Tacos and Tech Podcast

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News! 

I’m Neal Bloom from Fresh Brewed Tech, the Tacos and Tech Podcast, and Interlock Capital.

My co-host in this episode is Fred Grier, journalist and author of The Business of San Diego substack. He covers the ins-and-outs of the startup world including breaking news, IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A through his newsletter.

Before we dive in, we wanted to ask our listeners and SD Tech fans to help us grow the show, leave a review and share with one other person who should be more plugged in with the SD Tech Scene. Thank you for the support and for helping us build the San Diego Startup Community.

11/8

Debriefs:

Post-election future

Grayson Lafrenz, founder of Power Digital, at SDSU

UCSD IGE MedDevice Showcase

News:

SD Life Science Office Sitting Vacant 

Hydrostasis is alive!

Send us your swag!

VendiBean

The Brant Cooper Leadership Fund application is live - empowering the next generation of startup community builders

Events – for full list – check The Social Coyote

Mini Mingle - Nov 14

Don Norman Design Award - Nov 14-15

Discount code: ssd24 

Tech The Halls - Dec 6

TechCon SoCal - Jan 17-18

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

Don Norman, a pioneering figure in design and user experience, has profoundly influenced how we think about human-centered design. Known widely for his book, The Design of Everyday Things, Norman has helped shift the focus toward intuitive, accessible design that prioritizes user needs. His impact spans industries, and he is celebrated for making design thinking an integral part of product and technology development. As the founder of the Design Lab at UC San Diego, Norman has continued to shape the future of design, through his latest book, Design for a Better World, inspiring a new generation to build with empathy and inclusivity at the forefront.

In 2024, Don Norman’s legacy takes a new step with the launch of the Don Norman Design Award (DNDA), a global organization celebrating excellence in humanity-centered design. The DNDA emphasizes the importance of designs that make a meaningful impact in real-world communities, with categories recognizing ‘Excellence,’ ‘Promising,’ and ‘Educational’ contributions. By acknowledging projects and individuals who demonstrate innovation in community-focused design, the DNDA aims to promote solutions that drive societal change and enhance quality of life.

The awards ceremony and DNDA Summit will take place on November 14-15, 2024 in San Diego, gathering designers, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and changemakers to discuss and share ideas on advancing humanity-centered design. The event will feature a formal forum, as well as an “unconference” where participants can engage in workshops led by the community. Through these awards, Don Norman continues to champion the power of thoughtful design, encouraging new voices to push boundaries and impact the world.

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms you enjoy your podcasts for our conversation with Don as he shares his lifetime journey and how he’s inspiring and empowering generations to come.

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News 

I’m Neal Bloom from Fresh Brewed Tech, the Tacos and Tech Podcast, and Interlock Capital.

My co-host of this episode is Fred Grier, journalist and author of The Business of San Diego substack. He wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years and now he covers the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A through his newsletter.

Before we dive in, we wanted to ask our listeners and SD Tech fans to help us grow the show, leave a review and share with one other person who should be more plugged in with the SD Tech Scene. Thank you for the support and for helping us build the San Diego Startup Community.

News 10/31

Stocktoberfest, SDSW & health tech event debrief

Fundings

Wildfire Series B - $16M

Serenity EHS - $5.5M

Grant funding for Algensis, Cellibre, Onego for bioindustrials

Nuclear power making a comeback and General Atomic’s fusion tech aims to benefit

New CFO at SOCi

mPower lands Airbus deal to solar-power satellites

Breakthrough Properties

Events – For full list – check The Social Coyote

SD Founders Hike - Nov 1

EyepopAI & Fresh Brewed Tech Vision Tech Workshop - Nov 5

Tech The Halls - Dec 6

TechCon SoCal - Jan 17-18

Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech.

I’m Neal Bloom from Fresh Brewed Tech, the Tacos and Tech Podcast, and Interlock Capital.

My co-host of this episode is Fred Grier, journalist and author of The Business of San Diego substack. He wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years and now he covers the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A through his newsletter.

Promote the show: 

Before we dive in, we wanted to ask our listeners and SD Tech fans to help us grow the show, leave a review and share with one other person who should be more plugged in with the SD Tech Scene. Thank you for the support and for helping us build the San Diego Startup Community.

10/17 News

LA Tech Week / SD Startup Week

Fred’s SD Startup Week article

Snap office scoop

Danish pharma giant buys San Diego company’s epilepsy drug for $2.6B

Sendlane CEO moving on

Fundraises:

Splitero raises $300M

Firestorm $20m

Model Medicines $14m

858 Therapeutics $50m

Events – For full list – check The Social Coyote

Oct 20-22 Stocktoberfest

Interview with Howard Lindzon incl discount code

Oct 21-25 San Diego Startup Week

Oct 21 SD Startup Week Carlsbad Day Coffee Gathering 2-4pm

San Diego Startup Week discount code - Use code “cp30” at checkout for a 30% off discount.

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech.

I’m Neal Bloom from Fresh Brewed Tech, the Tacos and Tech Podcast, and Interlock Capital.

My co-host of this episode is Fred Grier, journalist and author of The Business of San Diego substack. He wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years and now he covers the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A through his newsletter.

Promote the show: 

Before we dive in, we wanted to ask our listeners and SD Tech fans to help us grow the show, leave a review and share with one other person who should be more plugged in with the SD Tech Scene. Thank you for the support and for helping us build the San Diego Startup Community.

