How'd you make me hate Boston?

The lyrics from Renee Rapp’s song have been on repeat in my head since my recent visit to see the Launch of Liquid AI at MIT's Kresge Auditorium.?I left Boston in 1996 to make my way to New York and I've never looked back.? But lately,?something about Boston now feels… different. There’s an energy there that I haven’t felt since New York’s Bloomberg era—a time when the city buzzed with innovation, when businesses, government, and academia were perfectly in sync. It was a moment when everything seemed possible. Now, walking the streets of Boston, I feel a pang of jealousy—not because I’m missing out, but because New York City feels like it’s missing a moment.

The Power of Place: Gladwell’s Argument

In his new book, Revenge of the Tipping Point, written 25 years after his original work, Malcolm Gladwell revisits the concept of how environments contribute to tipping points.? From the opioid epidemic, to bank robberies, to medicare fraud, Gladwell tells the stories of how places have become hotbeds for extreme behaviors, oftentimes undesirable ones.? However, he notes that the same things that can make a place cauldron for crime can also make it a catalyst for creativity. Richard Florida has made a similar argument for what makes for great cultures of innovation.? Writing about New York, Silicon Valley, and Toronto in the early 2000s—these cities focused on attracting the creative class by offering the right mix of social dynamics, infrastructure, and openness to diversity. For both Gladwell and Florida, place matters. Innovation thrives in places where people have the freedom to collaborate, experiment, and build on each other’s ideas. Gladwell’s theory suggests that the environment you’re in can make or break your ability to innovate.

Boston right now feels like one of those places—a city where universities like MIT and Harvard, alongside venture capital and local government support, have created the perfect storm for AI innovation. Massachusetts, with a population roughly a third the size of New York, produces almost as many utility patents annually—8,176 compared to New York's 9,361 in 2020. On a per capita basis, Massachusetts is 2.45 times more prolific in generating utility patents than New York.

Walking through Kendall Square, you can sense that something big is brewing. But as Gladwell argues, geography alone isn’t what creates a tipping point. It’s about the convergence of factors, the precise moment when all the elements line up and everything changes.

Being at the Right Place at the Right Time

A city can have all the talent in the world, but if the timing isn’t right—if the political, cultural, or technological forces aren’t aligned—nothing happens. Boston, for example, has always had the academic muscle and tech talent, thanks to institutions like MIT and Harvard. But it’s only now, with the rise of AI and a supportive government, that the city seems to be hitting its stride.

The rise of AI coincided perfectly with Boston's existing strengths, particularly its concentration in biotech and robotics compared to NYC's spread across multiple sectors such as fintech, media, and advertising technology, bolstered by an influx of targeted venture capital. Home to Boston Dynamics and the Broad Institute, the city is leveraging its strengths in robotics and biotech to drive innovation and attract significant investment. In fact, early-stage median valuations for AI companies in Boston are well above $70 million, with late-stage valuations reaching around $100 million, showcasing the city’s attractiveness for investors seeking focused tech innovation. Boston’s "vertical" approach allows the city to concentrate its resources on a few, high-impact sectors, driving deeper innovation and helping it emerge as a leader in these specialized fields.

Boston's success is largely driven by strong government leadership and supportive regulatory policies that foster innovation. Governor Maura Healey has played a significant role by providing practical measures such as tax incentives for tech companies, investments in innovation hubs like Kendall Square, and a light regulatory approach designed to reduce barriers for startups. These efforts have created a cohesive environment for tech growth, aligning public resources, academia, and industry to drive progress.

Just as Gladwell describes a tipping point as "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point," cities also have tipping points. These are moments when the right leadership, the right ideas, and the right technological shifts collide. And when they do, everything changes. Boston’s current moment with AI feels like exactly that—a tipping point. The city has reached a critical mass of talent, investment, and leadership, and the result is a flourishing innovation ecosystem.

NYC Under Bloomberg: A Case Study in Place and Time

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a city experience its tipping point. Back during Michael Bloomberg’s administration, New York had its moment. The tech sector was expanding rapidly, fueled by a combination of supportive policies, academic partnerships, and a willingness to experiment. At the time, I was working right at the heart, developing NYU 2031—a visionary project that sought to expand the university by six million square feet over 25 years. At that time, it felt like New York could do anything, and I saw what happens when cities and universities unite to attract talent, create centers for innovation, and advance the legislative changes that support what can be done in the private sector.??

But looking at New York now, it feels like something has shifted. The creative energy is still there, but the city hasn’t captured the same momentum it had during Bloomberg’s time.? Let's just look at one example: rezonings.? The Bloomberg administration passed a whopping 120 rezonings.??These included both upzoning (increasing development potential) and downzoning (limiting development to preserve neighborhood character) efforts.? Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams combined: Eleven.? And why are rezonings important?? Because these are the tools that governments have at their disposal to enact incentives for building the housing, laboratories, and economic development sectors that support innovation.

