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Silicon Valley Business Journal
Has San Jose Jazz Summer Fest recovered from the pandemic yet?
Houston residents Michelle and Roy Rodney have been to the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest three times in the past six years.<\p> “This jazz festival is small enough to have lots of its own personality,” said Michelle. “We’ve found that at other jazz festivals you get lost and don’t have time to explore because of the size.”<\p>
Nvidia partners with California for AI training
A partnership between Nvidia and the state of California will bring artificial intelligence training to students, educators and workers. The state initiative, the first of its kind aims to provide the AI skills necessary for Californians to succeed in their careers. <\p> As part of the collaboration, Nvidia will assist with the training by setting up AI laboratories in higher education facilities and help develop curriculum in state universities and community colleges. <\p>
Mobile home park redevelopment delayed
The Palo Alto City Council delayed the approval of plans to redevelop a mobile home park at its latest meeting. <\p> The Santa Clara County Housing Authority is leading the redevelopment of Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, which currently houses 65 people. The Housing Authority plans to turn the site, at 3980 El Camino Real in Palo Alto, into an affordable apartment complex that would include a mobile home park.<\p>
OpenAI prioritizes transparency with GPT-4o
OpenAI released a report Thursday outlining the safety work and testing conducted prior to releasing GPT-4o in May. The report, also called GPT-4o System Card, details the end-to-end safety assessment meant to track and address safety challenges, according to the company’s post announcing the release of the document.<\p> “OpenAI worked with more than 100 external red teamers, speaking a total of 45 different languages, and representing geographic backgrounds of 29 different countries,” read the report.<\p>
California hotel sales plummet, especially in this part of Bay Area
California hotel sales so far this year have plummeted by nearly half since last year, with the state's most significant drop in Alameda County. <\p> For the first half of 2024 year-over-year sales volume — measured by the dollar volume of transactions, rather than number of individual deals — has fallen 93% in Alameda County and 65% in Santa Clara County, according to research from Irvine-based firm Atlas Hospitality. The Irvine-based firm said high interest rates and a disconnect between buyer and seller price expectations have continued to create downward pressure on deals. <\p>
Top of the List: Private Companies in Silicon Valley
With hundreds of high-tech public companies based in Silicon Valley, let’s take a look at our recent list.<\p> The largest Private Companies in Silicon Valley List garnered 115 responses, accounting for a combined revenue of of $37.2 billion and employing 17,579 people, locally.<\p>
Too much of a good thing? This key sector has a glut of space
There may be no more stunning place than South San Francisco to view biotech's boom and bust.<\p> Soaring lab-and-office buildings constructed over the past decade speak to innovation and investor exuberance, particularly as life sciences companies stepped up to the challenge of Covid-19. But vacant space and empty fields with renderings of hoped-for projects whisper to real estate as a lagging indicator of biotech's multifaceted risks and broad current downturn.<\p>
High-speed rail agency hires new CEO
The search for the new CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority is over.<\p> The state agency announced Friday that its board of directors has hired Ian Choudri, former senior vice president of infrastructure consultancy firm HNTB, to replace CEO Brian Kelly, who will retire after six years of service.<\p>
AI bills wait to learn their fate
The California Legislature is back in session this week after its summer recess, and lawmakers have taken up a handful of bills seeking to regulate artificial intelligence. Legislators this week placed some on the appropriations committees’ suspense files, including SB 1047 from state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), AB 3211 from Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-East Bay), SB 942 from Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) and AB 2930 from Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-San Ramon). <\p> The Assembly and Senate appropriations committees place bills on suspense when they find that those bills’ costs will exceed a certain threshold: $50,000 if the money is coming from the general fund, $150,000 otherwise. The suspense file is also, in Capitol lore, the place controversial bills get sent to die. At separate hearings Aug. 15, the chairs of the Senate and Assembly appropriations committees will decide which bills on the suspense file to advance to a floor vote and which to kill. In advance of “Suspense Day,” legislators may negotiate to introduce cost-cutting amendments to improve their bills’ chances of survival. <\p>
