Winterfest at California's Great America opens Nov 24

Ice Skating, Rides, Snow Falling, Millions Of Lights & Santa To Deliver Merriment

SANTA CLARA, CA – The Bay Area’s newest and most immersive holiday tradition, WinterFest, opens at California’s Great America on Friday, November 24 and will entertain guests on select dates through December 30. During WinterFest, Great America will be magically transformed into a winter wonderland where guests can experience unique new features, as well as fan favorites such as skating in front of the iconic Carousel Columbia, admiring magnificent displays of lights and décor, viewing spectacular live holiday shows, experiencing 25 rides and attractions, seeing Santa’s workshop and Mrs. Claus’ kitchen, and enjoying scrumptious holiday fare at numerous dining locations.

This unmatched event will feature more than 7 million LED lights, creating such a vibrant experience that it will be visible from the International Space Station, more than 270 miles away. The winter scene will be dominated by one of the Bay Area’s tallest Christmas trees adorned with thousands of twinkling lights accompanied by giant toy soldiers greeting guests. The six-week WinterFest celebration will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with daily operations December 19-23 and 26-30 from 5pm-10pm(November 26 and December 17 from 6:30pm-10:30pm).

New for 2017 will be an enlarged crafters area where more than 20 Bay Area artisans will showcase their talents, an expansion of Candy Cane Lane, one of the most photographed scenes in 2016, and a fire pit setting to keep guests warm near the Patriot roller coaster.  Also in 2017, every Planet Snoopy ride, including GR8 SK8, PEANUTS 500, Woodstock Express, Sally’s Love Buggies and more, will be open and providing fun for kids and parents alike.

There will also be a soothing hospitality room under the magical light show inside Orleans Place that will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of America. The tranquil area will provide a warm and relaxing destination for WinterFest guests, where they can enjoy the indoor ambience and make a donation to the club that will bring cheer to thousands of Bay Area youth.

“WinterFest is one of Northern California’s most spectacular winter events, delivering a unique experience where friends and families can create memories and traditions during the holiday season,” Great America’s Vice President and General Manager Raul Rehnborg said. “New additions for 2017 will create a dynamic experience for returning and first-time guests.”

Eight unique and decorative themed areas will guide attendees through WinterFest. Guests can gaze at 20 ft. tall candy canes in Candy Cane Lane, experience the wonder of snow falling in Hometown Square, admire Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree in Planet Snoopy, and stare up at the lighted palm trees inside the Grand Entrance.

Live shows include a nightly tree lighting, carolers throughout the park, “It’s Christmas, Snoopy!” ice show and more. Holiday crafters will design unique creations and guests will interact with original holiday characters, including Jack Frost, Candy Cane and the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Children will delight in decorating cookies with Mrs. Claus, taking a picture with Santa and writing holiday letters to family members. Food specialties will include eggnog funnel cakes, peppermint churros, a turkey dinner sandwich, all-you-can-drink hot chocolate and many more traditional holiday favorites. (Some activities require additional fee.)

Among the 25 rides and attractions entertaining guests will be Gold Striker and Patriot roller coasters for thrill seekers, the iconic Carousel Columbia and Flying Eagles family rides and all of Planet Snoopy for younger guests.

Throughout WinterFest from 5pm-7pm (excluding November 26 and December 1 and 17) patrons can enjoy the WinterFEAST buffet for $16.49 (plus tax) that includes roast turkey with festive dressing, baked ham, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, vegetarian baked pasta, tossed salad, dessert squares, Christmas cookies and fountain drinks.

Single day tickets are available online for as low as $25, and admission to WinterFest is included with a 2017 or 2018 Gold or Platinum Pass. 2018 Gold Season Passes are currently available online and include unlimited visits to California’s Great America and Gilroy Gardens, admission to Halloween Haunt and WinterFest, free season-long Great America parking, early entry into Boomerang Bay water park, discounts on select meals and merchandise and bring-a-friend discount offers.

California’s Great America is currently hiring for WinterFest with opportunities available in all areas of park operation. Apply online at cagreatamerica.com/jobs.

