Seattle investment bank Cascadia Capital has its eye on Pittsburgh for SPAC acquisition target

The view of Pittsburgh from Mt. Washington. (GeekWire Photo / Taylor Soper)

Pittsburgh’s tech scene is getting more love from Seattle.

Cascadia Capital, a Seattle-based investment banking firm founded more than two decades ago, is seeking its new special-purpose acquisition company in Pittsburgh, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Business Journal.

Pittsburgh Postscript: Surprises, Annoyances, Memorable Characters, and Epic Experiences from GeekWire Month in Steel City

The company has traditionally helped broker business but last month applied for $ 150 million for its own SPAC called Cascadia Acquisition Corp. Blockchain and more.

Michael Butler, Chairman and CEO of Cascadia, has spent more time in Pittsburgh in recent years and believes the city is poised for a tech boom.

“Pittsburgh is Seattle about 10 to 15 years ago,” he told GeekWire on Tuesday.

Butler referred to “world-class” technology development in robotics, automation, AI and medical technology, as well as research from institutions such as Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh.

“Great engineering talent, great city and quality of life,” he said.

GeekWire shared some of these trends when we spent a month in Steel City four years ago as part of our GeekWire HQ2 project.

Here was my 2017 take on comparing the tech communities of Pittsburgh and Seattle:

In both places, crazy bright minds work on innovative technologies that are open to collaboration. There is incredibly positive energy in both cities.

Seattle’s tech ecosystem is just more robust. There are anchor tenants in Microsoft and Amazon, along with large second tier companies like Tableau, Zillow, Redfin, Zulily, Expedia, T-Mobile, and others. Pittsburgh needs more of this. That will help attract more investors and tech talent, and ultimately, expand the ecosystem.

There’s just more tech going on in Seattle in general. Pittsburgh, for example, still has tons of cash-only restaurants, while in Seattle every local shop now seems to have square. It feels like Seattle is just a few steps ahead of the future. But the countless self-driving cars whizzing through Pittsburgh are a sign that something could change in Steel City.

Pittsburgh’s importance as a technology hub has grown since then.

The city’s best-known startup, Duolingo, went public in July, which should give the local startup scene even more momentum. Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft also have sizeable offices and are hiring. Uber had part of its self-propelled unit stationed in the city; Late last year, it announced plans to sell that arm to Aurora, another growing Pittsburgh tech company.

The local universities also continue to rely on innovation. The CMU is building the world’s first academic cloud laboratory, while the University of Pittsburgh opened a Disinformation Lab in June.

Other investors are also looking to Pittsburgh as a possible next big tech hub.

In addition to its SPAC, Cascadia is looking for other potential deals around town. Butler said Pittsburgh has a shortage of management, sales and marketing directors – but like Seattle, it is “able to attract talent because of the quality of life in the city.”

“It’s the same movie,” he said.