Future of Fremont 2026: What’s Next For Advanced Manufacturing, Energy, and Fremont

On June 18, the Silicon Valley Business Journal hosted the Future of Fremont 2026 at Fremont’s Downtown Event Center. The industry event showcased the City’s momentum in advanced manufacturing and power infrastructure and proposed an outlook for what the future of Fremont may look like.

The message was clear: Fremont isn’t waiting for the next direction of manufacturing – it’s creating it. The keynotes, panels, and fireside chats provided the numbers to back up this claim; Fremont has 900+ manufacturing companies, 33 AI server factories, and 70% of all advanced manufacturing leasing across Silicon Valley last year.

In case you missed it, here is a quick overview of the event’s key themes:

· AI is fueling industrial demand: Surging demand for high-power facilities continues to outpace supply.

· Energy is the new bottleneck: As AI demand grows, access to power is becoming the primary constraint and competitive advantage.

· Infrastructure matters as much as real estate: Fremont is focusing on projects like “Power the South Bay,” adding ~1,000 MW of capacity and highlighting the growing importance of energy and grid reliability.

· Power will shape the next phase of AI growth: Fremont’s edge is shifting from space to electricity, with plans to nearly double power capacity in the next two years to support emerging AI infrastructure.

· Fremont is a key hub in the AI supply chain: Fremont has emerged as a center for AI hardware manufacturing, attracting major server, electronics, and tech firms.

· Long-term planning is paying off: By preserving industrial zoning, Fremont has become the West Coast’s largest advanced manufacturing hub.

Beyond industrial efforts, the event also highlighted initiatives in Downtown, including Restaurant Week, which generated 113,000 engagements; the opening of 567 affordable housing units in 2025; and continued investments in public safety.

These topics were covered in a keynote address from Mayor Raj Salwan; a panel discussion with CBRE’s Executive Vice President Matt Taylor, Fremont Economic Development Director Donovan Lazaro, and Lam Research’s Director of Global Government Affairs, Vartan Djihanian; and a fireside chat with Innovate Bay founder Rahan Brown, who explored Fremont’s potential as an ideal home base for innovation and startups.

The sentiment that resonated throughout the event was that the future of Fremont is here, from long-standing partners to new startups finding their footing in the Bay Area, and the city is well-positioned to continue to capitalize on this success.