?????????????? This week in Bay Area business: budget deficits, tech office space and biotech blows
San Francisco Business Times
The San Francisco region's source for local business news & events. Part of the American City Business Journals network.
The week began with news that a newly developed AI model out of China could not only outperform existing LLM leaders like ChatGPT, but had been developed at the cost of a mid-size San Francisco condo.
DeepSeek sent shockwaves through global markets and raised big questions about future AI investment and future development. Do the wheels on a hype train start to squeak when it slows down?
Elsewhere, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie spoke at our event about the myriad challenges facing him and the city. Cuts are coming, the mayor said, but also increased efficiency and a more streamlined bureaucracy.
We also saw contrasting real estate moves from organizations linked to Mark Zuckerberg.
All this and more in another week in Bay Area business.
San Francisco mayor grapples with city’s historic budget deficit by Mark Calvey
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has his hands full: a historic budget deficit, problems tied to homelessness and crime, visits from federal immigration officials to downtown buildings and the increasing threat of natural disaster, are just a few of his challenges.?
Three weeks into the job, Mayor Lurie addressed a crowd of over 900 at our annual Mayor’s Economic Forecast event.?
“We have a structural budget deficit that requires hard choices, and we are not going to be scared to do that,” Mayor Lurie said.
Meta wants to shed 2 million sq ft in the Bay Area. So why is its footprint growing? By Hannah Kanik
Meta Platforms Inc. said it plans to shrink its Bay Area office footprint by two million square feet, but simultaneously appears to occupy more office space than it did last year, what gives?
Plan averted to operate unmanned air traffic control tower in Bay Area by Mark Calvey
Just a few hours before a major air crash in Washington, D.C. Wednesday, a San Mateo County official sounded the alarm over the FAA’s decision to have a control tower at the San Carlos Airport (SQL) operate without staff, starting Saturday. Those plans now appear to have been canceled.
Nonprofit backed by Mark Zuckerberg signs huge Peninsula lease by Doug Sams
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is rolling out a major expansion next to the organization’s Redwood City headquarters in a boost for the Peninsula’s struggling biotech sector.
Loan backed by 222 Second St. on watchlist amid discussion over LinkedIn's footprint by Sarah Klearman
Lenders are keeping a close eye on a $291.5 million loan backed by 222 Second St. amid discussion over the future of LinkedIn’s footprint in the building.
The week in real estate
Executive profile: He was an Uber skeptic, now he’s steering its climate drive by Simon Campbell
Adam Gromis was Uber ’s first hire with sustainability in their job title. He’s helping the ride-share delivery giant on the road to some ambitious climate targets. And, whisper it, he didn’t really get what the fuss was about when Uber first launched.
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23andMe eyes strategic alternatives, including a sale by Ron Leuty
Genetic testing pioneer 23andMe is looking at strategic alternatives, including a possible sale, it said Tuesday, months after co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki's buyout plan started a fight with her onetime board.
Peninsula biotech moves from IPO to chopping half its workforce in little more than a year by Ron Leuty
After a nearly $300 million IPO little more than a year ago, a young Peninsula biotech company will discontinue what had been its lead cancer-fighting therapy, chop 50% of its workforce and look at its "strategic options" after disappointing mid-stage clinical trial results.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? By Ted Andersen
Weeks after announcing its return as a locally owned and operated brokerage, Christie's International Real Estate Sereno has added a prominent South Bay real estate team from Coldwell Banker with over $50 million in annual sales volume, brothers Brandon Gummow and Nick Gummow .
Lawrence Livermore says OpenAI partnership could help with fusion research by William Hicks
OpenAI has announced an agreement with the U.S. National Laboratories, including Lawrence Livermore National Labs, to supply its AI models and to use alongside an Nvidia supercomputer that could be beneficial to a number of scientific endeavors, including fusion research.
Former Cruise engineers pivot to AI design software by Sara B.
After working in multiple industries spanning robotics, aerospace and autonomous vehicles, Sohrab Haghighat and Kevin Chu decided it was time to build the design software they wanted.
“We Don’t Play” by Alex Barreira
The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is coming to the Golden State Warriors ’ Chase Center in February. And 耐克 is planning to wrap its 84,000-square-foot store at 278 Post St. in a seven-story advertisement celebrating the star-studded basketball jamboree and its roster of All-Star athletes.?
ICYMI here’s what else you need to know
Moonshots and Doom Loops ?????????
This weekly Bay Area business? round-up is written by Simon Campbell, special projects editor at the San Francisco Business Times.
Reach out with news tips, questions or comments: [email protected].
Stay safe and have a good week.