The valley’s biggest tech event took over downtown San Jose this week. An army in neon green lanyards turned the city’s core into a wonkfest of futurism and opportunity—demonstrating new robots, buying out bars and restaurants, rolling logo-wrapped Cybertrucks down clogged streets and dispensing all manner of branded merchandise.
Parking lots have been fenced off and taken over by pop-ups with artificial lawns, lounge chairs and temporary buildings adorned with large logos. The remaining parking spots go for $40.
SoFA District’s normally sleepy restaurants bustle with many languages and activity. Nvidia’s GPT conference has been a windfall for a downtown that lost most of its conventions around the pandemic, and much of its daytime workforce…