This Week In San Diego Tech News

And welcome back to the Tacos and Tech podcast. I'm your host Neal Bloom, and my co-host today for This Week in San Diego Tech News is the one, the only, Mr. Fred Greer. Hey, Fred. Thanks for joining me.

It's good to see you.

Good to see you too. Great, great to have you on, especially after you had such a big week, as you deserved, last week. You're still joining our podcast here. Very much appreciate that. Thanks, man.

Thanks, man. I really appreciate it.

Well, we'll dive into all of the things that's been going on, uh, including events that we've been doing, news that's been out from big tech, little tech, and everything in between. Um, why don't you take us through— you put on a biotech mixer last week. It was a big biotech week in San Diego for events with the big BioComm event, but you also brought together a whole crew of biotech founders and funders. Take us through it.

Yeah, so we're just talking right before the podcast started how last week there was about 4 biotech events happening all on the same day. It was like a Tuesday. We had, uh, Torrey Pines The Lodge is BioCom's annual global investor conference, which brings hundreds of CEOs and bankers and investors to talk about the state of biotech and what to expect from a fundraising perspective. And then we also hosted like a happy hour in the evening in partnership with JPMorgan BDO, where we brought together about 70+ biotech founders, CEOs, and CFOs. CFOs, and it's just great to talk to people. You know, it seems like there's some founding starting to heat back up. Life sciences is getting some activity after a slow, uh, last year. Um, but yeah, in-person is back. We're seeing a huge demand for both public-facing events and then curated events. Neal, I saw you also posted you did an event with JP Morgan and a few others for a defense gathering. Maybe you can talk a little about that.

Yeah, so, um, been putting on obviously a bunch of defense tech, hard tech events, and, uh, realized there's a bunch of great local assets that no one has any idea that exist, including the San Diego Wind Tunnel, which has been around since 1947. This is a wind tunnel that is sought after throughout the entire world. Um, literally has tested pretty much every commercial plane in existence has come through this low-speed wind tunnel. And so together with David Loseke and Tyler Lay of JPMorgan, we decided let's put a curated group of people who need to know that this exists, people building in aerospace, drones, and related aerodynamics, and then the people who are funding that as well too. And so we did, right there, it's actually, it's owned by the San Diego Air and Space Museum. They manage it. It's right on pretty much just on the eastern side of the San Jose airport, really close to the, the new rental car complex over there. And a bunch of startups that you would have heard of have tested their stuff there, like Nautilus. A bunch of Olympians have gone through and done like aerodynamic speed tests, like the luge team.. And, uh, if you remember back in the late '90s, early, uh, 2000s, um, the, uh, Lance Armstrong Tour de France team did bike setup, uh, streamlining their suite. We've had a whole bunch of, um, America's Cup boats come through there. So it's a, it's a world-renowned asset that no, even San Diegans don't know exists. And so we thought, let's do it. And so we actually set up a bar right inside the wind tunnel. Told some, some stories of what it's used for. And it was great just to get the people together and realize, whoa, I had no idea. You already saw collaborations happening. You saw a few companies actually realize that they didn't even know each other. And actually, I think the next day put together a proposal for an Air Force contract together. So really fruitful event. And what was really cool, JPMorgan now has this trillion-dollar American Dynamism financing vehicle that is doing a whole bunch of different style of financing. It's like a $10 billion venture fund, a big venture debt fund. And so they're able to— our local team is able to share about that and how our local defense and hard tech companies can actually get on the radar of this, you know, massive finance vehicle. So hopefully it was a valuable asset to everyone all around. So great event, and we'll have plenty more to come. As well too. And speaking of, I just kind of put out word that I'm gearing up to release year 2 of the SD50, SD Hardtech 50 list. It's a list I put together last year of just like top 50 hardtech companies to watch. These are companies that, yes, it sounds like hardware, but it's all over. It's energy, aerospace, even biotech and food tech that kind of mix hardware and software or some sort of kind of game-changing technology. So I'm gearing up to release it again in April. And so therefore I've kind of got a call of submissions. If there's a company I've missed, there's a link on my LinkedIn. I'll put it here in the show notes. Submit the companies, we'll assess, and we will see who are the top 50 hard tech companies to watch this year coming up in April. Let's dive into some news. You got a good scoop on a company that just— a local company just got acquired.

