Choose New Jersey to Open West Coast Center in San Francisco Bay Area

On Jun 26, 2024

Choose New Jersey, the state’s nonprofit business attraction organization, announced it is opening a New Jersey West Coast Center in Sunnyvale, California – the organization’s first domestic center outside of New Jersey. Choose New Jersey Chief Strategy Officer Tim Crouch will serve as the center’s executive director based in Silicon Valley. The office will focus on helping West Coast headquartered companies in the artificial intelligence (AI), technology, and film industries to expand to the East Coast. The center will also collaborate closely with the Asia Pacific Center in Taiwan, to support Asian Pacific companies already established on the West Coast to grow further in the United States.

“Building upon our successful model of opening New Jersey Centers in key international markets, Choose New Jersey is thrilled to announce the opening of our first domestic center outside of New Jersey,” said Wesley Mathews, president & CEO of Choose New Jersey. “New Jersey is the perfect East Coast complement to the Bay Area’s large and well-funded innovation ecosystem.”

The New Jersey West Coast Center, located in the Plug and Play Tech Center, will officially open on July 15, 2024. The center will focus on industries that drive the innovation economy in New Jersey, especially those at the top of Gov. Phil Murphy’s agenda, and will work closely with the new AI Hub at Princeton University and the NJ Motion Picture and Television Commission.

The New Jersey AI Hub brings together industry leaders, researchers, and start-up companies to advance research and development in the emerging field. The hub also promotes workforce development to support new AI technology development and implementation and will house dedicated accelerator space and work to advance the use of ethical AI for positive societal impact. The NJ Motion Picture and Television Commission offers a wealth of resources, robust incentives, and expertise to the state’s entertainment industry. New Jersey’s diverse locations, competitive incentives, skilled workforce, and proximity to major markets like New York City are attractive assets to film, television, and digital media companies looking to expand to the East Coast.

“The West Coast has long been considered the home of the tech and film industries, but a whole new world of opportunity is emerging right here in the Garden State,” said Governor Murphy. “The New Jersey West Coast Center will allow us to put New Jersey at the forefront —pioneering AI and innovation and creating good-paying jobs. My Administration is laser-focused on pushing the boundaries while continuing to expand access to health care and education to build a stronger, fairer future for all.”

The Center will cover the entire West Coast from Vancouver to San Diego. Crouch will make frequent visits to Southern California and the Pacific Northwest, meeting with some of the world’s most innovative companies as they expand beyond their home markets in California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

“I’m excited to return to California to tell New Jersey’s story in the world’s biggest innovation ecosystem,” said Crouch. “We have so much to offer our partners on the West Coast. As they are looking to tap into new markets, new ideas, and new talent, my job is to make sure they know about the amazing things happening under Governor Murphy’s leadership. Our unmatched talent pool, world-class institutions, and significant financial incentives are attractive to any business on the West Coast or across the globe that wants to be a part of a forward-thinking environment that propels advancements and success.”

Before coming to Choose New Jersey, Crouch served in leadership roles at the United Kingdom’s Department for Business and Trade for nearly a decade. Crouch managed the department’s inward investment and business attraction teams across North America, spending the majority of that time in California and leading teams across the continent including in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver. He received his master’s degree from the Price School at the University of Southern California, one of the country’s leading public policy schools.

The opening of the new office at the Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale follows New Jersey’s newly announced partnership with the Fintech Accelerator at Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ FAST). NJ FAST is the first location on the East Coast for Plug and Play, which has partnerships around the globe.

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