CALIFORNIA’S GREAT AMERICA

California’s Great America is a 100-acre theme and water park located in Santa Clara, Calif. that contains thrill rides, family attractions and live shows. The park opens for weekends in March, operates daily Memorial Day weekend through mid-August, continues weekends through fall with Halloween Haunt, and the season concludes in December with WinterFest.

CEDAR FAIR

California’s Great America is owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN), a publicly traded partnership and one of the largest regional amusement-resort operators in the world. The Company owns and operates 11 amusement parks, two outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and five hotels. For more information, see www.cedarfair.com.

Swenson reveals spectacular proposal for the Guadalupe River Area

Swenson Builders just blew my mind with their proposal to turn the Downtown stretch of the Guadalupe River into a 6.81 million SQFT mixed-use development. Apparently, Swensen has been contemplating this for decades.

The 30-acre project would incorporate and expand existing parks on both sides of the Guadalupe River and even create a second river (!)... more on that in just a moment. Perhaps take a quick break to scroll down and look at the photos and then head back up here.

The square footage breakdown would be 3.8 million SQFT for office space, 2 million SQFT of residential space (~2,400 units), 420,000 SQFT of retail in a 5-story terraced shopping center, and 590,000 SQFT of hotel space (~1,100 rooms). Bridges would zig-zag over the river(s) to easily get from one side to the other. If there was ever a proposal to rival the San Jose Google HQ, this would be it.

One of the most interesting aspects of the proposal is to create a man-made river parallel to the original Guadalupe River. The purpose of this would be to allow for recreational water activities in Downtown San Jose such as kayaking, surfing, and stand-up boarding. Above the river would also be zip-lines, allowing for a fun adventure combining both a natural and urban backdrop.

Right now this is more vision than a formal proposal, but can you imagine is this is what the Downtown Guadalupe River area looked like 20 years from now? This would be a tremendous amenity and entertainment draw while highlighting one of Downtown's best kept secrets--the river.

Source: SVBJ (Subscription Required)

Downtown Ice opens tonight!

San Jose's iconic circular ice rink opens its doors to skaters tonight with special pricing of only $5. There will also be a grand opening celebration at 6pm in front of the rink. All of the details including operating hours are in the press release below.

Toyota / Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice

Iconic outdoor ice rink open daily Nov. 17, 2017 - Jan. 15, 2018

Featured community attraction during U.S. Figure Skating Nationals Dec. 29-Jan. 7

SAN JOSE – Downtown Ice will host thousands of families from all over the Bay Area for a traditional and unforgettable skating experience Nov. 17-Jan. 15 at the Circle of Palms, 120 S. Market St.

The rink will also be an attraction for the thousands of families and fans coming to downtown San Jose Dec. 29-Jan. 7 for the U.S. Figuring Skating National Championships, where selections for the U.S. Olympic team will be made.

Toyota has joined Kristi Yamaguchi as title sponsors. Swenson and Linda L. Lester are presenting sponsors of the 8,100-square foot skating rink. Yamaguchi and the sponsors will usher in the new season at a ceremony on Opening Night (Nov. 17)  at 6 p.m.

The iconic circular rink is designed so that skaters can easily and safely negotiate around the circle of 32 palms each adorned by LED lights, creating a magical experience day and night.

Downtown Ice hours, pricing and specials are posted at http://downtownicesj.com. In general, during November, early December and after the holidays in January, Downtown Ice is open 5-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5 p.m.-midnight on Friday; noon-midnight on Saturday; and noon-9 p.m. on Sunday.  During the winter break, the rink is open 11 a.m.-midnight daily.  Special hours apply to the holidays.

Admission is $15 for children 10-under and $17 for skaters 11-older. Those who bring their own skates will be admitted for $10.  Senior and military are admitted for $15.

The rink phone number is (408) 291-0525.  Parking information is at http://parksj.org.

