‘I’m tired of that narrative’: Seattle VC pushes back on tech exodus talk

Enough with the hot takes about Seattle’s tech downfall.

That’s the message from Jacob Colker, managing director at the AI2 Incubator, who published a LinkedIn post Thursday pushing back on what he described as a “breathless narrative” that Seattle is one tax bill away from decline.

Colker didn’t cite specific posts or headlines. But debate has intensified in recent months as Washington lawmakers consider tax proposals that some business leaders warn could hurt the region’s innovation economy, including a bill targeting startup exits and the so-called “millionaire’s tax.”

“The math doesn’t math,” he wrote, arguing that a few points of capital gains tax don’t outweigh the region’s deep bench of AI talent, investment dollars, space leadership, fusion startups, biotech momentum, and quality of life.

He added: “Should we be thoughtful about tax policy? Heck yeah. Should it be tied to better stewardship of spending? Darn right. But the breathless narrative that Seattle is one bill from collapse is not serious analysis.”

His post sparked plenty of reaction.

• “been reading the same slop since I moved here 20 years ago… The ecosystem keeps getting better and I’m not leaving either.” — Brian Glaister, exec at Axon
• “When I moved to Seattle in 2007, a large part of that decision was bc the state constitution guaranteed no income tax. I moved here from CA. This change in policy is also why I will leave. Taking 20% of my stock is real and it’s a reason to leave.” — Aaron Bird, CEO at Inflection.io
• “When I moved to Seattle 20+ years ago this same theme was banging around. Since then, hard to count how many multi-billion $ companies have been built and the pre-seed/early stage investment capital scene is SO much better. Bullish on Seattle.” — Robert Pease, managing partner at Cascade Seed Fund
• “love this. two things can be true at the same time!” — Kirby Winfield, founder at Ascend

The debate over the state of Seattle’s startup scene comes as some founders relocate to San Francisco amid the AI boom.

Colker helps run AI2 Incubator, one of Seattle’s most prominent early stage startup investors. The firm launched an $80 million fund in October and operates AI House, the startup hub that opened last year along Seattle’s waterfront and serves as AI2 Incubator’s headquarters along with event space and co-working offices.

“Seattle isn’t perfect,” Colker wrote in his post. “No city is. But the sky isn’t falling. And I’m proud to triple down on this region — taxes or not.”

Related reading:

• An ‘extinction-level event’ for startups: Seattle tech leaders fight new state tax proposal
• Washington proposal to tax startup exits sparks backlash from Seattle tech leaders
• Washington’s ‘millionaires tax’ targets top earners as tech leaders warn of startup fallout
• Opinion: ‘Millionaires tax’ threatens Washington’s startup economy — here’s the math to prove it
• Opinion: The ‘millionaires tax’ is not an existential threat to Washington’s startup economy
• Why these startup founders are leaving Seattle for San Francisco