Introduction
Startup tech company Netail is working to develop an AI technology, called Profitmind, to help with quicker and more detailed retail sales analytics. Pearl Street Technologies is working to better the power grid to help reduce backlog and expedite the transition to decarbonization. Strategy Robot is developing AI products to help defend the United States. And it’s all happening in Pittsburgh’s East End.
AI Avenue at Bakery Square
They call it “AI Avenue” at Bakery Square. In May, Walnut Capital Management announced that four new tech companies — Pearl Street Technologies, Netail, Lovelace AI, and Strategy Robot — would be opening their doors along a one-mile stretch of AI companies in Pittsburgh. The tech startups joined over 20 other AI companies, such as Google and Sheetz Innovation, on Penn Avenue between the Duolingo building and Bakery Square. Now, Walnut Capital plans to add a new entrance to the development.
Expanding the Local AI Market
Todd Reidbord, president of Walnut Capital, said that expanding the local AI market is part of a bigger plan to be more aggressive in welcoming new people to Pittsburgh. “People in Pittsburgh still don’t understand that we need to grow our population,” Reidbord said. “I get a little aggravated when people don’t want to make those changes.”
New Developments
The new entrance is in the early stages of planning, but tentatively will be built on the empty grass lot next to where Trader Joe’s currently stands. Walnut Capital CEO Gregg Perelman and Joanna Doven, who owns a public relations firm, said they hope to break ground in October.
Why Pittsburgh?
Larry Pileggi, co-founder of Pearl Street Technologies, said that typically investment companies encourage tech startups to move to California quickly after opening. However, Pileggi said Pearl Street has opted to stay in Pittsburgh since its launch. “There’s actually a lot of really good people here, and it’s a very different environment now … that there are more companies here. So there’s a talent pool here, certainly coming out of school,” Pileggi said.
Carnegie Mellon University Influence
Bakery Square’s proximity to Carnegie Mellon University is the driving force behind many new Pittsburgh AI companies. In addition to Pileggi, who is a professor at Carnegie Mellon, all three of the other new companies have the university somewhere in their founder’s roots. Andrew Moore, CEO of LovelaceAi, was the dean of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science until 2019. Tuomas Sandholm, CEO of Strategy Robot, has been a professor there for almost 25 years. And Andrew Ng, leader of Netail, graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a triple major in 1997, according to their LinkedIn pages.
Future Prospects
Doven referred to AI Avenue’s neighboring location as the “recipe for winning the AI race.” “We know it’s here (AI) and know very smart people who want to impact the world,” Doven said. “Why not use it to fix Pittsburgh’s problems?” Doven believes housing a variety of tech companies will help increase Pittsburgh’s reputation for industry and bring more people to the city. Mark Chrystal, CEO of Netail, said he believes that Pittsburgh will become a major hub for tech and AI development in the next few years. “I do generally believe that as that catches on, it’s going to become a regional destination.” Chrystal said. “It’s not on the radar the way it should be.”
Impact on Pittsburgh
While Walnut Capital never intended on becoming an AI hub, Perelman said the up-and-coming companies will have a positive ripple effect on Pittsburgh and the region. Each company’s space requires multiple other jobs to maintain them, such as janitorial, food delivery, and product vendors. Jay Katarincic of Walnut Capital said that Pittsburgh is a prime AI location due to the number of surrounding Fortune 500 companies, universities pioneering research, and health care facilities. “We’ve got a lot of attributes that other regions are jealous of,” Katarincic said.
Challenges Ahead
One of the main reasons newer AI companies are no longer moving to longstanding technology hubs such as California and Virginia is because there are too many in one area, Doven said. Two years ago, local leaders announced the beginning of construction of a multi-modal corridor to connect Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods of Larimer and Homewood with Walnut Capital’s Bakery Square development. The Larimer-Homewood Connector project will cost $4.5 million and includes a tree-lined road complete with a pedestrian walk, bike lane, and rain gardens.
Collaboration and Innovation
Reidbord said he hopes Bakery Square is a place where tech companies “feel they can create” an AI-leading area. “We always come back with five different ideas,” Reidbord said about the time Walnut Capital spends walking through Bakery Square. He hopes that housing a multitude of technology companies will encourage collaboration. “One of the ways you stay on top of it is by having close networks and talking,” Chrystal said. “If anything, we help each other in this space.” However, some companies, such as Pearl Street Technologies, have not yet ventured into the idea of collaborating with any of the surrounding companies. “It’s an interesting idea,” Pileggi said. “I think what happens with startups is everybody’s focused very narrowly on revenue.”
Keeping Up with AI Advancements
While the AI Avenue area is rapidly adding more tech companies to its list, there are concerns that it might not be moving fast enough to keep up with ever-evolving AI systems. “What you invest in may be obsolete soon,” Katarincic said. “We try to meet at the intersection opportunity of today and tomorrow.”
Megan Trotter is a TribLive staff writer. She can be reached at [email protected].
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