Downtown San Jose experiences a magical holiday season, attracting more than a half million visitors.  Downtown Ice is located within steps of Christmas in the Park displays, which occupies Plaza de Cesar Chavez starting Nov. 24 and will extend its season until Jan. 7.  Hotels are booked with parties, museums and galleries have special exhibitions and the performing arts venues and arena have packed schedules.

Downtown Ice and Christmas in the Park are partially supported by participants in the 5-kilometer Google Santa Run Silicon Valley to be held on Dec. 17.  Dress up in costume and run a 5-kilometer race as lights descend on downtown.  A children’s division will also be participating along with a costume contest with great prizes, some fun mileage markers and surprises along the course.  Sign up at www.santarunsv.com.

San Jose Downtown Association has produced Downtown Ice for 22 years.  This will be the 14th year in the Circle of Palms (starting in 2004).

When:  Open daily Nov. 17, 2017 – Jan. 15, 2018

Nov. 17 – 18

Friday: 5 p.m. - midnight

Saturday: Noon - midnight

Nov. 19 – 25 (Thanksgiving Week)

Sunday: Noon - 9 p.m.

Monday - Tuesday: 5 – 9 p.m.

Wednesday: 2 p.m. – midnight

Thursday/Thanksgiving: 2 p.m. – midnight

Friday - Saturday: 11 a.m. - midnight

Nov. 26 – Dec. 2

Sunday: Noon - 9 p.m.

Monday - Thursday: 5 - 9 p.m.

Friday: 5 p.m. - midnight

Saturday: Noon - midnight

Dec. 3 – Dec. 17

Sunday: Noon - 10 p.m.

Monday - Thursday: 5 - 10 p.m.

Friday: 5 p.m. – midnight

Saturday: Noon - midnight

Dec. 18  – Jan. 6 (Winter Break – note special holiday hours*)

Daily: 11 a.m. - midnight

*Christmas: 2 p.m. - midnight

*New Year’s Eve: 11 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.

*New Year’s Day: Noon - midnight

Jan. 7 – 13

Sunday: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Monday - Thursday: 5 - 9 p.m.

Friday: 5 p.m. - midnight

Saturday: Noon – midnight

Jan. 14 –15

Sunday: 11 a.m. - midnight

MLK, Jr. Day: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Admission:

Children 10 & younger, Seniors and Military: $15

11 years & older: $17

Bring your own skates: $10

Cash, Paypal, Visa, Mastercard and Discover Card accepted.

Admission includes ice time and rental skates (skate sizes range from toddler 8 to men's 15).

Skate all you want (no in-and-out privileges)/ First-come, first-serve.

Address (starting November 17):  120 S. Market St., San Jose, CA 95113

Phone: (408) 279-1775 (SJDA); (408) 610-4055 (rink starting Nov. 18)

Details: http://downtownicesj.com

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The San Jose Downtown Association (SJDA), established 1986, is a non-profit group of business and property owners working to improve the vitality and livability of downtown San Jose. SJDA advocates on issues that affect downtown business and property owners; enhances the image of downtown and attract new visitors through year-round marketing, public relations, and special events; and collaborates with its Property-Based Improvement District (PBID) for ongoing improvements to downtown’s cleanliness, security, aesthetics and delivery of services.

San Jose is the #1 Best Place for Tech Jobs

In what should come as no surprise, San Jose took the top spot again in Nerd Wallet's annual study of best cities for tech jobs. They looked at the largest 381 US metros and evaluated the percentage of jobs in tech, annual median wage for tech jobs, and gross rent. Despite having astronomical housing costs, we still came in way ahead of the competition. We have about double the number of tech jobs per capita as any other city in the top 10 and our median annual tech salary blew away every other city at the top of the list. Even SF was a distant 9th place.

Source: Nerd Wallet

René Marie and Experiment in Truth, presented by San Jose Jazz

San Jose Jazz presents an intimate concert with Grammy-nominated vocalist René Marie along with her regular collaborators pianist John Chin, bassist Elias Bailey, and drummer Quentin Baxter. 