10/6 News

Plug and Play debrief

Fred’s Q3 report

SDSU is building out a battery tech campus in Brawley/ ‘Lithium Valley’

Gretal AI and Equip Health make LinkedIn’s Top Startups List

Defense tech news:

Kratos growing

Three startups land funding from Defense Industry: Onego, Cellibre, Algenesis Corporation

Scripps Oceanography wins $10m grant

Events – For full list – check The Social Coyote

Oct 10 Bits and Bio Biotech Mixer

Oct 10  Naturally San Diego Fall Fling

Oct 20-22 Stocktoberfest

Interview with Howard Lindzon incl discount code

Oct 21-25 San Diego Startup Week

Stocktoberfest Comes Back To Coronado October 20-22, 2024

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

Howard Lindzon, General Partner of Social Leverage and Founder & CEO of Stocktwits, joins us to discuss the upcoming Stocktoberfest October 20-22 in Coronado, CA - a premier gathering of minds in money, investing, and technology.

In this episode, Howard shares his journey in investing, entrepreneurship, media, and the many funny lessons he’s learned along the way. He also provides a sneak peek into what attendees can expect at this year’s Stocktoberfest.

Join us in October and use the code “Howard30” for a special discount exclusive to local San Diegans.

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech.

I’m Neal Bloom from Fresh Brewed Tech, the Tacos and Tech Podcast, and Interlock Capital.

I’m Fred Grier, journalist and author of The Business of San Diego substack. I wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years. I covered the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A.

Promote the show: 

Before we dive in, we wanted to ask our listeners and SD Tech fans to help us grow the show, leave a review and share with one other person who should be more plugged in with the SD Tech Scene. Thank you for the support and for helping us build the San Diego Startup Community.

9/23 News

Recent events debrief

Qualcomm reportedly wants to buy Intel

Sports news:

Oceanside opens $85M Frontwave Arena

San Diego FC name Mikey Varas head coach

TL Foundation invests $400K in San Diego startups

Singular Genomics Receives Acquisition Proposal 

Genentech closes of cancer immunology group, layoffs prompt concern

Events – For full list – check The Social Coyote

Sept 23 - Carlsbad Tech Gathering at Shipcalm

Sept 24 - Connect Innovation Day

Sept 25-27 - Women’s Venture Summit

Sept 26 - Top Tech Awards San Diego 

Oct 2 - Plug and Play Showcase

In my interview with RapidScale CMO Sean Wisdom, we explored his journey through the tech world, leading to his current role, where he oversees marketing at RapidScale. Sean shared insights into his career path, reflecting on how shifts in technology, customer needs, and his passion for innovation have shaped his approach to marketing cloud solutions. We then discussed the evolving state of the customer in the cloud and AI era, touching on how companies are navigating new challenges and opportunities.

We dove into the rapidly changing landscape of AI adoption, exploring its impact on hardware, cloud infrastructure, and cybersecurity. Sean highlighted the unique needs of certain industries, from healthcare to finance, as they face distinct challenges in integrating AI while keeping data secure. To wrap up, we talked about his love for Texas tacos, and he shared his two favorite taco spots—new additions to the Tacos and Tech Podcast Database.

Thanks to Sean for joining the podcast and sharing his sharp insights on how technology is revolutionizing the way we work, innovate, and stay ahead in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech.

I’m Neal Bloom from Fresh Brewed Tech, the Tacos and Tech Podcast, and Interlock Capital.

I’m Fred Grier, journalist and author of The Business of San Diego substack. I wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years. I covered the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A.

Promote the show: 

Before we dive in, we wanted to ask our listeners and SD Tech fans to help us grow the show, leave a review and share with one other person who should be more plugged in with the SD Tech Scene. Thank you for the support and for helping us build the San Diego Startup Community.

9/15 

Candid Therapeutics raised $370M

Eli Lilly, HAYA Therapeutics announce $1B partnership

Techstars San Diego Powered By San Diego State University Announces 2024 Class

San Diego International Airport secures $26.3M grant from FAA

TuSimple Leaving Town

San Diego State to Join the Pac-12 Conference

Sand Cloud Opens retail space in Pacific Beach 

Platform Science acquires Trimble Inc.

TwitchCon coming back to SD

Events – For full list – check The Social Coyote

9/16 EvoNexus Demo Day 2024

Sept 19 - Dev & Data Night x CTO Talks at Seismic

Sept 23 - Carlsbad Tech Gathering at Shipcalm

Sept 24 - Connect Innovation Day

Sept 26 - Top Tech Awards San Diego 

Oct 2 - Plug and Play Showcase 

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech.

I’m Neal Bloom from Fresh Brewed Tech, the Tacos and Tech Podcast, and Interlock Capital.

I’m Fred Grier, journalist and author of The Business of San Diego substack. I wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years. I covered the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A.

Promote the show: 

Before we dive in, we wanted to ask our listeners and SD Tech fans to help us grow the show, leave a review and share with one other person who should be more plugged in with the SD Tech Scene. Thank you for the support and for helping us build the San Diego Startup Community.

9/4

Fundings

TeachTo.Me raises $5m

Events.com goes public with SPAC

Carta data - SD top 5 for Series B funding, top 10 for Series A, not in top 10 in early stage funding, pre-seed and seed

SOCi hits $100m ARR

Dexcom new product

QuidelOrtho gets FDA clearance 

New CFO at Viasat

Events – For full list – check The Social Coyote

Sept 6 - SD Founders Hike

Sept 10 - SDxAI Startup Showcase

Sept 16 - EvoNexus Demo Day 2024

Sept 19 - Dev & Data Night x CTO Talks at Seismic

Sept 23 - Carlsbad Tech Gathering at Shipcalm

Sept 24 - Connect Innovation Day

Sept 26 - Top Tech Awards San Diego 

Oct 2 - Plug and Play Showcase