The Mill Runs Again.

The Burnside Mill was never supposed to sit quiet. For a century it turned the Hockanum River into work — wool, thread, machines, and the paychecks that built East Hartford around it. Now the water still runs, and we're giving the mill a new job: teaching Connecticut how to build with artificial intelligence.

Burnside AI Labs is a coworking space and an education hub inside that same 1887 mill on Church Street. The pitch is simple. If you're a founder, a freelancer, a student, or just someone who's tired of hearing about AI and wants to actually use it — this is where you come.

Why a mill, and why now

Artificial intelligence is splitting the world into two camps: the people who know how to use it, and the people who get left behind. That split is going to decide who gets the good jobs, who starts the companies, and who owns the future. We don't think that future should belong only to people in San Francisco.

AI creates class division. We'd rather build the bridge than complain about the gap.

So we built the bridge in the most East Hartford place we could find. A real, physical room where the machines are approachable, the teachers are patient, and the neighbor next to you is figuring out the same thing you are.

What's happening inside

Founders Round memberships open at $300 a month — a desk, serious infrastructure, and a community of builders. We run hands-on classes and workshops for adults and students, from your first prompt to building tools that make money. And we're bringing in local schools, universities, and tech companies to make the mill a place where the next generation of Connecticut builders actually starts.

On September 9, 2026, we're throwing open the doors for a free community science fair — live robots, hands-on AI stations, 3D printing, and student projects from across the region. It's a chance to see the mill alive again, and to see what your kids (and you) could be building by this time next year.

The river's been running the whole time. The mill's just waking back up.