South SF is the second largest hub for biotechnology and pharma in the US (if not the world) behind Boston metro, Oakland is the sixth largest (IIRC) port in th

South SF is the second largest hub for biotechnology and pharma in the US (if not the world) behind Boston metro, Oakland is the sixth largest (IIRC) port in the US, and the San Jose area is an important hub for high value add manufacturing (aerospace, defense, robotics, medical devices, etc). I've even heard it claimed that after the fall of Detroit, San Jose metro became the top manufacturing region in the western hemisphere by total revenue (although I don't know how to evaluate that). Just a little south and you've got a rapidly growing agtech hub thats been around for decades too. Freemium and ad based businesses are actually just a tiny fraction of the tech companies operating out of the SF Bay Area. You just dont hear about the other ones because they're not as shiny, new, or have ridiculous risk/reward profiles.