New hacker house in Seattle area brings startup founders together under one creative roof

A large house overlooking Meydenbauer Bay in Bellevue, Wash., could be the home of the Seattle-region’s next big AI startup. At the very least, it’s a place where ideas are being hatched by tech founders who are inspired by living and working with one another.

Bili House is a hacker house started by a group of young people interested in improving connections and opportunities in the Seattle-area startup community.

The 7,000-square-foot waterfront house, complete with swimming pool and boat dock, features five bedrooms and co-working space. It’s already serving as a gathering space for events and workshops for such things as learning to vibe code. And applications are open for a first cohort of four to six teams.

The house was launched by four founders: Sylviane Zhao, who recently graduated from Cornell University, and Shawn Yang and Tehani Cabour, who both worked at French software giant Dassault Systèmes. They’re working together on projects including CodeChimp, a project management platform that aims to turn vibe coding into a “multiplayer experience” by using multi-agent orchestration and other AI-powered tools. Last fall they were part of a Plug and Play cohort in Seattle. Jatin Kumar is the fourth founding member and a Z Fellow.

“We’re just trying to get the early stage startup scene kick started here in Bellevue,” Yang told GeekWire.

“Every morning you wake up, you just go upstairs from your room and start working with each other,” Zhao added. “Everything is 24/7, and it’s very accessible.”

Yang said that before starting the hacker house, they were considering a move to San Francisco. He joked that the money they’re paying for the house in Bellevue would get them a two-bedroom apartment in the Bay Area.

“I was living in San Francisco back in 2022-23 and I established rooms in different hacker houses. That really changed my perspective,” Yang said, adding that he feels like there are more startup “doers” than just “talkers” choosing to live and work this way.

The hacker house idea is not a new concept, especially in Silicon Valley where communal living for the tech-inclined has long been a way to incubate the next big thing. And it’s been tried in the Seattle area. Tech veteran Andy Rebele (Pure Watercraft) ran a few different spaces more than a decade ago, including on Capitol Hill and in the University District.

Seattle startup Tune also ran a house in 2015 near the University of Washington for women studying computer science. The desire for houses geared specifically toward female entrepreneurs continues today with FoundHer House, a San Francisco-based space spotlighted by The New York Times last year. Seattle is on the radar for potential expansion.

The Bili House website says rent ranges from $500 to $2,000 per month depending on room size. Amenities include utilities, high-speed internet, access to all common spaces, and community events. A minimum stay is three months.

In addition to events such as demo nights, founder dinners, and hackathons, the group is looking into partnerships, perhaps with a venture capital firm that could help defer some costs for startup founders. Bili House is also running a marketplace to connect renters to hacker spaces in other cities.

Other AI startups currently working out of Bili House include legal simulation platform LexSims and construction cost analysis company Bevr.

“I really just enjoy the culture,” Yang said. “I think it’s nice to have people building alongside you, and to be able to share experiences, as well as skill sets, especially in today’s age. It really helps to stay connected in the community, to encourage each other.”

After mentioning parking can be a bit of a constraint at the location, Yang offered up a hack for commuting to or from Bili House.

“University of Washington is 10 minutes by boat. Driving is like 30 or 40,” he laughed.

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