In a bold move that exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit of tech professionals, 35-year-old Dryden Brown is spearheading an ambitious project to build an entirely new city called ‘Esmeralda’ in California. The former Palantir employee and his team at Praxis have already secured an impressive $15 million in funding and acquired 6,000 acres of land for this futuristic urban development. What sets this initiative apart is Brown’s vision to create a city designed from the ground up with modern technology integration, potentially leveraging AI systems for governance and infrastructure management.
Esmeralda represents a fascinating intersection of tech innovation and urban planning, with construction slated to begin in 2025. Brown’s project emerges amid growing interest in creating new urban environments that address the shortcomings of traditional cities, particularly for remote workers seeking alternatives to expensive tech hubs. While critics question the feasibility of such an ambitious undertaking, supporters view it as a necessary experiment in reimagining urban living for the AI era. The development has already attracted significant attention from tech professionals and investors looking for innovative solutions to housing affordability and quality of life issues.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-tech-worker-building-own-city-esmeralda-2025-4