Matt Turck Recalls 9/11: His AI Startup's Office Was on the North Tower's 53rd Floor
mattturck · x · 2026-09-12
AI investor Matt Turck republished and lightly updated his 9/11 memoir, originally written in 2016.
In September 2001, Turck was co-founder of NYC startup TripleHop Technologies, a 25-person team building enterprise search with the era's early AI — roughly what Glean does today. Their office was on the 53rd floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower; they had passed on a stunning top-floor office (104th floor) as too extravagant for a seed-stage startup.
The night before, Turck and co-founder Renaud Laplanche (later founder of Lending Club) worked late and played ping pong as usual. When the plane hit at 8:46am, both were still at home — their habit of arriving around 9:30am likely saved their lives.
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