Blessed with a crystal clear voice, fierce originality, and a commanding stage presence, René Marie is a musical force of nature. Rooted in jazz traditions laid down by Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington and others, she borrows various elements of folk, R&B and even country to create a captivating hybrid style. San Jose Jazz fans will remember René’s triumphant set at SJZ Summer Fest 2012.

Location:

Cafe Stritch

Date:

Tuesday, November 14th

Tickets:

$30 advance; $35 door

Ticket and Info Link:

sanjosejazz.org/renemarie

Video Links:

Blessings “Video Short”

Sound Of Red “Video Short”

This is NOT A Protest Song “Video Short”

Joy Of Jazz “Video Short”

Rene Marie – EPK – Sound Of Red 

Music Video Sound Of Red

Volar may set a new bar for rooftop amenities

Volar is a fancy 18-story (200 ft. tall) tower proposed for the Santana Row area. The mixed-use project will have 307 residential units, 52,000 SQFT of commercial, 16,275 SQFT of public open space, and 490 parking spaces. There are several interesting things about this project besides it being far taller than anything else in the area. However, the item that really stands out to me is a rooftop that that will give the Capital Club a run for its money.

The top floor is a mix of 29,814 SQFT of private open space for the residential units and that 16,275 SQFT of public open space that anyone can access. If the render below is accurate, this will be the most impressive rooftop on any high-rise in Silicon Valley. It looks like thee will be lounge areas, outdoor fire-pits, and plenty of trees spread across a posh Santana-Row-like area. The 18th floor will also have a 8,500 SQFT restaurant and cafe with a two-story atrium. The views should be quite spectacular from any part of the rooftop or restaurant. This could be the start of a new era where high-rise housing comes to more parts of San Jose.

For more details on this project that will hopefully break ground by 2019, head over here.

Source: San Jose Development Forum, aphelion2100

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the 5th Best City for Women

Sadly, gender inequality is still a current issue in the US (and most of the world). Fortunately, San Jose ranks highly when it comes to the best cities for women in the country. 24/7 Wall St. looked at multiple metrics including gender pay gaps, college attainment, life expectancy, and insurance rates for women. After computing all of these metrics, we came in 6th place. Even then, women on average are only earning 74.6% of men. San Francisco fared even better and came in at 2nd place.

Unrelated tho the article, one positive sign that things are moving in the right direction is new legislation will go into effect in California next year. For example, employers will no longer be able to ask what your salary history is during job interviews as it may bias towards paying based off the past salary and not what a new hire should be making for the role.

Source: 24/7 Wall St., thanks to Barclay Livker for sending this in!

Veteran's Day Parade

An event honoring our veterans begins at 10am tomorrow at Plaza de Cesar Chavez. The parade itself starts at 11am near the AC Hotel Downtown and continues down Santa Clara Street followed by Market Street all the way to the festival.

Nox Cookie Bar

First off, quick apology for the recent lack of posts. It has been a crazy week, but everything should be back to normal starting Monday.

I have been meaning to plug a cookie delivery service called Nox for quite some time. They deliver freshly baked cookies from 11:30am to 2:30am, letting you fulfill a cookie craving without leaving the comforts of your own home (including those late-night cravings). They also participate in quite a few Downtown San Jose events.

Cookie flavors include Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Snickerdoodle, and Oatmeal Raisin. Pumpkin Spice is a temporary flavor for November.

If you live near Downtown San Jose, you're in luck. Cookies will be delivered in 30-40 minutes and the delivery fee is only $3. In the greater San Jose area (including Santa Clara and Cupertino), delivery will take a bit longer and the fee rises to $6.

For more info, head over to the Nox Cookie Bar website.

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the 6th Happiest City in the US

A recent study established 15 metrics that contribute to happiness and used them to rank the largest metros in the US in terms of happiness. These metrics range from eating healthy, education, financial security, and vacation time. San Jose came in at a very respectable 6th place of all cities in the US. San Francisco ranked 17th. Boulder took the top spot followed by Santa Cruz (not surprising).

Source: National Geographic, thanks to Barclay Livker for sending this in!

