The reasons why tech workers are choosing to return to San Francisco are also that many tech workers laid off by big tech companies are looking to re-enter the new bandwagon. San Francisco's high office vacancy rate means rental prices are only a quarter of what they were before the pandemic.
Last year, tech entrepreneur Doug Follop and his wife, Jesse Fisher, moved to a 2,400-square-foot forest cabin in Bend, Oregon, known for its outdoor views, to start working remotely. Now, they have decided to move back to the Bay Area.
The rise of generative AI such as ChatGPT has sparked a boom in entrepreneurship and investment in Silicon Valley, with some former tech entrepreneurs returning in search of investment, collaboration, and innovation. They said San Francisco couldn't afford to miss the money, hackathon, and networking.
Some time ago, many large technology companies such as Twitter, Google, and Meta ushered in large-scale layoffs, and San Francisco's technology industry fell into its deepest trough in a decade. During the pandemic, as San Francisco's drug, housing, and crime problems grew, people tended to relocate to areas with lighter taxes, looser epidemic prevention, better security, and larger areas. And this wave of artificial intelligence may be able to bring San Francisco back to life and vitality.
San Francisco has a unique tech startup atmosphere, not only with various AI-related community discussions and hackathons, but also with many people who are passionate about AI, and the "brain valley" was born here. "Every time I pass a coffee shop, I meet engineers and investors I know." Tech entrepreneur Doug Fulop said.
"The Woodstock Festival of AI"
Last year, Follop and his wife, Jessie Fischer, moved to a 2,400-square-foot forest cabin in Bend, Oregon, known for its outdoor views, to start working remotely, The New York Times reported June 7. They enjoy skiing, cycling and wine tasting there, much more comfortably than living in an apartment in San Francisco.
However, due to the wave of generative AI, the tech entrepreneur couple intends to return to the Bay Area. Both Follop and Fisher wanted to create their own AI companies and find partners. They wanted to continue living in Bend, but they always had to drive long distances between the two places in order to attend the hackathons, meetups and business meetings in San Francisco. So at the end of the lease, they decided to move back to the Bay Area. Currently, Fisher is starting a hotel business that uses artificial intelligence.
"Artificial intelligence has restored the vitality and vitality of the Bay Area before the pandemic." Follop, 34, said.
The couple, like many other entrepreneurs returning to San Francisco, seized the opportunity in decline. AI technology has entered a new phase – generative AI, which is capable of generating text, images, and videos based on input, a field that has become hot after the rapid rise of ChatGPT.
Investor enthusiasm for generative AI startups has never been higher. According to data platform PitchBook, investors have invested $10.7 billion in generative AI in the first three months of 2023, 13 times more than in the same period last year.
The reasons why tech workers chose to return to San Francisco are also that many tech workers laid off by big tech companies are looking to re-enter the new bandwagon. At the same time, because many AI technologies are open source, companies can share and learn from each other, and anyone can innovate on the existing basis, forming a strong community atmosphere. For example, in San Francisco's Hays Valley neighborhood, where "hacker houses" have sprung up where people create their own startup projects, this community is also called "brain valley" because it is a gathering place for AI practitioners — every night, someone organizes some hackathon, networking or demonstration about AI in the community.
In March, shortly after OpenAI launched GPT-4, Folop and Fisher launched an "emergency hackathon" with 200 people involved and nearly 200 people waiting in line.
That same month, Clement Delangue, CEO of AI startup Hugging Face, also used Twitter to quickly convene a meetup where more than 5,000 people and two alpacas came to San Francisco's Exploratorium Museum, dubbed the "Woodstock Festival of AI." Madisen Taylor, head of operations at AI company Hugging Face, and DeLange, who co-planned the event, said it shares the same philosophy as Woodstock. "We pursue peace and love, as well as creating amazing AI products." She said.
In March, more than 5,000 people attended the so-called AI Woodstock concert in San Francisco.
Jen Yen, who has organized events for tech workers for the past six years, said San Francisco's tech scene has been calm during the pandemic, but a new wave of artificial intelligence has broken that calm. At hackathons and demo days, she saw many practitioners meet their partners, get investments, win clients, and connect with potential hires. "I see people come to events with a good idea and pitch it to 30 different people in one night, seeking consensus," she said. ”
Ms. Ye, 42, runs a secretive 800-person organization focused on artificial intelligence and robotics called the Society of Artificers. The organization's monthly event tickets are sought-after, usually selling out within an hour. "Some even tried to break into the event." She said.
San Francisco's coffee shops gossip about social culture
Bernardo Aceituno moved his company, Stack AI, to San Francisco in January and joined startup accelerator Y Combinator. He and his partners had planned to base the company in New York after the three-month project, but decided to stay in San Francisco.
Acetuno said the community of entrepreneurs, investors and tech talent they found in San Francisco was invaluable. "If we move away, it's going to be hard to re-establish in other cities." The 27-year-old said, "Everything you want is already here. ”
Now, Y Combinator is encouraging many remotely operated startups to move to San Francisco. Of the 270 startups in its most recent batch, 86 percent are headquartered in San Francisco, the company said. "The Hays Valley community really became a 'brain valley' this year." Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator, said at a demo day in April.
The AI boom has also attracted founders of other types of tech companies to return. Fintech startup Brex declared "remote-first" early in the pandemic and closed its 250-person office in San Francisco's SoMa (South of Market) district. The company's founders, Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, also moved to Los Angeles.
But since last year, generative AI has skyrocketed, and Dubuglas, 27, is eager to see how his company can leverage generative AI, so he quickly realized he was missing out on San Francisco's unique entrepreneurial atmosphere of coffee shop chatter and socializing.
In May, Dubugras moved back to Palo Alto, California, and began working in his new office, a few blocks from Brex's old office. San Francisco's high office vacancy rate means rental prices are only a quarter of what they were before the pandemic. Sitting under a neon sign in Brex's office that reads "Growth Mindset," Dubugras said he has maintained steady "coffee meetings" with people in the AI industry since his return. He hired a doctoral student at Stanford University to mentor him on the topic. "In casual conversation, we discuss the most cutting-edge topics at the moment." He said.
Follop and Fisher said they miss life in Bend, where they can ski or ride a mountain bike during their lunch break. But getting two startups off the ground requires a sense of urgency and focus. In San Francisco, Fisher attended events that lasted several days, with people working through the night on their projects. And every time Follop passes by a coffee shop, he meets engineers and investors he knows. "We're thinking about living in suburbs like Palo Alto and Woodside to enjoy the nature without missing out on San Francisco's atmosphere and connections." Follop said.
"I'm willing to sacrifice my quiet life to be with and be inspired by aspiring people, and in San Francisco, I can always meet future partners." Follop added, "And living in Bend is like early retirement. ”