SF Mayor Luri to Tech Executive Directors: “How can we return you?”

The first step to winning these people, he said, is to turn to an angry drug crisis and homelessness, which is pushing many business leaders out of town. Luri has spent most of his first 100 days in an office, walking the most problematic neighborhoods in the city. This week, He tossed a long -standing program In which San Francisco distributed free pipes, foil and straws, which are used to ingest medicines such as fentanyl.

Lurie’s “Companies”, as he called them during his mayoral campaign in 2024, is largely supported by technology leaders. While Ryan Peterson, CEO of Flexport, left the stage at Stictlyvc while San Francisco’s Mayor continued, he called to Lurie:

“Thanks for cleaning the city a little.”

Beyond the Public Safety Initiative, Luri stressed the need to facilitate the “construction” in San Francisco – citing house construction and business creating.

The city recently introduced a new initiative, Authorization SFWhich would reduce the amount of bureaucracy through which start -ups have to go to work in San Francisco.

On Thursday, the mayor also presented a New proposal for zoning This would allow higher buildings – and thus more dwellings – in neighborhoods that have traditionally allowed only smaller, single -family homes. If accepted, it could be the first resonance of San Francisco from 1970.

“We want our entrepreneurs to start a business and then stay here,” Luri said. “This means optimizing the solution that makes it easier to start a restaurant, bar or start.”

“What we need more is people to gather and be (…) practical. We somehow lost here in San Francisco,” Luri said. “I believe that the business community that has remained here is not left, of course our values ​​and we will attract business in the coming years.”

Build an AI hub

As part of these efforts, Luri said he wanted to “compete on the tax front”, suggesting that he was ready to give tax breaks to companies in the city. The mayor of San Francisco said he had already worked with the city’s leading AI companies to build more offices and hold more conferences in the city.

For example, Lurie said he persuaded Databricks to hold his AI conference in San Francisco until 2030 instead of moving to Las Vegas, as the company was originally planned. Last month, the mayor was also present at the cutting of the Openai new office.

Although these AI companies can get tax reduction, the mayor wants them to invest in San Francisco in other ways. Moreover, he wants Openai Executive Director himself to “intensify” for his investments in the scenes of the arts and culture of San Francisco, which he believes, is already doing quietly.

But Luri not only wants the dollars of the technology industry, he is after their ideas. The city recently announced a partnership for San Francisco – a consortium of business leaders, including the Atlantic Ocean owner and Steve Jobs’ widow, Lauren Powell, the famous Apple Ioni Ioni Ioni and Altman designer to help business talk to the mayor’s office.

Robotaxis in SF

But some San Franciscans are concerned that the technology industry is pushing other communities. This tension has recently exploded when Waymo tried to obtain a mapping permit at SFO AirportAllowing his robotaxis to take the riders to and from the airport.

Waymo successfully received a SFO mapping permit, but he came with a strict carving to ensure that Waymo would not move commercial goods to and from the airport. Thanks to the international brotherhood of the team, delivery drivers have great power in the mayor’s office of San Francisco.

Lurie said he had made deals with the unions to make Waymo’s SFO permission, but explained that “Waymo is not going anywhere.”

The mayor said he was convinced that autonomous vehicles were “where the future goes” and that he talks to other companies about a bigger presence in the city. Luri also did not rule out the construction of the city’s infrastructure to accommodate more autonomous vehicles.

While much of the innovations of the technology industry have historically happened in the Silicon Valley, about 40 miles south of the city, the AI ​​boom seems firmly focused in San Francisco. Luri says this was given to the city some speed to return innovation in the city.

“When we’re done, everyone will look like:” I have to be in San Francisco. Otherwise I miss. “That’s where we go,” Luri said.