This Month's Latest Tech News in San Jose, CA - Wednesday April 30th 2025 Edition

San Jose's tech scene has experienced an extraordinary transformation this month, with the Nvidia GTC 2025 conference marking a highlight in the city's resurgence as an AI hub.

The event, hailed as the “Super Bowl of AI,” drew over 25,000 attendees, brought in $15 million to the local economy, and resulted in a 132% increase in downtown restaurant visits and a 47% jump in hotel stays compared to last year's event (Nvidia's $15M Boost to San Jose).

This economic vitality is reflected in the commercial real estate sector, where AI and machine learning companies accounted for more than 50% of all new tech office leases in Silicon Valley during 2024 - a stunning leap from just 10% in 2023 (AI Surge Buoys South Bay Office Market).

Meanwhile, San Jose's commitment to innovation is visible in its citywide smart infrastructure, expanded public-private partnerships, and initiatives providing free Wi-Fi to nearly one million residents, exemplifying how technology can foster a more connected and inclusive community.

As Mayor Matt Mahan put it,

“We refuse to settle for the ordinary; our driving force is the pursuit of excellence through innovation.”

Discover more about San Jose's smart city vision and digital inclusion efforts at San Jose Smart City Case Study.

Plug and Play, in partnership with PG&E, officially unveiled its first West Coast AI Center of Excellence in downtown San Jose on April 2, 2025, establishing a major hub for AI innovation and entrepreneurship.

Temporarily located at 2 West Santa Clara St., with plans to move to the historic Bank of Italy building, the center reinforces San Jose's aspiration to be “the AI capital” by combining an accelerator for startups, a learning center for students, and public exhibition halls.

The initiative brings together leading partners including the City of San Jose, San Jose State University, and top tech startups, aiming to graduate around 40 startups annually and generate hundreds of new jobs.

Highlighting the strategic importance of local talent, PG&E CEO Patti Poppe stated,

“That's what's going to make AI work - the real intelligence of the people of San Jose, the students at San Jose State University, the people of California, and the people of PG&E who can harness the potential of this new technology to transform lives for the better.”

The center forms a cornerstone of San Jose's net-zero district, which will feature three data centers, up to 4,000 residential units, and a district energy system leveraging excess heat from data operations.

For a full overview of the community and facility features, see the table below:

Feature	Description
Current Location	2 West Santa Clara St., DivcoWest building
Target Location	Bank of Italy building, Downtown San Jose
Annual Startup Graduates	~40
Net-Zero District	3 data centers, 4,000 residential units, district energy system

This milestone initiative is expected to not only accelerate AI-powered economic growth but also anchor the city at the forefront of clean energy and technology integration.

To learn more about the launch and its far-reaching impact, explore detailed coverage from PG&E and Plug and Play's official news release on AI Center of Excellence, Silicon Valley's tech insights on San Jose AI economy and jobs, and the VCWire announcement about Plug and Play AI initiative.

Silicon Valley's office market is experiencing an unexpected revival, fueled in large part by the rapid expansion of AI startups and tech companies. According to recent market data, AI and machine learning firms accounted for over 50% of all tech industry leasing activity in 2024, a remarkable jump from just 10% in 2023, helping drive a 22.9% increase in overall leasing volume despite elevated vacancy rates as detailed by the Bay Area News Group.

The Cushman & Wakefield MarketBeat report notes that the Silicon Valley office vacancy rate dropped to 21.1% in Q1 2025, signaling early yet significant progress (see full report).

Standout deals include AI startup Applied Intuition's lease for over 219,000 square feet in Sunnyvale Business Park, tripling its Bay Area real estate footprint after major funding rounds and underlining the region's appeal for fast-growing, venture-backed innovators (CoStar coverage).

This wave of activity is further catalyzed by a robust job pipeline, with AI job postings nearly doubling year-over-year and the Bay Area boasting 825 AI companies - three times more than New York City.

Industry leaders emphasize the resurgence:

“AI is the engine renewing momentum in the Bay Area,”

highlighting optimism that these tenancy trends could anchor Silicon Valley's commercial real estate sector for years to come.

Below is a table summarizing key office market data for Q1 2025:

Market Segment	Vacancy Rate
Office	21.1%
Industrial	5.9%
R&D	12.4%
Retail	4.7%

Despite high vacancy rates plaguing the Bay Area's office market, San Jose's One Santana West has defied the trend by securing a wave of leases from artificial intelligence and cloud software innovators.

