Start here
The map of San Diego tech
Who to know, where the launchpads are, and what it actually feels like inside. The people and resources helping San Diegans find their way, never complete, always evolving, like the city itself.
The lay of the land
What the San Diego tech ecosystem looks like
People keep calling the San Diego tech scene "intimate." Here's the theory: it's not because the work is small. It's because the most important work here isn't loud, until it is. You often don't see it until the funding round, the FDA clearance, the acquisition.
Military tech doesn't broadcast what it's doing, for obvious reasons. Biotech tends to stay heads-down until late FDA moments. And companies like Qualcomm have powered entire categories for years without needing the spotlight.
It's there. You just have to know where to look. From the outside, that can make San Diego feel understated. From the inside, it's dense, serious, and full of people doing amazing work.
The rest of the world still sees us as laid-back surf culture first, serious tech city second. We work just as hard as anyone. We just happen to have nice days more often, and the choice to take a meeting on a patio or at the beach.
San Diego tech isn't small. It's just busy building. And you don't quite realize it until you get inside.
People
People to chat with if you're new to San Diego
There's a human layer behind everything happening in San Diego. These are some of the people who should be on your radar, sorted by how they can help.
How they can help
Building in AI
Andy Ballester · Andy White · Chad Lohrli · Hussein Yahfoufi · Lena Skliarova-Mordvinova · Ross Young · Bryan Landers
Connectors
We asked the pack who belongs in San Diego's Connector Howl of Fame. See the thread →
Know someone who belongs here? Send a howl.
Launchpads
Every active accelerator & incubator in San Diego
Founders keep telling me they didn't know these existed until someone pointed them out. That's the whole problem. So we started the list, and the pack filled in the rest in the comments. Here's the running map, with a link to each.
Crowdsourced from this thread on LinkedIn. Still growing.
Deep tech & general
Ocean, sports & hardware
Biotech, medtech & life science
Impact & underrepresented founders
Students & universities
Also worth knowing
Who are we missing? Send a howl.
Companies
Companies to keep an eye on
A few we're keeping an eye on. Companies growing here, hiring here, or raising here. Sometimes all three.
Want the bigger picture? Here's my roundup of San Diego companies hiring.
Go deeper: the other lists
Building something here we should know about? Send a howl.
New here
What it's like in San Diego tech if you're new
When I got to California from Vermont, I had no job, no network, and one friend: the guy I drove here with. I found a job on Craigslist, and through a coworker landed a second one teaching surf lessons in Mission Beach.
That was the first time I used a network to find an opportunity. And it taught me something that's run under everything since: opportunities are all around us. It's usually more about noticing them than creating them.
The best way to find the interesting ones is to meet as many people as you can, learn what they're up to, understand what gets them excited, and find a way to help. That's the whole strategy behind the Coyote.
If we keep helping San Diego connect, the doors keep opening. A city is shaped by its people. Week by week, connection by connection, we're shaping this one together.
These guides are drafted from Jonah's LinkedIn posts and the pack's comments. Living documents, meant to be refined and added to over time.