Episode
This Week in San Diego Tech News - May 2026
- Podcast
- Tacos and Tech Podcast
- Published
- May 11, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1083
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Summary
Listen & subscribe on Apple , Spotify , YouTube . Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News! I’m Neal Bloom from Rising Tide Partners . This week, I’m flying solo on the mic to unpack a busy week in San Diego tech. Before we dive in, we wanted to thank you and ask our listeners to help us grow the show, leave a review and share with one other person who should be more plugged in with the SD Tech Scene. Thank you for the support and for helping us build the San Diego Startup Community! Topics Covered Suja IPO & San Diego’s Consumer Brand Pipeline * Suja Life IPO * Coca-Cola’s early investment thesis * San Diego as a premium wellness and consumer products launchpad * Comparison to other recent San Diego consumer brand IPOs * Why San Diego may be one of America’s best “test markets” for health & lifestyle brands Stone Brewing, Sapporo & Maria Stipp’s Exit Track Record * Stone Brewing acquisition news * The evolution of San Diego’s craft brewing ecosystem * Maria Stipp’s leadership journey across: * EcoATM * Lagunitas * Stone Brewing * Suja * Siete Foods board involvement * The importance of experienced operators recycling through ecosystems Firestorm Labs Is on an Absolute Heater * Firestorm Labs raises $82M Series B * New $30M defense contract * Distributed manufacturing and edge logistics * “Factories in shipping containers” * Why modern defense tech is increasingly about adaptability and rapid production * Firestorm hosting the first annual Hardtech 50 Release Party Hardtech 50 + Next Wave 30 * Why it became impossible to stop at just 50 companies * San Diego’s growing density across: * aerospace * robotics * autonomy * semiconductors * energy * ocean tech * manufacturing * - The rise of interdisciplinary founders and “things that move atoms” UCSD’s Deep Tech…