We dropped by Ascend’s annual Founders Bash event last night in Seattle to assess how startup leaders are thinking about AI, fundraising, and the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Read on for takeaways from our conversations.
The pace of AI is accelerating dramatically.
Simsola AI CEO Tammy Wang, whose company develops AI-driven leadership training, said what once took months to build can now be done in a week. The longtime coder believes people underestimate how fast AI is evolving and predicts a future where every job has an AI assistant.
The tools are getting better — and so are the humans.
“We’re learning how to give AI really clear instructions,” said Alex West, who just launched an AI-powered coach for early stage founders. He also pointed to progress on training smaller models and developing more specialized AI.
AI’s biggest value lies in speeding up work.
Brian Monnin, co-founder at Sophia Space, sees time compression — helping developers, researchers, and product teams move faster — as a compelling and durable business case for AI. “If it can really compress time for something that is valuable to an end user, you have the foundation of a good business opportunity,” he said.
It’s easier to build. But you still need to sell.
Despite the excitement around AI, customers are slow to adopt it, said Himanshu Tayal, who recently launched a new startup in Seattle. “You have to really find out what the ROI is for them,” he said.
Not everyone is convinced by the hype.
The jury’s still out on AI’s potential, said Michael Fitzgerald, a software developer who just launched a social platform for business development professionals. “To be honest, I think it’s a little sensationalized,” he said, adding that he’s not comfortable using AI for direct communication.
Competing in AI means contending with tech giants.
Reed O’Beirne, a longtime Seattle tech vet who recently returned from London, noted the risk of going up against well-funded competitors, where even a small misstep can doom a startup trying to carve out space in crowded markets. “You can be just slightly on the wrong track, and you end up in the wrong place,” he said.
Fundraising is still tough in Seattle.
Tayal said local investors move slowly and want traction, while Bay Area investors back people and ideas faster and earlier. Branden Doyle, CEO at Violett, said only a small subset of Seattle investors are open to hardware companies.
Is Seattle softening to hardware?
Monnin pointed to the growing space sector in the Seattle area and an under-the-radar defense tech industry. “This is the first time I haven’t seen the VC community freak out when they see hardware,” Monnin said. Elizabeth Scallon, another longtime Seattle startup leader, said she’s bullish on physical AI as a broader trend. “I would love to see more Seattle startups get away from B2B AI and come into the physical world AI,” she said.
We’re still not a startup town.
Tayal, a former generative AI leader at Amazon Web Services, said the density of talent in the Seattle region is impressive — but much of it is locked up in corporations. “To convince people to leave their Microsoft or Amazon job is a bit of an uphill battle,” he said.
But it’s a great place to build.
Several praised the community’s depth and collegiality. Wang said Seattle offers space to build thoughtfully, away from the chaos of San Francisco, while still being connected to top-tier talent. Melody Biringer, founder at Women in Tech Regatta, said the influx of new people and perspectives is energizing the city, despite gloomy headlines. “I think there’s lots of opportunity,” she said.
