Google is adding San Diego to its SoCal footprint, signing a lease for nearly 60k SF on the first and fourth floors of a four-story building at the VERGE office complex at 6420 Sequence Drive in Sorrento Mesa. While the tech giant has not divulged what type of operations will be there, the location puts Google smack in the middle of the region’s telecommunications and life sciences/biomed talent clusters. CBRE handled the lease deal for VERGE owner Cruzan, which redeveloped the project to a creative office-tech campus, but cannot disclose Google’s plans for the space.

Wireless chip giant Qualcomm downsized its San Diego operations last fall, eliminating about 1,300 engineering and other technology jobs. Google may view this event as an opportunity to pick up talent. San Diego Venture Group president Mike Krenn told the San Diego Union-Tribune it’s his understanding Google would be hiring for “high-caliber engineering jobs." There is speculation the new location involves Google Fiber. San Diego is one of five California cities targeted for this super-fast internet network.

Google operates a diverse collection of businesses and research projects under the new Alphabet parent company, including biomedical, so the company may be seeking local talent in this sector. Google has formed a technology JV with locally based Dexcom, which recently won FDA approval for an implantable continuous glucose-monitoring device. Dexcom is on the Verge campus at 6340 Sequence Drive.

Additionally, the company’s Calico (California Life Co) division is seeking a cure for aging. The J. Craig Venter Institute in nearby La Jolla is engaged in similar research. Alphabet recently filed a patent for a needle-less blood draw system developed by Verily, a division of Google Life Sciences. Google X, another Google Life Sciences entity, is developing a futuristic concept where patients take a pill containing nanoparticles programmed to detect biomarkers for cancers and other disease symptoms, along with a wearable gadget that reports findings. [SDUT]