The 376,000-square-foot flagship building, developed by Federal Realty Investment Trust, is now 80% leased - with recent deals including Couchbase, which will relocate its headquarters to a 23,700-square-foot first floor space and reported $180 million in revenue for the year ending January 2024, reflecting a 16% annual increase.

Other new tenants include Etched (49,500 sq ft), Securiti.ai (10,900 sq ft), PwC (141,000 sq ft), Acrisure (29,000 sq ft), Calix (23,000 sq ft), Pivot Interiors (15,000 sq ft), and BetterHelp (10,400 sq ft).

The landlord's adaptive leasing strategy - partitioning space for multiple tenants - has proved effective, with about 70,000 more square feet under active negotiation.

As summarized by Bob Staedler of Silicon Valley Synergy:

“Every lease matters to dig out of the huge number of vacant square feet of existing office space.”

The building's robust amenities - like fitness spaces, dining, and proximity to Santana Row's retail and entertainment - enhance its appeal for tech tenants drawn to collaborative, modern environments.

For a full breakdown, see the table below. Read more about this significant shift in San Jose's office landscape on Santana Row's AI tenant surge, explore the impact of mixed-use developments at The Real Deal's market analysis of Santana Row's AI office rush, and view the broader market impact in Silicon Valley's business coverage on San Jose's tech real estate economy.

Tenant	Focus	Leased Space (sq ft)
PwC U.S. Group	Professional Services	141,000
Etched	AI Semiconductor Chips	49,500
Couchbase	Cloud Database Software	23,700
Acrisure	Fintech/Insurance	29,000
Calix	Telecommunications	23,000
Securiti.ai	AI/Data Security	10,900
Pivot Interiors	Office Design Solutions	15,000
BetterHelp	Online Therapy Platform	10,400

PG&E and Westbank have launched an ambitious net-zero community project in downtown San Jose, marking a milestone in the city's transformation toward sustainable, AI-powered urban living.

The project pairs three AI-centric data centers with up to 4,000 residential units, leveraging a pioneering district energy system that recycles excess heat from the data centers to efficiently heat and cool homes and businesses.

This initiative, unanimously backed by the San Jose City Council, expects its first data center online by late 2027 and will begin with the restoration of the historic Bank of Italy building, housing 114 all-electric residential apartments.

As outlined by PG&E's announcement, the utility will deliver 200 megawatts of power and oversee vital substation and transmission upgrades to support both the data centers and electrification efforts citywide.

Table 1 summarizes key project features:

Feature	Details
Number of Data Centers	3
Residential Units	Up to 4,000
Power Delivery	200 MW
First Data Center Online	Late 2027

"The Silicon Valley Initiative is about the evolution of energy, housing and AI infrastructure – it will create a more inspiring and sustainable community." – Ian Gillespie, CEO of Westbank

Initial tenants include Plug and Play's AI Center of Excellence, supporting local workforce training alongside digital innovation.

The project is widely praised for combining energy efficiency, affordable housing, and grid modernization, positioning San Jose as a national model for decarbonized, tech-driven urban development.

Learn more about the project's infrastructure and community goals at PG&E's press release and discover its partnership framework at Renewable Energy World's coverage.

This month, San Jose's tech sector navigated turbulence as stringent U.S. export controls on semiconductor chips sent shockwaves across global markets. Nvidia is grappling with a $5.5 billion charge stemming from new regulatory hurdles on its H20 AI chip exports to China, while AMD anticipates an $800 million impact related to similar restrictions on its MI308 chips.

The measures - which require indefinite export licenses for advanced AI chips to countries like China, Hong Kong, and Macau - triggered stock slides of over 7% for both companies and erased more than $1.8 trillion in market value from leading tech giants in just two days.

The table below summarizes the key financial impacts:

Company	Product/Charge	China Revenue Exposure	Stock Impact
Nvidia	H20 AI chip $5.5B charge	13% of FY25 revenue	-7% (April 16)
AMD	MI308 AI chip $800M charge	24% of 2024 revenue	-7% (April 16)

The U.S. government, citing national security concerns, stated these controls are necessary because such chips “may be used in or diverted to, a supercomputer in China.”

The government said the controls addressed risks that the products “may be used in or diverted to, a supercomputer in China.”

As supply chains realign and both firms pivot toward U.S. manufacturing and alternative markets, experts warn of persistent volatility as geopolitical rivalry between the U.S. and China deepens, with Chinese tech giants like Huawei and DeepSeek increasing their competitive posture.

