millions, AI for the U.S. Navy and Air Force, and the company brain Next Pillar installs in owner-led businesses.
Known for
Serial entrepreneur
Founded Lost Frame Ventures in 2018 and still owns all of it, self-funded. Co-founded RareOS and served as its Co-CEO and CTO until July 2026. Co-founded Next Pillar, where he is CEO, and founded Next Pillar Academy, which he hosts.
Four NASA awards
Won on the Terasynth team in NASA's LunaRecycle Challenge: Phase 1 winner in the Digital Twin track, Phase 2 Digital Twin Milestone winner, and, at the August 2026 finale, second place overall in the prototype track and People's Choice. The challenge drew more than 1,200 registrations, the most in the 20-year history of NASA's Centennial Challenges.
Defense AI
Contract AI engineering through Terasynth: ballistic missile defense for U.S. Navy destroyers (AIRAS, NAVSEA), autonomous wildfire suppression under an NAWCTSD and SERDP award (ARFAS), and automated flight certification down-selected by Air Force Global Strike Command (AIMS-Cert).
Games played by millions
Technical lead on Escape the Backrooms, played by millions, contracted through Lost Frame. Five shipped game experiences with more than 3 million players combined, an Epic Games MegaGrant, a Meta Presence Platform Grant, and Quest 3 consulting at Meta HQ.
Company brains
Designed and built a company brain and internal platform for a wealth management firm: agents that answer from the firm's own records, role-based access, document generation, tasks and onboarding. It is the pattern Next Pillar now installs.
Keynotes
The Age of Adaptation at Illuminate 2026, Lumino's public launch at The Ion in Houston. The AI Mindset at the Greater Brookfield Chamber AI Summit, and the IRgA 2026 workshop in Nashville.
The companies, with dates
Every company Will has founded or co-founded, oldest first. Lost Frame, Next Pillar and Next Pillar Academy are the ones he runs today.
2018 to today
Lost Frame Ventures Founder and owner
Lost Frame Development, LLC
The AI engineering company and venture studio he started in 2018, self-funded and wholly owned. It shipped games played by millions, engineered AI for Terasynth's NASA and defense work, and built AI systems for businesses in healthcare, finance, real estate and the trades.
Dissolved
Luxe Spatial, Inc. Founder
His first C-corporation. It built Luxe Casino, a live stereoscopic VR platform on Unreal Engine 5 and Meta Quest 3, with a custom engine plugin for stereoscopic video. The work earned the Meta Presence Platform Grant and led to Quest 3 consulting at Meta HQ.
2025
RevolvAI Co-founder, through Lost Frame
A real estate AI venture started with a domain partner: automated property analysis and lead generation, built to an MVP in two weeks.
2025
AquaLeads Co-founder, through Lost Frame
An AI venture for pool service companies: computer vision on satellite imagery finds qualified leads, with a CRM for the follow-up.
2025 to July 2026
RareOS Co-founder, Co-CEO and CTO
An AI operating system for the buy, sell and trade market, and a finalist at The Ventures Miami. Will was Co-CEO and CTO from January 2026 until his exit in July 2026.
2026 to today
Next Pillar Co-founder and CEO
Next Pillar Capital LLC
An AI implementation firm for established, owner-led companies, opened in October 2026 with partner Joe Staiber. It installs a private company brain and a simple app the team actually uses. Its company, Next Pillar Capital LLC, was co-founded by Will in 2026.
October 2026 to today
Next Pillar Academy Founder and host
The online AI community and school where business owners learn to put AI to work, opened October 16, 2026. Will designed and built the platform with AI coding agents and hosts the weekly live call with co-host Joe Staiber.
The NASA awards, exactly
Four awards, all won on the Terasynth team in NASA's LunaRecycle Challenge:
- NASA LunaRecycle Challenge, Phase 1 winner in the Digital Twin track (June 2025), on the Terasynth team
- NASA LunaRecycle Challenge, Phase 2 Digital Twin Milestone winner (March 2026), on the Terasynth team
- NASA LunaRecycle Challenge finale, second place overall in the prototype track (August 2026), on the Terasynth team
- NASA LunaRecycle Challenge finale, People's Choice Award (August 2026), on the Terasynth team
The finale was held in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in August 2026. The challenge drew more than 1,200 registrations, the most in the 20-year history of NASA's Centennial Challenges. Will won all four as a member of the Terasynth team.
Will works on NASA and defense projects as a contractor and partner, through Terasynth. He is not a NASA or Department of Defense employee.
Point of view
What Will argues on stage and builds into his companies, in his own words.
AI is how you keep doing the work you love
AI is not here to replace the work you already love. It is how you keep doing it. Companies lose to a sentence about themselves, not to technology; Kodak is the lesson. This is the thesis of his flagship keynote, The Age of Adaptation.
The owner is the moat
An engineer cannot start a wealth management firm or a plumbing company. Owners hold the domain knowledge, the relationships and the trust, and AI accelerates what they already do well. A small firm can adapt overnight while a Fortune 500 waits on approvals.
Measure AI in capacity, not headcount
The lazy read on AI is headcount. The better read is capacity: how much more the same team can carry once the paperwork collapses.
Every company already has a brain
It is scattered across a document drive, a meeting tool, a CRM and exports nobody can query. Connect it, put access rules on it, and anyone on the team can ask the company a question and get an answer from its own records. That is what Next Pillar installs.
Think in models, not tool lists
Most AI talks hand out a tool list that expires in two weeks. The AI Mindset gives a mental model that does not, and a 90 day plan: three decisions, two pilots, one metric.
The State of AI 2026
A 248,000-word research report by Will on AI economics, labor, chips, policy, infrastructure and geopolitics: more than 200 sources, 35+ data visualizations, 7 research domains and 26 months of primary data collection.
On stage
August 27, 2026
Illuminate 2026, The Ion, Houston
The Age of Adaptation, a TED-style keynote at Lumino's public launch.
June 30, 2026
Greater Brookfield Chamber of Commerce AI Summit
A half-day summit built around Will for about 80 business owners and managers, backed by 7 sponsors: opening keynote, extended Q&A, a panel and a hands-on workshop. The Chamber reported overwhelming positive feedback, and one attendee automated a PTO tracker for 80+ employees within 24 hours.
October 15 and 16, 2026
IRgA 2026 Workshop: AI and Repro, Nashville
Keynote and workshops on practical AI adoption for reprographics business owners at the International Reprographic Association.
Entrepreneurs' Organization, Washington, D.C.
Chapter keynote on AI strategy. He has also presented defense simulation and training technology at I/ITSEC and been a guest on the Not an Accident podcast.
Press kit
On the web
Work with Will
To book Will for a keynote, see the speaking page and one-sheet. For AI strategy, an AI build or fractional CTO work, book a free consultation. For a company brain installed in your business, start with Next Pillar. Journalists and event hosts can use the press kit above, and common questions are answered in the FAQ.
Last reviewed .