Tell us about it. Yeah, so there was a headline today posted in TechCrunch. MyFitnessPal has acquired Cal AI. The viral calorie app built by teens. Cali AI was built by two high school teenagers that soared to over 15 million downloads, over $30 million in annual revenue in under two years. I was talking to Neal prior to this podcast about how one of the co-founders of this app was a guy who was local. His name is Blake Anderson. I actually had an opportunity to hear him speak through a group called SDX, which is run by Chad Lorry and a few UCSD students who are passionate about AI. AI builders. And yeah, this is a huge win. This is all over Twitter this morning about how, uh, yeah, some bootstrap young teenagers used AI to create a product, uh, and get acquired in a short period of time. I think we'll see more of this, uh, but yeah, nonetheless, this is a huge accomplishment. And I believe one of the co-founders actually bought a house in La Jolla, or was renting a house in La Jolla. So it says they're Miami-based or New York-based, one or the other. But there are some San Diego ties to this story. So if you didn't know, now you know.

Now you know. It's— I mean, I saw it on Twitter. I didn't even know it was San Diego related. It was a really cool story on how they have supercharged MyFitnessPal and jumped to $50 million ARR in a really short period of time. And, you know, we've been talking the last few weeks, it felt like San Diego was out of the mix on these high, fast-growing AI companies. Well, look at that. Here's one right under our nose and our radar. We had no idea, which is why we're out there getting to know people, and we want to hear from you. Who else is on everyone's radar building great things so we can share it and make sure that everyone's successful? Another deal that just came out with another big biotech company, Novartis, been in the news a bunch of times recently for real estate deals, licensing deals, and now partnership deals. Take us through this one.

So this is pretty huge news. Uh, there was a big acquisition of Vidi Biosciences by a big pharma company. I believe it was the largest M&A deal in biotech, uh, on record. It was like $12 billion. Uh, basically there was a spin-out from this acquisition, uh, led by the former CEO, uh, Sarah Boyce, as well as, uh, Kathleen Gallagher, who's going to be, um, kind of the chief I think maybe she's going to be helping lead co-founding this new company. Well, basically, basically they emerged from stealth and now they raised $270 million backed by Novartis, and they're going after some preclinical drug candidates. So right after an acquisition, 2 or 3 months later, they're back at it with a new company. So yeah, this— put it on your radar. It's called Atrium. We'll link it in the show notes. Uh, this is a common theme in San Diego. Big Pharma acquires a company, spin out, or new company emerges, uh, usually with less than a year. In this case, less than, you know, 2 or 3 months. Uh, this is definitely going to be a hot company to watch, and it's woman-led, even more impressive.

Very cool. Yeah, love seeing these spinouts and new founders doing— or serial founders doing new things. For sure. We will keep our eyes on this for sure. Okay. Another biotech news, more on the med device company. Tandem Diabetes reported their earnings this week and bested $1 billion in sales, which is huge news. It's a big— it's, you know, it's more of a number, I would say. But for where they have come, man, I've been watching this company for a long time. I was buying their stock when they're doing $100 million in sales, 2015, '16 timeframe. And they've been public for a long time, too, and really have dug themselves out. You know, as most biotech companies do, they have to go public way earlier, especially Med Device, just to access more capital. And this is a company that is pretty much helping diabetics, you know, with a huge quality of life boost by enabling automatic insulin delivery to them. They have a huge partnership with Dexcom and some of the other players just like them, which is literally just up the road. They're both in Sorrento Valley. And Tandem Diabetes hit the billion-dollar milestone here. What else, what other news you have here, Fred?

Yeah, I wish we had a gong to ring when a company hits that milestone. It's no small feat, specifically being a San Diego company. They were founded in 2007. Their headquarters are in Del Mar Heights, and they're a pretty wide employee base, around 2,400 employees worldwide. About 1,000 of those work in San Diego, so they employ a lot of San Diegans. And yeah, they're in the medical equipment and device space and I would say they're definitely a recognizable leader there. So congrats on them and the Business Drummer did a great feature, so we'll make sure to link that as well.

