East Bay Economic Development Alliance
2025 Impact Report
CHAMPIONING THE EAST BAY
From the Executive Director
This past year offered many examples of our region’s remarkable economic strength in the face of adversity. Venture capital investment in Bay Area companies working in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) space more than doubled between 2024 and 2025, helping the region and state sustain positive economic momentum while also continuing to bolster high housing costs. East Bay companies working in advanced industries – particularly clean energy, hardware, life sciences, and robotics – also showed signs of strength despite having to overcome myriad challenges, including strains on energy capacity, changes in federal investments and policy priorities, as well as general economic and political uncertainty. Small businesses continued to face operational pressures amid rising costs, evolving consumer behaviors, public safety, and other factors, underscoring the need for practical solutions and support to this vital segment of our region’s economy.
Many East Bay communities and residents were directly affected by new and still unfolding changes around immigration, healthcare, and safety net services funded through the federal government, raising new questions while also compelling innovative and practical solutions. Some of these domains will inevitably undergo further change in part because of the anticipated impacts of the aforementioned investments in AI, which will continue to pose many questions about its effects on the future of work and our society, particularly in the backdrop of a shifting economic and political landscape.
As you review East Bay EDA’s 2025 activities and impact, we invite you to connect with our network of business, civic, and elected leaders in the coming year as we move the East Bay forward.
Stephen Baiter
Executive Director, East Bay EDA
Monitoring the Regional Economy
As part of its ongoing work to monitor key regional economic indicators, East Bay EDA announced a new collaboration in November 2025 with the Contra Costa Economic Partnership (CCEP) to create a unified regional approach that improves efficiency and expands the value delivered to public agencies, employers, and community partners.
Strategic Economic Development
East Bay EDA prioritizes core focus areas to promote the region’s economic vibrancy and success. Our focus areas are directed by the committees of the Economic Development Directors’ Council, Land Use & Infrastructure, and Resilient East Bay, with oversight from our Leadership & Governance.
Board Meetings | EDD Council | Land Use & Infrastructure
Leadership & Governance
Our 2025 East Bay EDA’s Board of Directors meetings featured several key initiatives and policy areas affecting our region.
Bay Area Sea Level Rise
Our Board of Directors led off the year with a presentation from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), the region’s plan to address issues related to sea level rise known as Bay Adapt: Regional Strategy for a Rising Bay.
AI and Low-Income Workers
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco shared early findings about on-the-job exposure to AI among lower-income workers with our Board of Directors in the spring of 2025. This topic also helped cement East Bay EDA’s role in supporting the inaugural Oakland Tech Week.
Vision for the Bay Area
Our summer Board of Directors’ meeting featured a presentation from California Forever CEO Jan Sramek on their ambitious and visionary plan to build a new city, foundry, and shipyard just across the Carquinez Straits in Solano County.
Future of California
The final East Bay EDA Board of Directors’ meeting of 2025 included presentations from New California Coalition CEO Tracy Hernandez, as well as learning about recent research from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) on the economic milestones of young Californians.
Economic Development Directors
The Economic Development Directors’ (EDD) Council looked at key issues and trends affecting East Bay businesses and communities, including strategies, economic development tools, and best practices.
Adaptive Reuse
One of the EDD Council’s 2025 meetings was held at the Bayfair Mall, one of the region’s many malls being revitalized into an innovation hub, featuring bioengineering, robotics, and manufacturing industries.
Drones & Public Safety
Members heard from a Concord-based drone company about how technology is advancing to help monitor facilities and security. The City of San Ramon’s police department also presented on their drone as a first responder program, which was credited with helping to apprehend suspects in a widely publicized jewelry heist.
Power Supply
To better support the needs of East Bay businesses and cities, EDD Council members got a chance to hear directly from senior leaders at Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) about their current and planned Northern California operations and service improvements.
Celebrating Regional Excellence
The East Bay was on full display at the 2025 California Association of Local Economic Development (CALED) annual conference, where 10 East Bay cities won awards for their outstanding economic development initiatives and programs!
Land Use & Infrastructure
Land Use and Infrastructure has always been an area of emphasis for East Bay EDA. Two webinars highlighted why these issues are of vital importance to the East Bay as the region continues to navigate balancing support for key East Bay industry sectors while also planning for needed housing growth.
East Bay Industrial Lands
Our webinar on East Bay industrial lands featured an engaging and informative discussion that highlighted how the region’s manufacturing legacy has provided the foundation for the dynamic and thriving industrial innovation ecosystem that defines many parts of the East Bay.
Unlocking Economic Growth
Unlocking Economic Growth: Financing Infrastructure Development addressed ways to fund critical infrastructure projects. This timely discussion explored how municipalities need to take a closer look at innovative strategies that support economic development and community resilience.
Strengthening East Bay Manufacturing
East Bay EDA continued its work with the region’s manufacturing sector, the diversity and resilience of which continues to be one of the core strengths of the region’s economy. Building upon our Resilient East Bay initiative, East Bay EDA continued to create timely events and experiences across the region.
Manufacturing Update
Our East Bay Manufacturing Update webinar featured a discussion with manufacturing leaders about how they are navigating the current landscape of evolving and challenges and opportunities, including supply chains, tariffs, talent development and retention, and other key issues affecting their companies and the sector as a whole.
