Pittsburgh weekly roundup: Debunking anti-immigrant rhetoric; A must-be place for AV; PA candidates tech policy

Welcome to the weekly roundup of the latest from Pittsburgh's tech and entrepreneurship scene. Want this in your inbox? Subscribe for free.

Why Pittsburgh is the place to be for AV

Technologists are coming from all over the world to join Pittsburgh’s autonomous vehicle scene, but the process to get here isn’t always easy. 

“There was a lot of stress around that time,” Ashton Fagg, an Australian native, told Technical.ly. What motivated him to push through? “The US is the place to be if you do this kind of work, there’s no question.” 

Before his current role at AFWare, Fagg has contributed his talents to Uber’s AV department, the self-driving vehicle startup Aurora and the map production tool Mach9. 

➡️ Learn more about Pittsburgh’s AV scene

Immigrants add billions to PA economy

With Pennsylvania’s aging population and decline in US-born workers, immigrants are playing a pivotal role in sustaining the commonwealth’s economic health.

From 2010 to 2022, the immigrant share of the population in Pennsylvania rose by 35%, making 1 in 13 residents immigrants. Immigrants now make up 9.7% of Pennsylvania’s labor force, contributing $4.4 billion in state and local taxes in 2022, according to a recent report from nonprofit Upwardly Global and the American Immigration Council.

“There’s a real promise that immigrants bring,” Carey Harris, CEO of educational nonprofit Literacy Pittsburgh, told Technical.ly. That promise, Harris said, is a young, diverse workforce that can fill the gaps in Pittsburgh’s economy. 

➡️ Explore the impact immigrants are having on Pittsburgh’s economy

News Incubator: What else to know

• Pittsburgh’s downtown revitalization efforts will receive nearly $600 million of public, private and nonprofit investments into “shovel-ready” projects, like transforming old office buildings into housing, over the next four years. [Technical.ly]

• Get ready for Election Day with a breakdown of where major Pennsylvania candidates stand on tech and business issues. [Technical.ly]

• PennDOT announced changes to Pennsylvania’s highly automated vehicle guidelines. The new rules allow certified users to operate autonomous vehicles on the road without a driver in the driver’s seat. [Pennsylvania Pressroom]

• A Pittsburgh warehouse management startup Gather AI has partnered with Indiana’s largest nonprofit employer of blind or visually impaired workers to provide autonomous drones with features to enhance accessibility. [Pittsburgh Business Times]

• Local healthcare technology company Free Market Health restructured its leadership team last week, appointing chief technology officer Mark Conklin as president and chief operating officer. [Free Market Health]

• At the Keystone Space Conference, Michael Stuart, investment firm CBRE vice president, said it is 19% less expensive to build a 60,000-square-foot space industry project in the region compared to other established “big space” cities. [Pittsburgh Business Times/GovTech]

• Governor Josh Shapiro’s administration is investing more than $6.7 million to support an expansion of Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. The company is investing over $85 million to construct a new advanced switchgear factory, creating 200 new jobs, in the Pittsburgh region.  [PA Department of Community & Economic Development]

Meet the startups in Comcast’s AI accelerator

It takes a lot to impress the folks at Lift Labs. The Comcast NBCUniversal accelerator program has been boosting promising startups since 2013, helping companies build toward enterprise-level partnerships with big corporations like Comcast itself.

The latest cohort is full of founders with ideas of how to address some of the most promising applications of AI. They hail from across the country, with a bias toward California but also Philadelphia and New York. These eight startups are ones to watch in the AI space.

➡️ Meet the latest Lift Labs accelerator cohort

This sponsored blurb supports our journalism. Want to see your message here? Get details and book online.

On the Calendar

• Attend a thoughtful panel discussion on the role technology plays in green construction and a sustainable future, hosted by nonprofit Pittsburgh Earth Day at the Duquesne Club on Nov. 4. [Register]

• Learn about disinformation and its influence on US elections from faculty and student researchers from Carnegie Mellon University’s IDeaS Center for Informed Democracy and Social-Cybersecurity on Nov. 5. Presenters will demonstrate software tools used to identify and counter online disinformation. [Register] 

• Calling all innovators and disruptors! Enjoy a happy hour and open discussion on the power of influencer marketing with host Transform Labs at COhatch Shadyside on Nov. 7. [Learn more]

• DIY a “blinky” name badge with HackPGH on Nov. 6. The tags can help you stand out at networking events in a fun and functional way. [Get tickets]

• Join this relaxed, inclusive coding group, Code & Coffee, for a monthly meet-up at coworking space Prototype PGH in Oakland on Nov. 9. All are welcome regardless of skill level or programming language. [Learn more]