Mathews touted the state’s “unmatched talent pool, world-class institutions, and significant financial incentives,” saying there is a lot of upside to moving to Jersey.
The nonprofit isn’t the only one trying to ship AI and the Garden State. According to ROI New Jersey, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is planning to visit California next week to pitch AI companies in Silicon Valley and elsewhere that Jersey is the place to be.
But San Francisco’s AI community seems less than enthused about the idea.
“Anyone in the field knows that SF is not just #1 in the U.S. for AI. It’s, to a first approximation, the *only* place in the US,” said Flo Crivello, the founder and CEO of AI workflow assistant Lindy. “In terms of AI market cap, it’s four times bigger than the rest of the U.S. combined.”
He pointed to his September 2023 post on X, commenting on Elad Gil and Shreyan Jain’s essay analyzing “unicorn” market cap growth by region.
“New York (not New Jersey :)) is 92% smaller. New Jersey isn’t on the map,” Crivello said in a text message. “To paraphrase Tennessee Williams—there’s only one city for AI: San Francisco. Everywhere else is Cleveland.”
Jeremiah Owyang, a venture capital investor at Blitzscaling Venture, was similarly candid about the Garden State’s attitude. “AI founders head to where the AI foundational models and venture capitalists with deep pockets hang out – that’s SF, not NJ,” Owyang said in an email.
“Until iconic Bruce Springsteen trades his guitar for a hoodie and heads to the bay, Jersey’s shot at being an AI capital seems pretty slim,” he added.
