· Updated · Venture Capital Tracker · investment-strategies · 4 min read
San Diego Startups and VC Firms in 2026: Shield AI, ClickUp, Torrey Pines Gaps
San Diego venture map in 2026 — Shield AI, SkySafe, ClickUp, Turquoise Health, Function Oncology, Comma, national investor links, and honest Torrey Pines biotech gaps.
San Diego’s venture signal in our directory spans defense autonomy, work OS software, price-transparency health, and functional oncology — not only Torrey Pines biotech, and not a local multi-stage HQ market.
This page maps the companies we profile and what remains a gap.
City hub: /vc/san-diego · All cities: /cities · Fund directory: /directory
What San Diego is (and is not)
| San Diego is… | San Diego is not… |
|---|---|
| Defense autonomy (Shield AI, SkySafe) + software (ClickUp) | A full Torrey Pines biotech index |
| Health data (Turquoise) and CRISPR functional oncology (Function) | Dense San Diego HQ VC pages in our directory |
| National American Dynamism and health syndicates we can link | SF Bay Area GP density |
Startups we cover in San Diego
| Company | What they do | Stage / status | Notable capital | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shield AI | Autonomy software for military aircraft and drones without GPS or comms. | Growth | Andreessen Horowitz | /startup/shield-ai |
| SkySafe | Counter-drone security that uses RF signals to detect and safely land unauthorized UAVs. | Series B | Andreessen Horowitz, BoxGroup, Gaingels | /startup/skysafe |
| ClickUp | All-in-one work OS combining docs, tasks, goals, whiteboards, and chat in one productivity platform. | Growth | Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global Management, Lightspeed Venture Partners | /startup/clickup |
| Turquoise Health | Healthcare price transparency data and contract intelligence SaaS for payers and health systems. | Series B | Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Tiger Global Management | /startup/turquoise-health |
| Function Oncology | CRISPR-powered functional genomics to match cancer patients with targeted therapies beyond sequencing alone. | Series A | Andreessen Horowitz | /startup/function-oncology |
| Comma | Aftermarket semi-autonomous driving hardware and software (Comma.ai). | Seed | Andreessen Horowitz | /startup/comma |
Why these names matter
Shield AI — Flagship a16z American Dynamism bet — Hivemind autonomy deployed on V-BAT drones and piloted aircraft in contested environments at $5.3B valuation.
SkySafe — SkySafe forces rogue drones down over stadiums and bases — a16z led seed and Series A before a $30M Series B as drone threats went mainstream.
ClickUp — ClickUp’s “one app to replace them all” bet targets SaaS sprawl — a16z and Tiger Global co-led a $400M Series C at $4B valuation in 2021.
Turquoise Health — CMS machine-readable file mandates created a data moat; Turquoise turned public rate files into a contracting OS that payers and hospitals use to benchmark and negotiate — rare B2B wedge in price transparency.
Function Oncology — Function moves precision oncology from static mutation lists to live functional profiling in patient tumor cells — the kind of assay gap that explains why many ‘actionable’ variants still miss in clinic. a16z co-led the $28M Series A alongside Section 32 with Flatiron/Thrive/FMI alumni at the helm.
Comma — George Hotz’s open-source driver-assist stack — a16z-led $3.1M seed before regulatory battles shaped aftermarket autonomy niche.
Local investors (San Diego HQ or program)
| Firm | Role | Stages | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| None matched | — | — | No local HQ /fund/ rows yet |
How to read this: No San Diego HQ /fund/ matches. Domain-class life-science firms and local seed are gaps. National investors on company pages are not San Diego HQ GPs.
National capital San Diego founders still need
Local funds rarely replace a coastal or specialist Series A. Pitch these directory firms by thesis, not geography:
| Firm | Why founders care | Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Andreessen Horowitz | Defense, health, productivity (multiple SD caps) | /fund/andreessen-horowitz |
| Bessemer Venture Partners | Turquoise / cloud health patterns | /fund/bessemer-venture-partners |
| Tiger Global Management | Growth (ClickUp) | /fund/tiger-global-management |
| BoxGroup | SkySafe / Turquoise early | /fund/box-group |
| Founders Fund | Ambitious defense/deep-tech | /fund/founders-fund |
| Lux Capital | Deep tech / scientific | /fund/lux-capital |
SD formation vs national defense/health — what differs
| Local / biotech seed (offline) | National Series A+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | First checks, Navy/UCSD intros | Autonomy, health, or productivity category rounds |
| Check shape | Regional seed (gaps) | a16z / Bessemer / growth priced rounds |
| Underwrite | San Diego buyers + team | National category leadership |
| Mistake | Treating this hub as a complete Torrey Pines census | Calling Gaingels a San Diego HQ fund |
Worked example (illustrative)
Setup: A San Diego defense or health-data startup raises a $5M seed with coastal participation and lands a Navy or payer design partner.
Move: They raise a $40M Series C–class round (Turquoise pattern) or growth autonomy capital (Shield AI pattern).
Punch: San Diego domain density proved the wedge; national American Dynamism or health capital priced growth.
When San Diego is the wrong capital market
- You expected a complete Illumina-adjacent biotech index — mostly gaps.
- You invent San Diego HQ fund pages not in our directory.
- You treat Comma as a current mega-round peer — early a16z seed history.
- You conflate San Diego with LA consumer maps.
How to use this page
- Read Shield AI, SkySafe, ClickUp, Turquoise Health, Function Oncology, Comma.
- National capital: table above + /directory.
- Live hub: /vc/san-diego.
- Defense context: Washington DC startups we cover.
Related reading
Sources
- Startup profiles: shield-ai, skysafe, clickup, turquoise-health, function-oncology, comma
- ClickUp Series C (2021, $400M at $4B); Turquoise Series C (Mar 2026, $40M)
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Editorial note: AI tools assisted with research, structure, or drafting. Venture Capital Tracker retains human editorial responsibility for factual accuracy, relevance, and source quality before publication.
