Four business stories aggregated from around the Interwebz in this month’s E’ville Biz digest.
The much discussed “Tech Exodus” has hit Emeryville as cybersecurity firm Tanium announced it will move its headquarters to Washington. CEO and Bay Area native Orion Hindawi lamented to Geekwire.com that “San Francisco is not the city it was 20 years ago” and described California as having a “real governance issue.” Tanium implemented a work-from-anywhere policy earlier this year and since June, 99 Tanium employees or roughly 20% of its California workforce have left the Bay Area.
The Hollis Business center, home to Leapfrog, IBM, and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory among others, has been sold to Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners for $129.5 million. The sale is good news for the city as it will collect a 1.2% transfer tax or about $1.5 million for our general fund.
Vacancy of the former News Seasons Grocery space has finally been filled. According to city documents, Food Tech company Memphis Meats has been permitted to adapt part of the building for lab space.
In addition, Emeryville-based startup Metagenomi has closed a $65 million funding round and is looking to double in size over the next year.
Cybersecurity unicorn joins Bay Area exodus, moves HQ to Seattle area
By Dawn Kawamoto
Cybersecurity unicorn Tanium has pulled up stakes and as of Tuesday officially moved its headquarters from Emeryville to the Seattle area, said Rachel Pepple, the company’s vice president of global brand and communications.
The move comes two years after Tanium leased 65,000 square feet for its new headquarters at 2100 Powell St., in the high-profile 16-story tower that looms over both the freeway and the bay.
Read More on SF Business Times (paywall may apply)
Big East Bay office complex is bought, deal tops $125 million
By George Avalos
A big office complex in Emeryville whose tenants include Leapfrog, IBM, and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory has been bought in a deal that points to a robust East Bay commercial property market.
An investment group based in Boston has purchased Hollis Business Center, a campus of two office buildings and a parking garage at the corner of 64th Street and Hollis Street in Emeryville.
Read more on MercuryNews.com
ADVERTISEMENT [adrotate group="13"]
Memphis Meats signs Lease at Public Market
“Cell-based meat” company Memphis Meats has signed a lease at the former New Seasons grocery space at the Public Market. Public Market owners CCRP applied for and were granted a modification to its conditions of approval after an extensive search for a new grocery tenant failed to materialize.
The August, 2020 city Progress report revealed that a new building permit application for the Memphis Meats biotechnology company was submitted on July 29, 2020.
ADVERTISEMENT [adrotate group="13"]
Startup from UC Berkeley scientists raises $65M to find nature’s gene-cutting tools
By Ron Leuty
Promising to unlock nature’s shed of cutting tools to edit genes central to cancer and genetic diseases, an East Bay startup has closed a $65 million funding round and is looking to double in size over the next year.
Metagenomi, founded two years ago by University of California, Berkeley, scientists Brian Thomas and Jillian Banfield, said the Series A round was led by Bayer’s venture capital arm and Humboldt Fund. Other investors included Sozo Ventures, Agent Capital, InCube Ventures and HOF Capital.
Read More on SF Business Times (paywall may apply)
Feature Image: Tanium/Geekwire.com
Sure sounds like tech rotation, not tech exodus. Catchy headline but not sure the stories back it up.