Roof and Realm Tour
Modular home manufacturer Roof and Realm welcomed a group of more than thirty East Bay EDA members and partners on an exclusive tour of their Concord headquarters. The company has been expanding its footprint over the past year (since our visit) as it also grows into a neighboring site in Pittsburg.
Northern Waterfront Tour
Contra Costa County’s Northern Waterfront and the region’s Green Empowerment Zone were the focus of a November bus tour that brought over 40 business, community, and local government leaders to various industrial sites in that area. The tour included a stop at the Byron Airport, which is attracting emerging aviation businesses such as Elroy Air.
East Bay Manufacturing Day
East Bay EDA celebrated National Manufacturing Day by bringing a group of various partners to Emeryville-based UPSIDE Foods, the first cultivated meat company in the United States to receive approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. We also tracked a number of other East Bay manufacturing events that happened throughout the balance of the month.
International Partnerships
The scale and scope of international partnerships in the tech, manufacturing, and startup spaces in the East Bay exemplify so much of what makes California a vibrant global hub – world-class logistics infrastructure, unparalleled educational institutions, and cutting-edge research facilities. In 2025, East Bay EDA ramped up its global programming and partnerships.
East Bay Global Forum
More than 200 business, community, and elected leaders joined representatives from Bay Area foreign consulates and trade organizations for the East Bay Global Forum in Berkeley, presented by Sutter Health. This important and timely event featured conversations about navigating and sustaining international investment and partnerships in the current business and political climate.
Foreign Delegations
In partnership with the Wallonia Export & Investment Agency and the Alameda Chamber and Economic Alliance, East Bay EDA hosted the Belgium-East Bay Business Forum, a spin-off event for the 500+ person Belgian Economic Mission in California led by Princess HRH Princess Astrid. East Bay EDA also participated in hosting numerous delegations with stakeholders from Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, and Singapore.
SelectUSA Investment Summit
During World Trade Month, East Bay EDA joined the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) California delegation at the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C. Hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the SelectUSA Investment Summit is the highest-profile event in the United States to facilitate business investment by connecting thousands of investors, companies, economic development organizations, and industry experts.
U.S.-Japan Sister Cities Summit
In looking to cultivate and strengthen relationships with foreign partners, East Bay EDA joined a delegation of regional leaders for the first-ever U.S.-Japan Sister Cities Summit in Izumisano, Osaka, Japan, 2025 U.S.-Japan Sister Cities Summit. The four-day conference, hosted by Sister Cities International, commemorated the 170th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the United States.
East Bay Innovation Awards
The 12th annual East Bay Innovation Awards drew an impressive crowd of over 500 attendees to the Oakland Scottish Rite Center on Thursday, March 27, 2025. For a second year at the new venue, the event known as “the Academy Awards of the East Bay” did not disappoint in showcasing the most groundbreaking companies and organizations from across Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Presented by PG&E, the event drew a notable list of elected officials, representatives from foreign consulates, and community and business leaders.
Honoring community excellence and innovation at the 12th annual East Bay Innovation Awards
Oakland, California, April 3, 2025 – The 12th annual East Bay Innovation Awards garnered an impressive crowd of more than 500 attendees at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center on Thursday, March 27. For a second year at the new venue, the event known as “the Academy...
2025 East Bay Innovation Awards Finalists announced
Oakland, California – The 12th annual East Bay Innovation Awards will take place at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center on Thursday, March 27, 2025. Often referred to as the “Academy Awards of the East Bay,” the East Bay Innovation Awards is the premier program of its...
Community Engagement
Continuing our commitment to elevate the East Bay’s amazing non-profit organizations, East Bay EDA invited our members and partners to join several unique experiences, from volunteering at our county food banks to cheering on our favorite local sports teams.
Supporting the Food Banks
East Bay EDA recognized the Alameda County Community Food Bank and the Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano as part of its 2025 East Bay Innovation Awards event. East Bay EDA had the opportunity to experience the operations of both of our region’s major food banks up close as we brought in groups of volunteers in July and October to work on the line, bagging and organizing food for distribution.
Oakland Roots Game Day
In July, more than fifty East Bay business and community leaders, and East Bay Innovation Awards finalists, came together on the turf at the Oakland Coliseum to see the Oakland Roots in action. East Bay EDA is excited about the authenticity and excitement that the Oakland Roots & Soul Soccer Club is bringing to professional sports in the East Bay region.
West Oakland Walking Tour
A diverse group of more than thirty business, community, and elected leaders joined a walking tour around a small slice of West Oakland’s Prescott neighborhood to learn about its rich past as well as how it is evolving today and into the future. The group gathered at Prescott Market before and after the walking tour concluded, before going to take in a game with the Pioneer League champion Oakland Ballers, which started playing at historic Raimondi Park last year.
Livermore Valley Wine Tour
To celebrate the kick-off of the inaugural Livermore Valley Wine Month, East Bay EDA hosted a sponsor appreciation day with the Livermore Valley Wine Growers Association and Southwest Airlines. Attendees were treated to a VIP experience, visiting Las Positas Vineyards and Murrieta’s Well for a custom wine tasting and food pairing journey.
Members and Sponsors
Operating with the support of Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and more than 150 other public and private sector members and sponsors, East Bay EDA promotes and supports strategic economic development initiatives and priorities to help our region thrive.
2025 Sponsors
Thank you to our 2025 sponsors. East Bay EDA sponsorship provides visibility and engagement for events and initiatives across the region. Explore sponsorship opportunities today.
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