Seattle’s startup scene tried something it rarely attempts this week: importing investors.
AI House, the incubator and fund based on Pier 70, held a demo day for 25 early-stage companies and flew in backers from Boston, New York, Colorado and the Bay Area. Many of the pitching startups were not part of AI House’s own portfolio, which was deliberate.
“We all complained about not having enough capital here, but no one was doing anything about it,” said Yifan Zhang, an AI House managing director who devised the event.
Investors in the room included Mike Vernal of Conviction, Emily Melton of Threshold Ventures and Rob Go of NextView Ventures, alongside much of Seattle’s local venture community.
The lineup was chosen to counter the city’s reputation for building unglamorous companies. Hubble chief executive Prabha Dublish pitched a plan to become the “Plaid for medical records”. Friday Harbor, a mortgage technology startup, told the room it underwrote 0.6% of all US residential mortgage applications in August and is opening a Series A.
Its founder, Theo Ellis, called the event “Seattle’s answer to YC Demo Day” and argued that the city’s startups are simply less flashy than their coastal peers. “Not exactly nuclear-powered robots landing on Jupiter,” he said, “but it’s an enormous market.”
For a region that has lost several venture firms to consolidation, bringing the money to the founders is a cheaper fix than convincing them to move.
