Pittsburgh aims to power AI future
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Tech leaders in the Steel City see a big opening to expand.
Why it matters: National figures are converging on the city Tuesday to pitch Pennsylvania as a future hub for energy-powered AI — and local companies, civic leaders and lawmakers want to lead the charge.
Context: President Trump and Sen. Dave McCormick will be in Pittsburgh on Tuesday to promote a $70 billion plan to boost natural gas and data center development across Pennsylvania.
What they're saying: Shiv Rao, CEO of AI medical documentation platform Abridge, said at the AI Horizons Summit event in the Strip District that Pittsburgh was key in launching his fast-growing company because the local talent was primed to be early in development of AI technology.
Zoom in: Nicholas Robinson of Cerberus Capital Management said AI driven by domestic power is a national security matter and leaders like Sen. McCormick told him he is intent on making that point.
- Carnegie Robotics CEO John Barnes said he wants to see autonomous technologies expanded into the military, saying commercial companies like his are set up well to operate with the Department of Defense.
- Alan Shepard, president and CFO of natural gas company CNX Resources, said the Appalachian region has "everything that is needed for AI, including the power right under our feet." Pennsylvania held 106 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves as of 2022, the second most in the nation, just behind Texas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
- Gecko Robotics CEO Jake Loosararian said AI and robotics can help aging power plants in the Pittsburgh and Ohio Valley region run more efficiently and increase output.
Caveat: Efforts to reinvent Pittsburgh after the collapse of the steel industry have come and gone.
- Fracking expanded in the 2010s, but the promised downstream manufacturing jobs never materialized.
- Autonomous vehicle companies boomed starting in 2015, and then moved, sold off or shut down by 2022.
State of play: Monday's preview event came across as a sales pitch to national investors, with leaders trying to make the case that Pittsburgh is a smart bet for AI — and that the $70 billion investment is only the beginning.
- "We are open for business," said Rick Siger, state secretary of economic development for Gov. Josh Shapiro.
What's next: Robinson, of Cerberus Capital Management, hinted Monday that multiple large business deals would be announced over the next few days.