By the Washington State Department of Commerce
When rattling off a list of mover-and-shaker states in the U.S., Washington State may not instantly roll off the tip of your tongue. But the truth is, Washington has been so busy changing the world that we forget to ballyhoo and bluster along the way.
Over the years, Washington’s legendary businesses have put a latte in one hand and a mobile phone in the other, made world travel affordable for middle-class travelers, brought still hearts back to life, and added a hoppy bite to your beer. Home to Amazon, Expedia, Microsoft and Starbucks, Washington has an annual GDP equivalent to Poland.
The Future is Already Here
Washington is proud of its aerospace, forest products and agriculture sectors, which put the state on the map. But Washington has so much more to offer these days as it continues to make significant investments in a range of future-forward pursuits that will create economic opportunities for decades to come.
An excellent example is the state’s Innovation Cluster Accelerator Program (icapwashingtonstate.org). Public-private partnerships in industrial symbiosis, sustainable fuels, bioscience, 5G, advanced technology and autonomous craft are on the cutting edge of discovery. Researchers are hard at work using artificial intelligence to find new cures for life-robbing diseases, exploring the full potential of quantum computing, using drones to manage and harvest crops and redesigning the factory floor from the ground up through automation and robotics.
This unquenchable thirst for breaking barriers, questioning the status quo and bringing the “next big thing to market” is in the DNA of entrepreneurs, business owners and workers across the state. Just ask those at Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Nordstrom, Costco, Holland America and Tommy Bahama, all built from the ground up in Washington.
A Convergence Zone of Opportunity
In the Pacific Northwest, meteorologists use the term Convergence Zone to describe the weather patterns that disrupt the atmosphere. It can be raining in one place and sunny just a few miles away.
Convergence Zone could also be used to describe Washington’s economy. Bold ideas converge, merge and interact to create something the world has never seen before. This phenomenon fuels our economy and drives a culture of creativity that allows us to take the world by storm with new ideas and innovations.
A Different Kind of Incentive
Financial incentives are the norm in business attraction and retention. But Washington deals in a different form of currency – the chance to change the world. While others talk dollar signs, we’re talking about the opportunity to work with some of the most amazing minds and businesses bent on creating the next big thing. Your ability to bring new ideas to market is the currency that counts in Washington State, not the size of your bank account or how many followers you have on X.
Case in point. Washington has been a global leader in aerospace for more than a century. But the industry has shifted gears, thanks to the leadership of new industry players who are developing electric aircraft, air mobility systems, uncrewed craft, and sustainable fuels that reduce the state’s carbon footprint. Another legacy industry, maritime, is committed to developing autonomous craft, transforming marine fleets to electric power and investing heavily in sustainable harvest practices and a new generation of workers.
Washington’s information and communication technology sector is known the world over, building the first cellular networks and supercomputers and making computers simpler and more affordable. Amazon, of course, changed the way we shop, starting out selling textbooks to college students and expanding into the shopping goliath they are today.
As tech workers strike out on their own, they start new endeavors bent on exploring the boundless potential of quantum computing, artificial intelligence, the metaverse, gaming and cloud computing. Thanks to the close proximity of life science giants like Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, technologies are finding their way into a new generation of biodevices, diagnostics and treatments. The clean energy sector enjoys similar benefits of proximity and collaboration, working on radical advances in energy production and storage technologies, grid management and alternative energy supplies such as solar, wind, hydrogen, biomass and tidal.
Be Part of Something Transformative
Perhaps Washington’s unique pioneer spirit inspires us to challenge the status quo and find ways to make the impossible possible. Making the world a better place is at the core of almost everything we do.
Whatever the future holds, Washington State is up to the task. From its rough and tumble beginnings as an undiscovered paradise of ancient forests to its role as an international force of change and innovation, Washington has continually risen to the challenge with fresh ideas that have a way of changing the world.
To learn more about opportunities in Washington State, contact one of our business or trade experts at (206) 256-6100 or email us at moreinfo@choosewashingtonstate.com.
