Pittsburgh Mayor Courts Tech Founders Nationwide

Corey O'Connor, who took office in January, is personally cold-calling about 20 founders and CEOs weekly—around 150 calls so far—to promote Pittsburgh as a tech hub. The city’s startups raised $1.48 billion in 2025, led by companies like Gecko Robotics ($1.7B), Abridge ($5.3B) and Skild AI (raised $1.4B, valued at $15B). O'Connor aims to leverage affordability and streamlined permitting to attract and retain tech firms.