Yeah, a lot of companies, you know, on their path to being a big VC-backed company is like, I gotta be a billion in market cap. This is a billion in sales. This is a whole nother level of milestone, right? That puts you into a whole nother strata. But, you know, it's still hard to get on people's radar even as a public company in this regard. And Tandem being even with $1 billion in sales, you know, still a market cap of pulling it up, it's only a market cap of $1.72 billion. Like, how crazy is that to be $1 billion in sales and still be an under $2 billion company? Doesn't seem fair. That's for sure. This company is still doing great things and saving people's lives. So worth keeping an eye on. That's for sure. Well, you, we both scooped this, this story. You picked the one up in TechCrunch around a decline in computer science majors happening in colleges across the country, especially in California, except UCSD. And there's this very specific reason. You want to give us the headline here, Fred? Yeah.

So TechCrunch wrote an article headlined The Great Computer Science Exodus and Where Students Are Going Instead. And yeah, UCSD was noted that, you know, they're one of the exceptions. You know, they actually have leaned into AI and they've actually added an AI major this past fall. And we'll make sure to link that in the show notes. So basically, this major at UCSD is partnering with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and will make connections throughout the campus. They're really leaning into equipping new students with, you know, knowledge around LLMs and like leaning into AI. I thought the article itself talked about how, yeah, you know, there's been a lot of challenges with computer science jobs and, you know, San Diego specifically, I think it's one of the top 8 schools for engineering and STEM-related jobs. And so I'm not surprised to see them kind of really lean into, um, AI majors and AI adoption. I'm seeing across the board of, um, you know, entry-level jobs and for computer science is kind of being wiped out, uh, and there's causing some disruption. So what happens with the early emerging talent? What when, you know, the new skills that are being required in the workforce is AI, I think we're gonna see more and more universities roll out AI-specific majors. And it's, you know, it's great, great that UCSD's leading the way here.

It is. And it's actually, I would say, a rarity that a university is doing what the AI school is, to be honest. Most schools are their own fiefdom, and then every department is its own fiefdom from the school itself. And I would say UCSD, it's the one area that actually started early with creating a school of data science across the entire campus endowed by Taner Halicioglu many years ago, an alum who said data science is the future, which turns out it is because data is the future of AI, right? You have nothing to put into AI without a pool of data. And so the Taner Halicioglu School of Data Science, which was a was not connected to any one department. It was across the entire campus, really taught everyone the value of these skill sets, intrinsic skill sets, which are pre-AI, if you will. They just as much a business major, a science major, an engineering major should understand the importance of this. And then they did the same when they kind of folded it into the School of AI, which also I believe is cross-campus. It's really about teaching everyone a bunch of skills that you don't have to be an engineer for, and those with an engineer bring those skills and teach others learning AI. But to see it across campus is pretty strong. And so I think it's, it feels different compared to what most engineering schools, which are kind of like their own little powerhouse off to the side, right? This is an AI school that says this is the future of learning and the future of doing, which you also don't get much at UCs. You don't get a lot of hands-on doing. You get a lot of like This is the theory. Go off and do one day, or do it in a lab. And I think this is an opportunity for people who are practitioners and practical to actually take AI skills and learn it and learn how to build companies and learn how to solve problems. So it's pretty cool to see and see where it's all coming to fruition. Proud, you and I, proud Tritons to see that our school is staying above the wave here. That's for sure. I got to do this next one here because my man, Fred Greer, well-deserved name to the San Diego Business Journal's Black Leaders of Influence. Well-deserved, another gong here. Because man, I've been so proud to watch your journey when you were a UCSD undergrad when we met, both from Jody Jacobs, the professor at Rady School, and from Sylvia Ma, who introduced us simultaneously. Where you went on to help me write some articles featuring entrepreneurs at UCSD, like current students starting stuff. And look what you did with that. You turned that into such a mouthpiece and an entire skill set where you are leading the county and the region in promoting other people. Like, how amazing is that to be known for doing what you do for others? So Fred, thank you. For everything you continue to teach me, for the networks we continue to introduce each other, and well deserved. This is a year-round effort that I know you don't take lightly. So thanks, man.

