Business Thrives in San Diego
500+ biotech firms are located in San Diego, making it one of the largest biotech clusters in the United States. According to a recent article from Time Magazine highlighting California and San Diego's innovative business climate, "This is the most dynamic place for change on earth," genomic pioneer J. Craig Venter said from his lab in San Diego that studies ways to convert algae into oil, coal into natural gas and human wastewater into electricity.
Highlights of Five of the Largest Business Clusters in San Diego:
BIOTECH - The state remains the player to watch in such fields as genomic medicine and photosynthetic-algae technology, which experts say could produce far more fuel than corn, soy or sugarcane can in the same space. Big Players: San Diego's Scripps Research Institute and the Salk Institute.
$600 million is the value of a joint venture between ExxonMobil and La Jolla-based Synthetic Genomics to develop fuel from algae. The city employs an estimated 40,000 people with a $9.1 billion annual impact on the local economy.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY- San Diego is home to more than 1,400 software and computer services companies, employing 13,963 people. Steady growth makes the region a leader in software development, programming, systems integration, and data processing.
DEFENSE- The San Diego region is home to the largest military concentration in the country. The annual and indirect economic impact of defense spending is $18.3 billion, including more than $4.5 billion in manufacturing.
COMMUNICATIONS- More than 850 communications firms thrive in the San Diego region's established network of support industries, professional trade organizations, and educational institutions.
CLEANTECH- World renown research centers and biotechnical innovation position San Diego as a leader in clean technology research and development. There are currently over 150 clean tech companies in San Diego. San Diego will also be home to the West Coast's first desalinization plant. When the plant is finished, it will provide 50,000,000 gallons of drinking water to 300,000 San Diegan's.
Source: Time Magazine, November 2, 2009
www.sandiegobusiness.org
