(The Center Square) – Seattle’s Office of Economic Development is calling the first year of its artificial intelligence public-private partnership a major success after growing its number of startups from 15 to 21.
The partnership, titled “AI House” is run out of Pier 70 on the Seattle waterfront, with the space intended to be used as a de facto AI town hall, allowing talent – entrepreneurs, investors, students and community leaders – to work together.
The public-private partnership includes the Seattle Office of Economic Development, the nonprofit AI research institute AI2 Incubator and Ada Developers Academy.
Seattle used $210,000 in funding from the Office of Economic Development and $400,000 from a Washington State Department of Commerce grant to lease the waterfront space to nonprofit organizations and academic institutions as part of a plan to support and nurture early-stage and startup AI businesses.
When the partnership was first announced in March, there were an initial 15 AI startups already at AI House, all of which have received funding from AI2 Incubator. Since then, that number has grown to 21 startups that has raised $34 million in capital, according to the Office of Economic Development.
The startups focus on AI technology and development and teach curricula to skill up workers to use AI as a business resource.
Eric Moss, communications director for the Office of Economic Development, said the city sees AI House as a “huge success as the first-of-its-kind town hall for AI founders, developers, and the broader tech community.”
Moss noted another metric of success for the AI House has been the community gatherings that have brought together people with a range of expertise across the AI ecosystem together for knowledge sharing, innovative problem solving, and to build a real community.
“Places like the AI House are just one of the many reasons Seattle is becoming the best place in the nation to form, launch, and grow an AI company,” Moss emailed The Center Square.
Moss said that when founders complete their incubation and graduate out of the AI House, they will have access to available office space downtown, keeping them close to the AI community at AI House, but also close to major tech companies that have a presence in Seattle.
As AI has developed rapidly, so have criticisms of the new technology. This includes its impact on the workforce, as Seattle has seen this year in the case of Amazon laying off 14,000 corporate jobs as the retailer invests in AI.
The Washington State Labor Council pushed for 2025 legislation – House Bill 1622 and Senate Bill 5422 – to allow public employees to collectively bargain over AI implementation if it affects wages, hours, working conditions or performance evaluations.
The council recommended protections for specific categories of workers most likely to be impacted by AI, including transportation workers, creators of intellectual property, workers in creative fields, administrative workers and public employees.
HB 1622 and SB 5422 did not pass out of the 2025 Washington legislative session.
The Washington State Labor Council and AI2 Incubator did not, amid New Year’s holiday week, respond to The Center Square’s inquiries by the of publication.
