Entrepreneurial Environment

 The Bay Area is a $200 Billion Annual Economy
 Ranking 21st in the World.

It’s a region that successfully competes in the national and international markets as a knowledge-based economy with world-class research institutions,
cutting-edge technology,
a highly-skilled,innovative workforce,
and an unparalleled culture
of entrepreneurialism.

 The Bay Area’s R&D Leadership Position
 Is Based on a Powerful Infrastructure

The Bay Area’s leadership position is based on a research and development capacity and infrastructure that may be unparalleled in its strength and diversity:

• Five leading research universities
• Five national research laboratories
• Four international independent research centers
• National leadership in information technology, bioscience, electronics, communications, nanotechnology and homeland security technologies

Completing the circle of key elements in the Bay Area’s technological strength are:

• Nation’s largest concentration of venture capital
• Nation’s largest entrepreneurial community

The close proximity of venture capital to industry enables the Bay Area to rapidly move new technologies from the laboratory to production.

Therefore, the strength of the Bay Area as a center for research and innovation comes not from any single piece of its research and development infrastructure, but from the combination and interaction of these diverse elements in a uniquely creative and entrepreneurial environment.