CONNECT, a San Diego non-profit helping to create and scale innovation companies, assists entrepreneurs by providing resources that allow them to grow their business. Since 2005, they have measured the growth in economic innovation in San Diego. We highlighted the key findings of the report to showcase the advancement of San Diego’s entrepreneurial growth. We recommend that all San Diego entrepreneurs read the full Connect Innovation Report to stay up to date with startup trends and growth insight of the community!
San Diego Created 405 New Innovation Startups in 2015
Over 1,600 new jobs were created in San Diego by just innovation startups alone. The various industries include: Software (255), Life Sciences (82), Communication, Computer & Electronics (50), Aerospace, Navigation and Marine Tech (8), Environmental Technology (7) and Recreational Goods (3).
Ranked First in California For New Innovation Life Sciences Startups Created in 2015
According to the report, over 3,700 new tech and life sciences companies have been created between 2005-2015. San Diego also ranked second in the number of communications technology, recreational goods manufacturing and environmental technology startups in 2015.
Innovation Economy Grows To An All-Time High
2015 proved to be a historic year for innovation economy, creating nearly 149,440 high-paying jobs. That’s 11% of total employment in San Diego County with the city of Carlsbad arriving at number one, having the most new innovation startups created, a total of 63. Downtown San Diego (54) and Sorrento Valley (52) weren’t far behind.
Top Ten U.S. Metros for Startup Activity and Growth Entrepreneurship
San Diego ranked 7th using the Kauffman Index of Growth and Entrepreneurship, which gives equal weight to the rate of new entrepreneurs, opportunity share of new entrepreneurs, and startup density of a region.
VC Funding in Software Sector Surged in 2015
Invested in 28 deals, the total venture capital funding for the software sector was $240 million in 2015. This is an increase of 150% from 2014.
Mergers & Acquisition (M&A) Closed More Than $31 billion in Technology and Life Sciences Where a San Diego Company Was Either a Target or Buyer
The M&A area is dominated by life sciences companies. Medical devices sector accounted for 12 deals totaling $15.4 billion. This is almost half of all M&A deal value for San Diego’s innovation economy.
Research Grants
More than $1.29 billion in various grants were awarded to San Diego research institutes and companies. This ranks San Diego county 2nd in California behind Los Angeles County for NIH and NSF grant funding received in 2015.
We encourage all of the startup savvy founders in San Diego to read the full report on the CONNECT website.
The continuous growth and increasing number of startups in San Diego, calls for the need of a support structure and foundation crucial for success. TSG serves as an invaluable source of information into the startup environment, and in particular, the San Diego startup community. We take pride in providing critical information, tailored business plans and financial projections that propel companies forward to sustainable growth. Please continue to follow up with us on social media and reach out to us with your startup questions and inquiries of your business or idea!
