Denver Startup Week kicks off with hopes to make Colorado a top 5 tech hub by 2035 | Business [Video]

Denver Startup Week has begun.

The event running through Thursday is expected to attract more than 12,000 attendees for its 13th year, according to primary organizer Downtown Denver Partnership.

The weeklong discussion of Colorado’s startup scene will be focusing a lot of attention on the rise of artificial intelligence and the state’s leadership in quantum computer technology.

It will also cover topics such as aerospace, outdoor recreation tech, intellectual property and finding funding at a time when investors are much more weary.

“We believe in the power of place,” said Erik Mitisek, the startup week’s co-founder. “We thought if we put people in the same room with really big ideas and a bunch of capital that really, really good companies would come out of the bottom.”

He cited how the event has been a birthplace for multimillion dollar ideas and contracts, through networking or connecting investors with budding ideas from local companies.

Denver Startup Week …