Boston has implemented several rezoning initiatives aimed at fostering economic development and adapting to post-pandemic challenges. One major effort is the relaunch of PLAN: Downtown, a comprehensive planning process that seeks to revitalize the downtown area by promoting mixed-use development, increasing housing density, and supporting small businesses. This initiative aims to reduce the reliance on office workers by converting underutilized office spaces into residential units and creating incentives for small businesses and cultural amenities. By creating new zoning incentives to increase density, supporting women- and minority-owned businesses, and enhancing mobility infrastructure, Boston is strategically aligning its zoning policies with its goals of fostering an innovation-friendly environment. These rezoning efforts help lay the groundwork for a more dynamic, round-the-clock downtown that supports both economic growth and cultural vibrancy.

The question is: has New York missed its moment? And more importantly, can it reclaim it?

Boston’s AI Moment: A Convergence of Place and Time

Boston is at a tipping point for AI development due to several key factors:

Unified Government and Institutional Support: Strong alignment between government, academia, and industry, highlighted by Governor Healey's active involvement, boosts investor confidence.

Academic and Industry Collaboration: Deep collaboration between institutions like MIT and Harvard, venture capital, and startups creates a sustainable environment for innovation.

Focused Growth and Timing: Boston's specialization in AI and biotech, backed by targeted venture capital, has driven rapid growth.

Favorable Regulation: Light regulatory approach fosters experimentation and attracts investments.

High Patent Output: Despite its smaller population, Boston produces nearly as many patents as NYC, especially in AI and biotech, reflecting a concentrated culture of innovation.

In Boston, academic, industry, and government sectors operate in closer proximity, both physically and strategically. This alignment helps create “triple helix” partnerships where universities, companies, and the government share goals and resources. The support for AI innovation in particular shows that Boston's leaders are aligned around making the city an AI hub, leveraging its talent and research institutions. And when such forces align, capital follows: Boston’s AI investment is part of a broader national trend where vertical, industry-specific AI applications are being seen as more viable and appealing for investors compared to foundational, generalized AI models.

While NYC's diverse industry sectors provides some modicum of economic stability, it may also be its downfall when it comes to the next wave of AI, which is focused on identifying practical use cases that drive ROI.? The way Boston has laid the groundwork in concentrated applications, may just be the right mix at the right moment to tip the scales.

The result is a wave of innovation that feels unstoppable.

What Happens When a City Misses Its Tipping Point?

But what about the cities that miss their moment? Detroit, once a global hub for manufacturing and innovation, struggled to adapt when the auto industry collapsed. Similarly, Berlin's creative energy is often stifled by bureaucracy. These cities had potential, but without the right timing and adaptability, the opportunity slipped by.

Boston’s current success raises questions about its sustainability, particularly if external conditions change. How resilient is Boston’s ecosystem in the face of potential challenges? Other cities might learn from Boston's moment, but they must also prepare for the pitfalls that can follow a peak.

Despite the high valuations, there are concerns about the sustainability of these investments. Investors are aware of the “land grab” nature of the current AI boom, with some fearing that inflated valuations may lead to instability. Even within Boston, the rush to invest in AI has some venture capitalists worried about potential overvaluation, though the city still offers a more specialized and lower-risk environment compared to broader tech investments.

Smaller cities, like Cincinnati, demonstrate that innovation doesn’t have to rely solely on immense resources or global recognition. Instead, they can focus on cultivating grassroots movements, building strong public-private partnerships, and creating inclusive spaces for innovation. By encouraging collaboration between tech startups, academic institutions, and local government, Cincinnati is positioning itself as an emerging AI hub. The success of initiatives like the Cincy AI Meetup and Cincy AI Week, backed by local companies like Nexigen, shows how smaller cities can leverage community involvement to develop sustainable innovation ecosystems. This approach helps create localized hubs of talent and innovation, giving smaller cities a chance to punch above their weight and remain adaptable as technology evolves. The lesson for cities looking to regain or achieve their tipping point is clear: focus on specialization, build community alliances, and cultivate an environment that supports experimentation and cross-sector collaboration.

Reflections on the Future of Cities

As I reflect on my experiences between New York and Boston, I realize that cities, much like people, have moments. There are times when everything aligns—when the place, the people, and the timing come together to create something truly transformative. Boston is in that moment right now, and as much as it pains me to say it as a New Yorker, I can’t help but admire it.

What makes Boston’s current boom particularly striking is the cultural identity that fuels it. Boston has always been a city driven by a sense of intellectual pursuit, a place where academia and industry feel naturally intertwined. This cultural bedrock gives Boston a resilience that goes beyond policy or funding cycles.

The lesson here is that innovation isn’t just about being in the right place; it’s about being in the right place at the right time, with the right culture to sustain it. Boston's current success illustrates this perfectly, Cincinnati is an up and comer, while New York must consider how it can realign its resources and leadership to recapture its own moment of innovation. When a city reaches that tipping point, the impact can last for decades. But it’s not a guarantee. Cities need to nurture these moments, be aware of their vulnerabilities, and ensure that their success stories don’t end up as cautionary tales.

I'm Lori Mazor. I teach AI with a Human Touch.? I'm reinventing how we educate, strategize, and build the future one article at a time. If you enjoy this newsletter.

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