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The San Francisco Standard

    Self-Optimization

    What happens when Silicon Valley tries to maxx everything — including humans?

    Everyone has a Chinese peptide dealer now. Companies rank embryos by IQ. Tech bros wait for AGI before having kids. The density of longevity researchers, biohackers, and billionaires chasing immortality makes SF the epicenter for experimental treatments. GLP-1s, implants, injectables, semi-legal supplements — these are the obsessions that capture SF’s particular brand of self-optimization insanity.

    A simple line drawing of a face wearing a face mask and headphones, shown within a circle outline.

    Staff picks

    A man wearing a green cap and brown jacket carefully holds a syringe and vial, preparing an injection indoors near large windows.
    A woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes wears a black shirt and a small pendant necklace, looking confidently to the side with arms crossed.
    Zara StoneTech Culture Reporter

    Everyone has a Chinese peptide dealer now

    A man in a green shirt sits relaxed at a wooden desk with dual monitors, a laptop, and soundproofing panels on the wall behind him.
    A woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes wears a black shirt and a small pendant necklace, looking confidently to the side with arms crossed.
    Zara StoneTech Culture Reporter

    The new flex in tech: Maxxing your own podcast

    A man in casual clothes reclines on a green bed beside medical monitoring equipment displaying a heart rate graph.
    A woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes wears a black shirt and a small pendant necklace, looking confidently to the side with arms crossed.
    Zara StoneTech Culture Reporter

    Silicon Valley is done watching you sleep. Now it’s getting handsy in the bedroom

    Browse

    Three women are seated around a table with a laptop, notebook, and a basket; a neon sign on the wall reads "#MenstrualTech."

    Blood money