The decisions by these companies to open or expand headquarters, design or manufacturing spaces in California runs counter to a narrative that has gained national traction " that the state is bad for business and companies are fleeing. That's despite the state's economy growing 5% last year to a record $4.25 trillion, making it larger than all but the U.S., China and Germany " buoyed not only by defense and aerospace but also by AI, where California is the global leader. The state is home to nearly 400 "unicorns", or billion-dollar startups " more than any other state, according to CB Insights. It also gobbled up nearly two-thirds of U.S. venture capital last year, with San Francisco Bay Area startups such as OpenAI leading the way, business information platform Crunchbase found.