Techstars Seattle, a pioneering force in the city's tech ecosystem since 2010, is slated to shut down operations, shifting their focus to cities with heftier venture capital scenes. Revealed in a memo obtained independently by GeekWire, the accelerator plans to double down on accelerators in cities with the highest concentration of VC activity and other startups to maximize our impact, namely, San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Los Angeles beginning in Fall of 2024.
The strategic reorientation comes in the wake of observing entrepreneurs increasingly prefer to launch their ventures where they can quickly gain access to capital and a pool of talent."We've found that entrepreneurs want to attend accelerators in the most robust venture ecosystems with the greatest access to venture dollars and talent, surrounded by other startups, and where they are most likely to succeed, which is why Techstars is refocusing its footprint to those hubs with the highest concentration of VC activity,” said a Techstars spokesperson, according to a statement.
This closure has sent ripples through the Seattle tech community, which has seen Techstars as a cornerstone since its inception. “It’s fair to say that the Seattle startup community would not be where it is today without Techstars,” Chris DeVore, former managing director of Techstars Seattle, reflected in a blog post. The program has played a critical role in the city's startup environment, propelling over 200 companies to greater heights.
Despite Seattle's recent performance in attracting $751 million in venture capital last year, Techstars has chosen to redirect its resources. This decision underscores a business landscape ever-keen to realign with the ebb and flow of capital and opportunity. While Techstars Seattle is bowing out, the broader impact of such a move on Seattle's tech scene looms, leaving many in the community to speculate on how to continue fostering innovation in the absence of such an accelerator. This sentiment was echoed in a report by BNNBreaking, which highlighted the accelerator's historical significance and the uncertainty its closure brings.
