It is common knowledge that Silicon Valley is home to numerous successful tech brands. However, not many people know that an unassuming area 30 miles north of Silicon Valley and just past the airport has been quietly and steadily gaining a reputation for being a startup and innovation center for technology companies.
Birthplace of Biotechnology
Everyone who travels from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to the city will invariably have to drive past the huge hillside sign that reads ‘South San Francisco, The Industrial City.’ The sign harkens back to the 1800s when the city was the center of the meatpacking industry.
Today, South San Francisco is famous for a very different reason—it is the hub of biotech entrepreneurship in the country, so much so that the city has rebranded itself ‘the Birthplace of Biotechnology.’
The evolution of South San Francisco began in 1978 when biotech powerhouse Genentech moved in. Since then, more than 200 biotech and healthcare companies have followed in its footsteps, boosting the city’s population to over 60,000 residents.
With 11.5 million square feet of biotech buildings spread out over 500 acres of land, South San Francisco is now the largest biotech cluster in the world. And the development is continuously expanding.
The 2.25 million square feet Oyster Point Marina campus, the 1.25 million square feet Pacific Gateway campus, and the 884,000 square feet Britannia Cove campus are just some of the projects in the pipeline geared to accommodate anything from startups to established biopharma brands.
Genentech remains a giant in the area, accounting for over 40 percent of the total biopharma building space in the city.
The corporation has since instituted a master plan to gradually double its impressive building footprint at 1 DNA Way from 4.7 million square feet to 9 million square feet of offices, labs, and manufacturing space.
The City of South San Francisco has put its money where its mouth is by actively planning for biotechnology growth. It has invested over $300 million towards improving its streets, sewage infrastructure, and water quality.
In addition, it is ensuring that there is enough accommodation for the city’s highly-skilled workforce by building more residential units.
Accelerators and Angels
Aside from unrivaled support from the City of South San Francisco, startups from South San Francisco also benefit from easy access to accelerators, incubators, angel investors, and venture capital companies. Whatever stage of funding your company is in, there will be something for you in the highly-supportive startup ecosystem of San Francisco.
YCombinator, the originator of the first seed accelerator program in 2005, and AngelPad ranked as the top seed accelerator in the US by MIT, are just some of the big-name accelerators that have offices in San Francisco.
Accelerators work intensely with startups, helping entrepreneurs to refine their pitch, network with partners, and learn the tools of the trade fast.
Meanwhile, incubators such as the ShangPharma Innovation Incubator, right in the heart of South San Francisco, provide startups with state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and facilities.
Resident companies gain exposure through the incubator’s vendors and research partners and also have the opportunity to be picked up by the group’s venture capital team.
Venture capital is an essential source of funding for growing startups, and the fertile land of San Francisco is teeming with established VC firms waiting to throw their chips behind the next big thing.
San Francisco was the top city in the US by VC investment in 2020, with South San Francisco recording a remarkable 260 percent increase in funding.
2021 has seen a lot of funding action happening in the South San Francisco area. In February, Day One Biopharmaceuticals raised $130 million in a Series B financing round.
In May, Interline Therapeutics posted $92 million in investment from a blend of seed funding and Series A financing co-led by Foresite Capital and ARCH Venture Partners.
Tons of Talent
Another advantage enjoyed by South San Francisco is its proximity to higher education academic institutions such as Stanford University, UC-San Francisco, UC-Berkeley, and San Francisco State.
The City of South San Francisco also works closely with universities and community colleges to ensure that there will be no shortage of a skilled workforce for the area.
As part of this focus on talent retention, the Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University, the California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), and the City of South San Francisco have teamed up to create an MBA for Biotech Professionals program.
This will enable more upward mobility in biotech-related fields and a richer pool of knowledge in the South San Francisco area.
Ten minutes away from SFO, 15 minutes away to downtown San Francisco, and half an hour away from Silicon Valley, South San Francisco sits at the heart of a vibrant and creative region.
Modern residential spaces, numerous parks, swimming pools, a marina, and a plethora of tech businesses and support systems create an entrepreneurship ecosystem that is difficult to beat.
It seems that South San Francisco is not only the birthplace of biotechnology but will continue to be where it grows and flourishes for years to come.
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