South Bay company launches AI Center of Excellence to attract, retain new startups in Silicon Valley

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A big effort to bring new startups to Silicon Valley launched this month.

It's called an Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence. A main goal is to foster the birth of local startups and get them to stay in Silicon Valley.

Sunnyvale-based Plug and Play is launching the center in Downtown San Jose.

"We now have an accelerator that's a platform for startups to be able to test their ideas, work closely with the larger companies and even city hall or governments," said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.

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The center aims to give 40 new companies each year a low barrier, low cost way to start up and test their ideas to advance AI.

CEO Saeed Amidi said it's part of an overall effort to give startups a location and platform to launch their work in the South Bay and also stay in the area.

"Quite frankly, San Jose used to be the center of Silicon Valley. I think it little bit moved north, but we want to bring it back to South," Amidi said.

Applications for potential startups are already open.

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The center is expected to open next month in a high rise on West Santa Clara Street.

Also planned for that area is the AI Incubator showroom inside the former Bank of Italy tower.

"A showroom where high school kids can come and experience what AI can do," Amidi said.

It's all apart of the center's mission, which also includes working with San Jose State to introduce AI to 7th through 12th grade students.

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"We feel if the kids are inspired as a young age, they will go toward mathematics and engineering," Amidi said.

PG&E has collaborated with Plug and Play to help power the center.

The utility has already identified one of the startups as one with technology it could use: prediction technology to detect equipment failure before it happens, which could prevent outages.

"There's only a handful of places in the world that have the density of talent who can harness the power of artificial intelligence," said Patti Poppe, PG&E's CEO. "San Jose is one of those places."

The AI Center of Excellence in San Jose is the first on the West Coast. Seattle will be next, with plans being made for other centers around the world.