San Francisco tech can restore the city to its former glory—here’s how

San Francisco is a paradox. It’s home to some of the world’s largest technology companies, but it’s also a city grappling with urban failure: rampant homelessness, shuttered storefronts, empty downtown offices. 

Yet in 2025, the city is shifting. It’s becoming a testing ground for the next generation of tech. AI labs are taking over SoMa. Robotaxis outnumber Ubers in some neighborhoods. And the city hosts Climate Week, a conference that now attracts thousands of climate tech startups, every year. 

It’s not always pretty, and it’s nowhere near fixed, but it seems like tech isn’t abandoning San Francisco. It’s helping it rebuild. 

Tech isn’t going anywhere in San Francisco

Forget all of the “tech exodus” headlines. San Francisco’s tech sector is still a huge part of the city’s economy. Legacy software companies like Salesforce and Uber still maintain headquarters downtown. 

Sure, some big names have left. Meta left three Bay Area offices in April. Oracle moved its HQ to Nashville. 

But there’s still reason to be optimistic. Anthropic signed a lease on a massive new 230,000 square foot HQ in SoMa. And OpenAI, amid leadership chaos and product criticism, is still expanding its presence in the city, now leasing just under a million square feet of office space.

San Francisco is now the AI capital of the world 

San Francisco accounts for nearly half of all global private investment in AI. According to PitchBook and JLL, SF-based AI startups raised over $70 billion in 2024, 52 percent of the total $135 billion raised globally.  

Some particular standouts on the AI tech startup front that have caught our attention:

• Delve, founded by MIT dropouts, is using AI to automate compliance operations for businesses. They just closed a $35 million Series A round at a $300 million valuation.

• Bedrock Robotics emerged from stealth this month with $80 million in funding to automate construction equipment.  

• Fintech company Mercury raised $300 million earlier this year from investors including Coatue, CRV, Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, and Marathon. That brings the valuation of the company to 3.5 billion. 

The city’s proximity to VC firms, top universities, and world-class talent makes it an ideal place to build. 

San Francisco can be tech’s testing ground...and restore the city's glory

Beyond AI, the city has become a sandbox for applied technology. In 2025, it’s not just about raising money. It’s about testing ideas in the wild.

• Waymo now runs 24/7 autonomous rides in five SF neighborhoods.

• Autonomous delivery startup Nuro is using delivery bots to ferry groceries across the city.  

• Zipline has now made over 1.4 million deliveries using its drone technology. 

And it’s not just in the private sector. The SFPD currently uses robots for bomb disposal, surveillance, hazmat, and search-and-rescue.

Climate tech is finding a home in San Francisco too. Pano AI just raised $44 million for its wildfire detection software. 

This is the new SF promise: use the city’s chaos as a proving ground for tech that might actually help.

There will be hiccups, San Francisco is still the world’s tech powerhouse

Despite the innovation, San Francisco still faces steep problems. Office vacancies are still at 35%, although that’s set to decline later this year as AI companies move in. Fentanyl overdoses hit another grim record in Q1 2025. Tech salaries are down, and layoffs, especially in consumer and crypto, continue to ripple across the city.

There are bright spots:

• 123 startups have launched in SF so far this year.

• There have been 134 funding rounds, with over $2.8 billion raised. 

• Notable San Francisco firms Figma and Chime IPO’d, raising $1.2 billion and $864 million, respectively. 

But the inequality gap is just as stark. For every AI unicorn, there are dozens of storefronts still boarded up. Still, it’s one of the few forces in the city with enough capital, talent, and optimism to bring the city back. 

SF’s fate might still rest on the shoulders of tech

San Francisco has been through waves of transformation before: the Dot-com boom, the social media gold rush, the pandemic exodus. What we’re seeing now is the next wave, with AI startups and companies using the city as a testing ground. 

And that’s the big opportunity: If SF tech can help this broken, beautiful city work a little better, it can be a blueprint for other struggling cities. 

Are you a San Francisco startup looking to tell your story? Contact Mind Meld PR today.