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Pier 70 at Seattle’s waterfront. (GeekWire Photo / Taylor Soper)
The AI2 Incubator is getting new digs.
The startup incubator is moving from its current space near Gas Works Park to a new office at Pier 70, where it will be the anchor tenant at a three-story building on the north end of the Seattle waterfront that is under new ownership, according to the Seattle Times.
Yifan Zhang, managing director at the AI2 Incubator, confirmed the move to GeekWire.
Pier 70, adjacent to Olympic Sculpture Park, was made famous in 1998 as the home of MTV’s “Real World” show, which aired its seventh season at the building.
The Seattle waterfront, which is going through a significant transformation, isn’t known as a hotspot for tech company offices, though companies including Big Fish Games, Zulily, and F5 have had space nearby on Elliott Avenue and Western Ave.
Landmark Event Co. purchased Pier 70 for $11 million, according to the Times, and is hoping that landing the AI2 Incubator will help draw more tech companies to the waterfront.
(GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop)
The AI2 Incubator runs an incubator, which helps nurture budding startups, as well as a venture fund that raised $30 million in fresh capital in 2023.
In 2022 the AI2 Incubator spun off from its original home, the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, into a separate entity.
Past spinouts from the AI2 Incubator include Kitt.ai, which was acquired by Baidu, and Xnor.ai, acquired by Apple. Its startups have raised more than $200 million collectively. The firm invests in companies across North America.
The new office will be closer to the incubator’s new “AI House” in downtown Seattle that will serve as a physical space for AI-related events, as well as founders, investors, researchers, and nonprofits. City and state leaders are supporting the effort.