For a deeper analysis of export control effects on the semiconductor industry, see CNBC's report on chip market volatility, the detailed financial and strategic assessment from BBN Times' analysis of U.S. semiconductor export controls, and a breakdown of competitive dynamics from Forbes' analysis on the AI chip trade war.

San Jose is at the forefront of deploying artificial intelligence to transform public services, most notably with a newly awarded $260,000 grant from the Toyota Mobility Foundation and US Ignite to implement AI and computer vision for roadway safety.

This initiative leverages advanced technologies to automatically detect hazardous road conditions such as illegal parking and debris in bike lanes, directly supporting the city's Smart City Vision and 2025 Better Bike Plan.

By reallocating staff from manual problem identification to resolution and ensuring public privacy through software safeguards, San Jose aims to improve service delivery and road safety for all, especially vulnerable users like cyclists and pedestrians.

As Mayor Matt Mahan emphasized,

“Leveraging AI to keep our bike lanes clear not only enhances public safety but also exemplifies San José's commitment to innovative solutions.”

This project is complemented by a robust digital transformation, including the use of AI for language access at public meetings and a tech-driven approach to transparency and civic engagement.

The city's leadership in responsible, community-oriented AI deployment sets a model for municipalities nationwide, with US Ignite CEO Nick Maynard stating the initiative's "magnitude of impact, likelihood of success, and replicability" were key to its support.

For a deeper dive into the scope and goals of San Jose's AI-powered safety efforts, see the official grant announcement and project overview.

As federal protections for artificial intelligence have been rolled back, California is at the center of escalating legislative battles to set standards for safe and fair AI deployment.

Two key measures winding through Sacramento - Senator Steve Padilla's SB 420, the “California AI Bill of Rights,” and Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan's AB 1018 - tackle different but overlapping aspects of AI oversight.

SB 420 creates a framework requiring “impact assessments” for high-risk automated decision systems and mandates that generative AI providers offer free AI detection tools, advancing consumer rights and transparency through regulatory and enforcement mechanisms.

Meanwhile, AB 1018 imposes disclosure, opt-out, and appeal rights for people impacted by automated decisions in crucial areas such as employment, housing, and healthcare, while holding developers and employers accountable with strict audit and reporting requirements to ensure performance and non-discrimination.

A side-by-side comparison of the two bills is presented below:

Key Provision	SB 420	AB 1018
AI Application Scope	High-risk systems & generative AI output	Decision-making in employment & life-impacting areas
User Rights	Transparency, safety, fairness	Opt-out, appeal, human review disclosure
Developer/Employer Obligations	Confidential impact assessments; free detection tools	Performance evaluations; third-party audits; data retention
Enforcement	Attorney General & Civil Rights Dept. actions	AG, Civil Rights Dept., Labor Commissioner penalties

Business and advocacy groups are lobbying intensely, raising concerns about overlapping mandates and compliance hurdles, especially as a “risk-based approach” aims to balance innovation with the need for guardrails in an evolving AI policy landscape.

As Senator Padilla emphasized,

“California must step in to provide guiderails that create common sense consumer protections while still fostering innovation.”

UC Berkeley undergrad Ashmita Kumar is making waves in digital health innovation with Code Blue, an AI-powered startup designed to detect early signs of stroke using everyday devices like smartphones, laptops, and smart TVs.

Motivated by personal experience after her grandfather's stroke, Kumar's system analyzes speech and facial movements every 30 seconds, alerting users and, if necessary, emergency services, while prioritizing privacy by deleting all sensitive data immediately after analysis.

Currently being pilot tested with doctors at UC San Francisco, Code Blue distinguishes itself by learning each user's unique baseline through machine learning, identifying subtle deviations that may mark the onset of a stroke - an area where timely action is vital, given that over 795,000 Americans suffer strokes annually and “early intervention within three hours can reduce long-term disabilities.” As Kumar seeks FDA approval and eyes broader deployment, Code Blue recently earned accolades at innovation competitions and is being expanded to a 100-participant study.

According to UC Berkeley's interim chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer Darren Cooke,

“Ashmita's work is a great example of Berkeley students using technology and innovation for the greater good.”

For a deeper dive into Code Blue's technology and pilot program, read the official UC Berkeley feature on AI stroke detection startup, find technology and market context in Forward Pathway's analysis of AI-powered stroke detection technology, or learn about Kumar's real-world impact and recognition in CBS San Francisco's coverage of her AI stroke detection startup journey.

