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San Diego will establish a satellite office in Silicon Valley to secure more Bay Area venture capital to fund expansion of local tech businesses. Dubbed The Beachhead, the office, which will officially open Jan. 2 in co-working space at WeWork San Francisco, will be operated by the San Diego Venture Group. SDVG soft-launched the new VC office this month to network with more than 400 venture funds in the Bay Area.
In announcing the launch of this effort, San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer (above) said, “San Diego has always been known for our beautiful weather but every day more people around the world are hearing about our booming innovation economy, and now we’re taking the show on the road. For the first time, San Diego’s smartest startups will have an official headquarters in the Silicon Valley, so our local businesses can access Bay Area funding while still prospering and hiring right here in America’s finest city.”
“It’s time to flip the equation,” said SDVG president Mike Krenn. He said people have complained for a decade about the lack of capital coming into San Diego. “We’ve continually heard, ‘If X venture fund, or if Y venture fund would just open a satellite office here.'” Instead of waiting for one venture fund to open an office in San Diego, the satellite office in San Francisco will provide access to hundreds of venture funds, he said.
San Diego companies received about $1.3B in venture capital in 2015, compared to $27.8B received by Bay Area businesses. San Diego’s innovation economy makes a $52B economic impact annually, a quarter of the region’s gross domestic product.
Any San Diego-based company can apply for access to the venture capital office at sdvg.org. SDVG vets applicants based upon readiness and need.
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