San Jose Lands the WeAreDevelopers World Congress North America

Thousands of developers from across the globe will converge on the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in late September 2026 for the inaugural WeAreDevelopers World Congress North America. The three-day gathering from September 23 to 25 will draw approximately 10,000 attendees and launch this major technology event on American soil while establishing San Jose as the permanent North American home for the annual congress.

The new partnership with WeAreDevelopers selected San Jose after reviewing several major U.S. cities. The choice rested on the city’s foundational role in the technology revolution, its concentrated engineering talent, and its established cluster of companies, startups, and universities. Organizers intend the event to bridge European developer communities with Silicon Valley’s innovation ecosystem through sustained collaboration rather than a one-off appearance.

Future editions of the World Congress will integrate closely with San Jose’s local tech scene. Attendees will tap directly into the atmosphere where modern computing originated and where bold advancements continue scaling rapidly. The arrangement will elevate the city’s profile as a global crossroads for those who design and deploy tomorrow’s technology.

Professionals eager to exchange ideas with top minds from both sides of the Atlantic will discover exceptional opportunities right here. San Jose will keep advancing as the destination where the world’s most ambitious developers gather to shape what comes next.

Source: SVBJ

Nvidia's GTC Conference: A Catalyst for San Jose's Economic Surge

Downtown San Jose recently experienced an mini-economic renaissance, thanks to Nvidia's GPU Technology Conference (GTC). This annual event, a magnet for thousands of tech enthusiasts, innovators, and industry leaders from across the globe, delivered a significant lift to the city's economy in 2025. According to a report from the San Jose Business Journal, this year’s GTC shattered attendance records and set new highs for economic impact, proving once again that San Jose thrives when technology and community intersect.

The numbers tell an impressive story. During the conference, hotel occupancy rates in Downtown San Jose skyrocketed to 95%, far surpassing the typical yearly average of 70%. This surge fueled a 30% revenue increase for local hotels compared to the same period in prior years. The momentum didn’t stop there—restaurants and bars near the convention hub reported a 40% jump in customers, with many extending hours to accommodate the flood of visitors. Retail shops also cashed in, enjoying a 25% sales boost from the heightened foot traffic.

The economic wave reached beyond hospitality and retail. Transportation services, like local ride-sharing platforms, saw a 50% spike in rides, while event planning and staffing agencies experienced a surge in demand. This broad impact underscores the power of large-scale events to spark growth across multiple sectors. San Jose’s ability to support such a dynamic influx reinforces its reputation as a city equipped for big moments, from its conveniently-located convention center to its rich array of dining and cultural options.

The success of this event offers a glimpse of what’s possible when innovation meets opportunity, setting the stage for even greater achievements in the years to come.

Source: SVBJ

Mayor Matt Mahan will seek a San Jose convention center expansion and new 800+ room hotel

When the Convention Center South Hall was built in 2005, the big blue circus tent (pictured below) was never designed to be a permanent fixture. This land has been earmarked for a convention center expansion and potentially another hotel for quite some time. Now there is an actual reference to that project--and no this isn't an April Fool's joke.

As part of the Silicon Valley Business Journal's "Future of Downtown San Jose" event last week, the mayor stated:

"If we want to go attract big events, we need to eventually expand the convention center and add a headquarters hotel where someone could take down 800 rooms at a time," Mahan said. "That’s something I’m looking to pursue with all of you in the years ahead."

If this happens during his term this would be an enormous win for San Jose. It would attract bigger conferences while being able to better support world class events such as the Super Bowl and World Cup, both coming to the South Bay in 2026.

As for the hotel reference, the San Jose Fairmont including the annex had 805 rooms total, and that was the largest hotel in Silicon Valley. San Francisco has several hotels much larger that that, including the Hilton San Francisco with 1,900 rooms and the Parc 55 with 1,000... both of which have gone bankrupt with the change in San Francisco's popularity recently. 

A flagship brand as scale directly connected to an expanded convention center and a block away from the artsy SoFA District would be a major boon to Downtown and draw conferences not only from other parts of Northern California but across the country.

Source: SVBJ

Nvidia AI Conference taking place in Downtown San Jose right now

The latest advancements in AI hardware--which is quickly headed to becoming a multi-trillion dollar market--are being announced right now in Downtown San Jose. Yesterday Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered his keynote at the SAP Center. Throughout the rest of the week, about 10,000 visitors will attend workshops and panel discussions at the McEnery Convention Center each day.

San Jose has a strong desire to make Downtown the AI capital of the world. Hosting Nvidia's flagship conference here is definitely a big win.

Source: San Jose Downtown Association