San Jose's NCM Café has made local history as the first in Santa Clara County to debut an AI-powered robot barista, “C,” created by Richtech Robotics. This humanoid robot can whip up more than 100 coffee and cocktail drinks, listen to customers, dance, speak four languages, and even recognize regulars via facial recognition - features designed to elevate both speed and personalization in beverage service.

As Dan Dang, owner of NCM Café, notes,

“It's more data coming to him so he's learning every day, so he becomes smarter, and smarter every day. He's free, he's not controlled by anything, you can ask him about anything.”

Beyond its technological marvels, NCM Café serves as a welcoming hub for startups, small businesses, and first homebuyers, with a commitment to community-building and offering nonprofit event space.

While C represents a leap in hospitality automation, long-time patrons and coffee shop owners in San Jose emphasize a continued passion for human connection, artistry, and trust - raising thoughtful questions around technology, privacy, and the enduring role of community in local coffee culture.

For a closer look at C's arrival and features, watch how the robot prepares drinks and interacts with customers in this detailed video recap of ADAM's San Jose debut, read a behind-the-scenes article on NCM Café's robot barista launch, and dig into the broader conversation about tech and tradition in this report on AI in Silicon Valley's coffee scene.

Amazon has launched Nova Act, its latest generative AI innovation, positioning the company as a key contender in the growing field of autonomous web agents.

Released as a developer research preview, Nova Act empowers developers to build browser agents capable of automating tasks like submitting forms, making reservations, or managing calendars - tasks traditionally requiring human intervention.

Unlike earlier agents that rely solely on APIs, Nova Act autonomously interacts with digital interfaces, using atomic commands and detailed instructions for robust browser automation.

Amazon claims Nova Act achieves exceptional reliability, outperforming rivals with scores above 90% on key web automation benchmarks, as illustrated in the table below:

Model	ScreenSpot Web Text	ScreenSpot Web Icon	GroundUI Web
Amazon Nova Act	0.939	0.879	0.805
Claude 3.7 Sonnet	0.900	0.854	0.825
OpenAI CUA	0.883	0.806	0.823

According to Rohit Prasad, SVP of Amazon Artificial General Intelligence,

"Nova.amazon.com puts the power of Amazon's frontier intelligence into the hands of every developer and tech enthusiast, making it easier than ever to explore the capabilities of Amazon Nova."

Nova Act is the first product from Amazon's San Francisco AGI lab, and will soon integrate with Alexa+ for broader consumer reach.

For developers, the Nova Act SDK is available now at nova.amazon.com, while expanded infrastructure, including plans for a significant data center expansion in Alviso, signals Amazon's commitment to making San Jose a hub for next-generation AI innovation.

For a broader industry perspective, see how this move places Amazon into the heart of the AI agent race against competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic.

As San Jose cements its reputation as the new heart of artificial intelligence innovation, the city's AI boom is poised to shape the trajectory of 2025 for both Silicon Valley and the broader tech landscape.

The opening of Plug and Play's AI Center of Excellence in downtown San Jose marks a deliberate effort to make the city a global nexus for smart city technology and emerging startups, with projections of 40 resident startups and hundreds of jobs on the horizon (read more on the new downtown AI hub).

Meanwhile, the capital influx keeps surging: AI-focused startups like Figure AI boast $675 million raised and a $2.6 billion valuation, while Exaforce secured $75 million to accelerate automated security in SOCs, highlighting how venture investments and job opportunities are coalescing in San Jose.

Below is a quick snapshot of leading AI investors in early 2025:

Investor Name	2025 Est. Investment	Key Startups
SoftBank	$15–25B	OpenAI, Skild AI
Thrive Capital	$10B	Databricks
Andreessen Horowitz	$10B+	Databricks, ElevenLabs
Amazon	$4B	Anthropic

With advances in AI-driven public services rolling out statewide and new advisories guiding ethical deployments, California's AI leadership could set regulatory benchmarks for the nation (see how government is integrating AI for efficient recovery and permits).

As put by Plug and Play CEO Saeed Amidi,

“This AI Center of Excellence can be the biggest platform globally for AI startups and smart city initiatives including mobility, real estate, and clean energy.”

This convergence of public and private momentum, investment, and regulatory clarity firmly positions San Jose as a place to watch - offering both inspiration and lessons for AI innovation across the U.S. (discover the top AI investors fueling this transformation).