New luxury apartment project coming to Santana Row area

Greystar Real Estate Partners is going to transform an existing 216 unit apartment building into a a 636 unit luxury apartment community called The Reserve. The project is at 881 S. Winchester Boulevard, very close to Santana Row.

The apartments will mostly be one and two-bedroom loft-style units in four to five-story buildings with two levels of underground parking. Amenities include a pool, rooftop lounge, a fitness center, and 8,000 SQFT of retail.

The Reserve should be ready for leasing in 2020.

Source: SVBJ (subscription required)

Happy Halloween 2017!!! + Halloween in the Park (Part XI)

Keeping with San Jose Blog tradition, in October we have a Wednesday Wishlist post for Halloween in the Park. Since tomorrow is already November, I thought it might be neat to do this post on Halloween itself. The idea is to build on the momentum that Christmas in the Park brings to San Jose each year and create something of similar scale for the month of October with Halloween in the Park! A lot of the infrastructure such as wiring, lighting, and booths might even be able to be shared between the events. The goal would be to make Downtown San Jose the epicenter of October Halloween experiences.

Below you will find brainstorming ideas we have collected for this concept so far over the years. Please have a look and provide your feedback and suggestions in the comments. Thanks!

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The largest draw to Downtown San Jose for many years now has been Christmas in the Park. It has continued to grow year after year and brings in visitors from all over the Bay Area. It's economic impact is substantial and helps keep many Downtown businesses and restaurants alive.

What would you think about a similar event for Halloween? Picture Downtown lit up in orange and purple with elaborate Halloween displays assembled by local artists. Perhaps infrastructure could even be shared with Christmas in the Park (e.g. retail booths). A strong event in October would help maintain traffic between the summer months and Christmas in the Park. Here are the ideas we have so far:

• Animated Halloween Displays
• Created by local artists
• Analogous to the Christmas displays that attract many families during Christmas in the Park (almost half a million visitors)
• Family friendly so that everyone can enjoy it (PG/PG13, perhaps around the same level as Great America Halloween Haunt)
• Halloween Lighting
• Orange, purple, and green LED lighting on trees
• May be possible to use new programmable LED lighting that can go from Halloween colors to Christmas colors with the push of a button, allowing the lights to stay up for Christmas in the Park as well and reducing setup/take-down costs.
• Halloween Food
• Booths with candied apples, chocolates, candy, pumpkin seeds, etc.
• Food trucks
• Trick-or-treating station - a free piece of candy to anyone wearing a costume any day in October (could also be used to hand out promotional flyers for Downtown events/businesses/resources)
• Retail Booths selling Halloween items, for example:
• Artwork (paintings, glass pumpkins, etc.)
• Home decor/crafts like candles
• Light-up hats/necklaces/bracelets
• Costumes
• Zombie/Halloween make-up station 
• Halloween-themed Carnival Games
• Pirates of Emerson and Candlelighters (Fremont) do a good job of providing family-friendly games themed around Halloween
• A handful of children's rides could also be added to the Paseo and reused for Christmas in the Park
• Interactive Art
• Subzero/ZERO1-style, but with a Halloween spin.
• Halloween-themed video game kiosks and/or arcades
• Pumpkins
• Instead of the sponsored Christmas trees in Christmas in the Park, how about decorated Pumpkins (can even be Styrofoam so there is no mess/decay)?
• Pumpkin carving station for families. 
• Pumpkin carving contest.
• Costumed Entertainers
• Walking around the area, not necessarily scaring people but adding to the ambiance and providing photo opportunities for families
• Haunts / Mazes
• Would be ideal if these were nearby, perhaps in vacant retails spaces, surface parking lots, the San Jose Convention Center tent, or at SJSU.
• Could partners with one of the established San Jose haunt providers such as Deadtime Dreams or The World's Largest Haunted House.
• Potential Events
• Zombie-O-Rama can be used to kick off Halloween in the Park (late Sep. / early Oct. time-frame)
• Zombie Crawl
• Dia De Los Muertos Events
• Halloween/Dia De Los Muertos Bike Party
• Horror Movie Trivia Contest
• Weekly horror movie screening (perhaps in the Circle of Palms area?)
• Costume Ball

Inspirations:

• Candle Lighters
• Pirates of Emerson
• The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze (photos below)

San Jose is the 2nd Best City for Trick-or-Treating!

