Jesse Proudman, a Seattle native and prominent figure in the AI industry, has decided to leave his hometown.
Proudman, aged 41, is known for founding three companies in Washington, including Venice.ai, an AI platform that emphasizes user privacy.
Last week, Proudman shared his plans to relocate to a more conservative state, citing increasing taxes and dissatisfaction with Seattle’s mayor, Katie Wilson, whom he criticizes for her dismissive stance on entrepreneurs.
“We’re exploring alternatives,” Proudman explained to Fox News. “We’ve been considering places like Nevada, Texas, Austin, Nashville, and Florida. These locations offer a thriving business environment.”
He added, “These are places where the government supports entrepreneurship, welcomes individuals, and doesn’t demonize those who have achieved success.”
At the end of March, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed the millionaire tax law, which is aimed at the super-rich.
Under the new state law, those earning over $1 million per year will be slapped with a 9.9 percent hike, which Ferguson deemed ‘historic.’
Recently, Wilson, 43, joked that she would welcome the departure of high earners from Seattle due to the policy.
Venice.ai founder Jesse Proudman, 41, announced he is leaving Seattle over the state’s millionaire tax the woke mayor Katie Wilson’s flippant attitude
Wilson joked that she would welcome the departure of high earners from Seattle due to the policy
‘I think the claims that millionaires are gonna leave our state are super overblown, if the ones that leave, “bye,”‘ the Democratic Socialist said while speaking at an event put on by Seattle University last month.
Proudman said Wilson’s attitude towards the entrepreneurs who help build the city enrages him during an interview with The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 AM on Monday.
‘For years, it was a phenomenal community in place to build a business. And then over the last, I don’t know, five or six years or post-COVID era, we’ve slowly seen this shift to be antagonistic against those who start companies, against those who build something from nothing,’ he said.
‘The capital gains tax was the first sort of nail in the coffin for me. And then we’ve seen this year now with the millionaires tax, and then the discussion of a wealth tax on top of that, it’s really created an environment that makes it just hostile for entrepreneurs to be here.’
Proudman added, ‘The reality is, downtown is still a complete disaster, five, six years after COVID. This is not a money problem. This is a spending problem. This is a competence problem with government and trying to remedy that by taxing the very people that are trying to be here and who are already paying some of the highest tax rates in the country, across all of their possessions. It’s just insane.’
Earlier this year, Starbucks unveiled plans to move its logistics operations from its Seattle offices to Nashville.
Several other businesses, including Amazon and Meta, have already cut jobs in the state.
Wilson is now in charge of the city where Starbucks was founded in 1971, after being elected last year.
Proudman said Wilson’s attitude towards the entrepreneurs who help build the city enrages him
Seattle, especially the downtown area, has in recent times become an open-air drug market littered with encampments and users abusing hard drugs on the street
That was despite critics labeling her privileged and out of touch after it emerged she regularly receives checks from her professor parents to pay for childcare.
Wilson and her husband spend $2,200 per month on daycare for their toddler, and another $2,200 to rent their apartment, it emerged during her campaign.
She acknowledged her privileged upbringing and said she became aware of it while attending public schools, where she had friends from less privileged backgrounds.
Seattle, especially the downtown area, has in recent times become an open-air drug market littered with encampments and users abusing hard drugs on the street.
The Daily Mail contacted Wilson’s office for comment.