Tech company move boosts SF mayor's branding push

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee's effort to brand the city as the world's high-tech capital is getting a boost as cloud-computing company Riverbed Technology Inc. announced its new downtown headquarters.

The mayor said Monday the company's move to the renovated 168,000-square-foot space could bring more than 600 new tech jobs to the city.

Riverbed plans to move into its new offices in the South of Market neighborhood in 2014. It has signed a 10-year lease.

Since his successful effort last year to persuade Twitter Inc. to stay in San Francisco, Lee has cultivated an image as a tech-friendly politician eager to present the city as a Silicon Valley alternative.

The city's 7.6-percent unemployment rate is below the national average, helped by its thriving tech scene.