Seller turns $14M profit with S.J. building deal
After three years of ownership, a Chicago-based real estate investment manager and partner secured the $63.6 million sale of a San Jose building. <\p> The 9.3-acre property was bought by Klein Investments Family Limited Partnership, according to records filed in Santa Clara County. The Newport Beach-based company has been active in the state since 1996, according to California Secretary of State's Office records. <\p>
Pezzella’s Villa Napoli closes, property sold
Vince Pezzella sold his restaurant lot in Sunnyvale, once home to Pezzella’s Villa Napoli, to JS Global Investments, LLC for $4.6 million on Aug. 1.<\p> The family run business shuttered its doors on June 22 after 68 years of serving the local community<\p>
Week in AI: OpenAI backs hardware startup, Musk lawyers up again
A San Francisco webcam startup founded in 2020 has landed a $60 million Series B round led by OpenAI.<\p> Opal Camera launched a couple of high-end webcams over the past few years that have professional level quality and software. Now armed with fresh capital, the hardware company is exploring ways to expand, the Information reported.<\p>
A 'momentary hiccup' in stock market
Twenty California companies lost a combined $900 billion in market value since July 30 as stocks declined Aug. 5. Most of the decline seems to be related to market corrections.<\p> According to Julian Vogel, assistant professor of finance at San Jose State University, the drop is mostly due to the high number of tech companies on the list that had a large market capitalization before the recent down shift.<\p>
Robinhood CEO defends firm in latest blow-up
Robinhood Markets Inc. disappointed customers this week when it suspended 24-hour stock trading following the Japanese stock market having its biggest decline since the 1987 stock market crash. <\p> The loss of being able to buy and sell shares around the clock on Robinhood sparked the first question from analysts on Wednesday’s earnings call.<\p>
Boston real estate firm buys Fremont industrial site
Longpoint, a Boston-based real estate investment firm has acquired a 122,168 square-foot, three-building light industrial portfolio in Fremont for $31.5 million. The project, known as the Silicon Valley Industrial Portfolio, is Longpoint’s first in the Bay Area.<\p> “This well-located, highly functional industrial portfolio complements our strategy of investing in properties situated within flourishing markets that have long-term value and growth potential,” said Dwight Angelini, co-founder and managing partner at Longpoint. “We are excited for the future expansion and investment opportunities for our logistics portfolio and operations in this market.”<\p>
A casual revolution is hitting the office. Gen Z is leading the way.
Editor’s Note: Welcome to The Playbook Edition, a look at stories, trends and changes that could affect your business. Want more stories like this in your inbox? Sign up for The Playbook newsletter. <\p> Given that they entered the workforce in one of the more tumultuous times in the history of the country, Generation Z employees have seemingly put their stamp on plenty of changes in the post-pandemic workplace. <\p>
Google, Meta bend ad rules to target teens, report says
Google LLC and Meta Platforms Inc. allegedly colluded to target teens on both Instagram and YouTube in violation of their own policies, according to a report by the Financial Times.<\p> The news comes just weeks after a study by The Wall Street Journal found that Instagram, one of Meta's most popular social media platforms, routinely offers videos of a sexual nature to teenagers, often within minutes of the app's activation.<\p>
Why the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley HQ move matters
We recently celebrated a big milestone: the Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley (BGCSV) moved in to our downtown. This move isn’t just about a new office space; it’s a huge step forward for our city, bringing benefits and a bright vision for San Jose's future.<\p> BGCSV is setting a fantastic example by choosing to plant roots downtown. It’s a move that’s not just smart but inspiring, showing how great it can be to be part of our lively downtown community. <\p>
Inside the life of a teenage, professional jazz artist
Ayo Brame, 14 years old at the time, dreamed out loud while at a jazz club in New York. <\p> “I want to play on that stage one day,” the young saxophone artist recalled telling his father. <\p>
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