As a huge fan of Halloween, I'm thrilled to see San Jose maintain its Zillow rank as the 2nd best city to Trick-or-Treat in. Each year, Zillow creates the list using population density, walk score, home values, local crime data, and age distributions. This should theoretically provide the cities where trick-or-treaters can get the most candy, in the least amount of time, with the fewest safety risks.

This year San Francisco has overtaken Philadelphia for the top spot, which now ranks #3 right behind San Jose.

Within San Jose, the top specific neighborhoods for trick-or-treating were West San Jose, Willow Glen, Cambrian Park, Rose Garden, Almaden Valley.

Source: Zillow

Scott Knies on big changes coming to Downtown

The Merc has a great interview with Scott Knies, the Executive Director of the San Jose Downtown Association. He discusses big changes, including the potential Google mega-campus which he is already dubbing the GoJo district (Google Jose). Residential, restaurants, and height restrictions also come up in the conversation. Check it out at the link below.

Source: The Merc

Saturday Stats: SJC is the 4th fastest growing airport in terms of international travel

We went from a couple to nine international routes in what seems like no time at all. Based on international passengers, San Jose had the 4th fastest growing airport in the country between 2012 and 2016.

I would actually argue that we led the country in international growth. Reno, Austin, and Columbus were the top three and all of them had almost 0 international travel in 2012. When you take a number close to 0 and add anything to it, you are going to get a very large percentage. San Jose went from 84,000 international passengers in 2012 to 330,400 in 2016. That growth of quarter million passengers is not only far more than any other airport on the top 10, but it is greater than the rest of the top 5 combined.

SJC also had more passengers in 2012 than any other airport on the list--the larger you are the more difficult it is to grow. This makes the growth SJC has shown even more impressive.

Source: SVBJ (requires subscription)

International Passengers

New Homewood Suites by Hilton in North San Jose

Homewood Suites at 4315 N. First St. officially opened on October 13th. This is an extended-stay hotel ideal for business travelers and has 145 units that are more like mini-apartments. Every room has a full kitchen, separate living and sleeping spaces, and are at least 434 SQFT. They also have two-bedroom suites available. One of their unique features is a grocery shopping service that lets guests provide their shopping lists and employees will buy the groceries for them.

The new Hotel is located just north of Highway 237 and is just a few minutes away from Alviso, the @First shopping center anchored by Target, and Levi's Stadium.

Source: SVBJ (subscription required)

Kika Tech Moves HQ's to San Pedro Square

As artificial intelligence (AI) integrates into our daily lives, one company is using it to transform the way we communicate.

Kika Tech, a leader in mobile communications, officially announced the company’s expansion to meet worldwide consumer demand for its AI platform that enhances how people engage and interact.

In this capacity, the company establishes new headquarters in Downtown San Jose's historic San Pedro Square, bolsters leadership team by appointing Tami Zhu as General Manager.

Kika Tech’s U.S. expansion builds upon what has been a momentous year for the company. Kika Keyboard, the company’s flagship product, is the #1 rated keyboard app on the Google Play Store in the U.S., providing a seamless mobile experience to more than 60M users each month. Kika has secured $63M in funding and struck key strategic partnerships with global sports franchises (Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona), mobile manufacturers (Samsung, Huawei, and ZTE), movie studios (20th Century Fox, Warner Bros.), and leading GIF provider, GIPHY.