For sure, man. That was very meaningful. Thanks for the shout out. There was some great leaders also featured, Donna DeBerry, who leads Black Chamber of Commerce. There was folks from STG&E who are very high up in leadership positions, as well as a few other, you know, high-caliber folks. In San Diego celebrating Black History Month. It's definitely a time to really rally and recognize folks. I was honored to be featured. I'm very passionate about San Diego. I think we have some great people here who want to help San Diego put it on the map, and monitors play a small role in that.

It may feel small, but you're doing big work. It takes a lot to step up and actually do when you're not asked of it. So keep doing that. That's what leadership's all about, Fred. Thank you. You teach us all that. Let's, let's just jump to this last. I'm going to skip the AI Academies one for now because we're going to do— we'll do a deeper scoop on the next episode. Just want to shout out some events coming up and some deadlines coming up here. So we've got Sano Angel Conference. The season is upon us, meaning we're about to get into gear. It's a March to May kind of timeframe, which means applications for founders are due this week. March 5th. Get your application in to get into the pipeline for potential funding. Cannot promise you funding, that's for sure, but you're reviewed by actual investors who are learning to invest and learning by doing. They're going to write checks at the end of the timeframe, going down from 150 startups down to, you know, 3 or 4, and they'll learn along the way, and so will you. So if you ever looked and needed outside capital, I would say check out the link in our show notes here and make sure you get your application in. Same side, if you have ever thought like, I'd love to learn how to invest in a startup. Sano Angel Conference is for you as well too. This Friday is Angel Academy, where we'll kind of go like Angel 101 from morning to night, kicking off the day with my friend Ashok Kamal from Newfund, finally getting them out in the open live and in person. We're going to talk about what's it like to be on both sides of the table, founder and funder, and what we feel is our responsibility as bringing new angels up alongside us to fund a lot more companies. Got a panel of some serious angel investors, Ken Patashner, Dane Chapin, who've done some deals. I mean, these are people who've invested in Vioree, who've created the first MP3 player. We're gonna hear some war stories of the goods and bads of angel investing. And then we've got an actual fund here, an angel fund of exited founders. I think it's Two Phase is the fund. They're gonna come bring a portfolio company and talk about how is the relationship alongside each other, like how did they meet, how did the deal get done, and then what continues to happen after you fund them too. So it'll be fun to have kind of a reverse fireside chat. So keep your eyes on out, links here in the show notes. There's a whole bunch of events coming up. Fred, what else is on your radar events-wise?

Yeah, I would say just give a shout out to Eventship.com. They're a great source of just like what events are happening in the community as well as Jonah Peeks, Social Coyote, they do a great job of curating what events are happening. I think on my radar there's a big biotech conference happening later this, this year in June called BIO International, which will be down at the convention center. Uh, I know TED San Diego's coming, coming to town. Uh, Coronado has, you know, a big race happening in NASCAR. Um, there's, there's both entertainment and networking. So yeah, get plugged in. We, we always try to share, you know, what events we're going to on Twitter and LinkedIn to give us a follow there. And yeah, we'll continue to bring the biggest news and headlines to the podcast.

Yeah, you got it. Uh, also coming this week is, uh, we're already back in March, so it's the San Diego Founders Hike back this Friday. Uh, and then March Mingle is coming up at the end of the month as well too. It's— I think it's year 20, which is crazy that that event's been going on, which should be a lot of fun. So, uh, yeah, like Fred said, keep looking for those who are curating the events because we only have so much time to go to. They'll hear the events we're putting on and then the events that we make time for, uh, here. So make sure you're sharing this podcast and responding to Fred's Substack. Follow him, but also reply and tell him you like what he wrote, or you didn't. If you— we love hearing that too, uh, and give them a scoop, right? Tell them if you're working on something that we need to tell the world about. Uh, so reply to both these Substacks. We love all of you guys doing that. And Fred, I love doing this with you. So thanks everyone, and thank you. Always a pleasure, Neal. Likewise. Cheers, everyone.

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