The decision by the web streaming service Hulu to locate its first facility outside of its hometown of Santa Barbara California in San Antonio is seen as an outsized image boost for the city's growing tech industry, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Lorenzo Gomez, who runs the tech startup incubator Geekdom, says having a well known company like Hulu choose San Antonio does wonders for the city's tech 'brand.'
"The forward momentum is really unstoppable," he said. "And if anyone doubts it, you can point to this as proof of our tech scene progressing."
Unlike JungleDisk, Rackspace, and other prominent San Antonio tech firms, most Americans have heard of Hulu, so that adds local economic development officials a well known tech brand to point to as part of the local tech industry.
And Gomez says that is a big deal.
"When you are recruiting tech talent, they want to see that there is more diversity in your eco-system, there are more options for them in terms of employment, so it is a big deal to have a name brand."
Mayor Taylor says Hulu's decision to locate a tech and service center in San Antonio, with up to 500 employees in a few years, continues to hinge on approval of incentives on the state level.
Gomez says for a tech infrastructure to be successful a city has to have a mix of start ups and established companies, and the arrival of Hulu provides another established company to the city's tech base.