-Noe Sacoco

Kika Tech Expands Global Presence to Meet Worldwide Consumer Demand

Company Establishes New Silicon Valley Headquarters, Bolsters Leadership Team Appointing Tami Zhu as General Manager

SAN JOSE, Calif.  – Kika Tech, a leader in mobile communications, continues to expand to meet worldwide consumer demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) platform that enhances how people engage and interact. The company today, announced new headquarters in San Jose’s historic San Pedro Square to house its growing workforce and to solidify its presence in Silicon Valley’s innovative culture. Kika Tech has also appointed seasoned business executive Tami Zhu as general manager, whose extensive AI background will lead the company into its next phase of growth. Ms. Zhu’s experience will be leveraged to further Kika’s AI initiatives along with strategic planning, revenue generation, marketing, business development, and results measurements.

“My chief interest has always been in artificial intelligence and consumer technology,” said Tami Zhu, general manager, Kika Tech. “Kika Tech’s advancements in AI is transforming the way we communicate. It’s an exciting time to join the company, as Kika Tech expands its global presence. I look forward to driving Kika Tech’s expansion to reach new milestones in the U.S. and beyond.”

An MIT graduate and technologist, Ms. Zhu has worked on some of the most cutting-edge innovations of the times, from launching Internet joint ventures across the U.S. and various international countries, to running digital media organizations in China. In her role as general manager, Ms. Zhu will oversee day-to-day U.S. operations including the continued expansion of the U.S. Kika Tech workforce, as the company plans to hire 50 new employees in marketing, sales, engineering and other positions. Previously, Ms. Zhu served as the GM of an AI and robotics startup in San Francisco, where under her leadership, the company raised over $150M in VC funding, won multiple CES Innovation Awards for two consecutive years and became recognized as a dominant AI player in China.

Earlier in Ms. Zhu’s career, she was vice president at IPG Mediabrands, where she led the innovations of digital media. She also held various executive positions including vice president at IAC/InterActiveCorp and head of AOL Ventures, and was the top female Asian executive in the company. Before that, Ms. Zhu launched Excite@Home’s international joint ventures in the Netherlands, Australia and Japan.

Kika Tech’s U.S. expansion builds upon what has been a momentous year for the company. Kika Keyboard, the company’s flagship product, is the #1 rated utility app in the Google Play Store, providing a seamless mobile experience to more than 60M users each month. Kika Tech has secured $63M in funding and struck key strategic partnerships with global sports franchises (Real Madrid C.F., FC Barcelona), mobile manufacturers (Samsung, Huawei, and ZTE), movie studios (20th Century Fox, Warner Bros.), and leading GIF provider, GIPHY.

Looking forward, Kika Tech aims to revolutionize communications by leveraging the company’s cutting-edge artificial intelligence engine. Incorporating image and voice recognition, Natural Language Processing (NLP) and deep learning, Kika Tech’s vision is for individuals to connect five times faster with other users, resulting in more efficient and meaningful conversation.

About Kika Tech

Say it with Kika! Make everyday interactions more engaging and fun with Kika Tech. Integrating into smart devices, Kika Tech enhances self-expression that goes beyond mobile platforms. By leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), Kika Tech enriches the emotional connection between individuals in the technology-driven world. To download the Kika app, please visit: bit.ly/kikakeyboard. Keep up-to-date with Kika Tech on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.

San Jose makes a bid for Amazon HQ2

Amazon is looking for a second home in the United States that would be similar in size to their Seattle Headquarters and result in a $5 billion investment. San Jose has officially put their hat in the ring with a compelling proposal which you can find here.

Nathan Donato-Weinstein also has a blog post that summarizes the proposal. We do have the best technical talent in the world and San Jose can not only accommodate the 8 million SQFT of office space they are looking for, but we nail all of their other requirements which include great educational solutions and access to international airports (we've got 3 of them within a 45min drive).

The only thing we don't have is the will to hand out huge subsidies like other cities are doing. We really can't afford it and it is not a sign of true partnership when the community has to suffer at the expense of a corporate deal. The jobs would be great for the economy, but without the tax dollars to provide supporting infrastructure around that much space, we would see our biggest issues like housing and traffic become even greater pain points. So, if Amazon wants the best location for HQ2 (San Jose of course)--they are going to have to open up the checkbook a little more.

To learn more about our proposal to Amazon, head over here.