By Edmond Ortiz
A new report on San Antonio’s technology and science industries shows an uptick in the number of related ventures, and in the growing value of locally based federal research and development contracts.
The overview
The Innovation SATX Consortium, made up of local organizations Geekdom, Port San Antonio, Tech Bloc and Velocity TX, unveiled on Nov. 4 a report summarizing the state of innovation in San Antonio.
The report details the presence of 55,054 jobs across nine innovation-driven local sectors, $2.55 billion in active federal R&D obligations, and $31 million in venture capital investments in innovation-centric enterprises around the San Antonio region.
Consortium representatives and officials from the greater SATX Regional Economic Partnership gathered Nov. 4 at Texas Public Radio’s downtown headquarters to discuss the report, and an increasing amount of opportunities that are present in the innovation-anchored sectors of San Antonio’s overall economy.
A closer look at San Antonio’s innovation economy
For 30-plus years, San Antonio leaders and business observers have monitored the rise of local private businesses, research organizations, agencies and educational programs centered around the following sectors:
- Communications and cyber
- Defense, aerospace and transportation
- Biotechnology and pharmaceutical
- Biomedicine and medical devices
- Software and data services
- Research and development
- Computers and electronics
- Advanced manufacturing
- Environmental and energy
While the number of employees in these sectors grew in 2025, there was a dip in the number of establishments identified as innovation-focused enterprises. That number stands at little more than 3,600 in the report.
There was also a decrease in the level of new startups, patent grants, and venture investment last year, the report stated.
Opportunities for growth
The ability to enhance San Antonio’s innovation-related workforce and keep such talent in town has long been a source of concern among local political, business and education leaders.
Consortium members said they are emboldened by data showing San Antonio was second among comparable metropolitan areas in terms of the rate of growth in the ranks of people employed in an innovation sector.
According to the report, the city’s 2.5% job growth rate between 2024 and 2025 was second behind Austin’s 3.1% rate.
The consortium, using a specific formula, gave San Antonio an employment concentration rating of 0.81 based on how heavily jobs in a specific industry, occupation, or geographic area are clustered instead of spread out evenly. The 0.81 rating ranks San Antonio ninth among metropolitan areas of comparable size.
The consortium also gave San Antonio’s innovation economy a 54.3% job wage premium, a measurement above the per-job average earnings across all industries in the local metropolitan area.
Consortium members said the employment concentration rating does not overlook local innovation industry growth, but rather it reflects a chance to foster the development of a deeper ecosystem featuring specialized employers, experienced talent, suppliers, customers, and sector institutional knowledge.
“For San Antonio, the opportunity is to compound current employment momentum until more of those capabilities take root locally and companies can build increasingly specialized teams as they grow,” consortium members wrote in their report.
Other findings in the report are:
*A need for innovation-centric companies, academic research institutions, founder-support organizations, and investors to better connect with each other and to turn new enterprises into long-term, vibrant, local growth. Consortium members suggested a strategy of building a more structured, linked path from business creation and validation to investment, expansion and follow-up funding rounds.
The report cites the tech company Allosense, which launched and grew initially with some backing from angel investors in the Rackspace Hosting community. But founder Roman Sandoval has said his firm must combine fundraising, a broadening of his customer base, and develop stronger ties to regional industry in order to get his business to the next level.
*Acknowledging pervasive capital funding challenges, consortium members said companies must reach investors “with customer validation, traction, diligence readiness, and a credible case for scale.” They added that stronger investor relationships can help investment-ready businesses try to reach wider available pots of capital.
*The consortium urged greater efforts to nurture stronger partnerships between local employers and educators in order to connect local STEM graduates with local career opportunities. The report noted that the number of STEM degrees awarded locally rose modestly in 2024, with cybersecurity and information assurance making up a majority of those degrees.
*Additionally, the report referenced San Antonio’s standing as the U.S. city possessing the greater concentration of military medical resources, such as Brooke Army Medical Center, the federal government’s only Level I trauma center and burn center.
San Antonio City Council on Nov. 5 unanimously passed a resolution, supporting BAMC’s military medical mission and Level I status. Local city and military leaders have voiced concern about Methodist Healthcare’s efforts to develop or seek Level II trauma center designation.
The approved resolution calls for regional coordination and a data-driven approach to evaluating changes in trauma care capacity, with consideration for BAMC’s long-term needs, according to a city news release.
“This is about more than one hospital. BAMC serves our civilian community, supports our regional health care system and prepares the medical professionals our military depends on,” Councilmember Misty Spears said in a statement. “We must consider the impact that decisions about trauma care will have on this mission and make sure BAMC can continue serving San Antonio and our nation.”
Yet, consortium members said there is an opportunity to connect local military medical assets with the region’s civilian trauma system, universities, and emergency-response infrastructure so that those technologies can be adopted more widely.
*The consortium’s members also pushed for stronger connections between San Antonio cybersecurity companies and local military commands in order to grow and scale up services and products.
*Additionally, the report called for the development of innovation hubs, and for local businesses, public agencies, researchers and educational institutions to capitalize on existing physical spaces to test and develop their products and technologies. One consortium member, Velocity TX on San Antonio’s East Side, offers resources to link private ventures with researchers, healthcare systems, universities and the federal government regarding the development of military and civilian medical innovations.
*The report also noted the importance of how San Antonio’s culture and quality of life can be used as assets to appeal to newcomers moving to town to work in the city’s innovation economy, or to keep homegrown innovation talent in place where they can recognize ways to grow a career and make valuable personal connections.
Final priorities
The innovation report concludes with priorities, which consortium members describe as long-term, aspirational paths toward coordinating approaches between the public and private sectors:
- Concentrate investment around San Antonio’s competitive strengths in order to build critical mass and compete nationally
- Build repeatable pathways from innovation to marketplace in order to make it easier for ideas to be realized and reach commercialization
- Build upon today’s available funding tools, connect ventures to larger markets, and expand local venture capacity for the long haul
- Build a durable campaign around established high-value industries and raise the visibility of San Antonio’s innovation sectors
“When San Antonio markets itself as a place for cyber, technology, defense or another industry, the city and its ecosystem organization need to stand by that promise,” Freddy Ramirez, president and CEO of local firm CNF Technologies, said in the innovation report. “Do not only help form a company – help it get in the door. Who will you introduce us to?”
A downloadable version of the State of Innovation report is available at the Innovation SATX website.
