Silicon Valley is synonymous with innovative and pioneering technology. Computers, smartphones, self-driving cars have all changed or promise to change our lives irrevocably. It has made it possible for us to access information and communicate with people on the other side of the world in seconds. And it has paved the way for a future in which androids (humanoid robots) become integrated into society, and humans merge with machines to an ever-greater degree.
out of the depression
The idea for Silicon Valley began in the 1930s in the US. During the Great Depression, Frederick Terman, an engineering professor at Stanford University, decided to create more job opportunities for his students. He helped two of them, William Hewlett and David Packard, start an IT company, which became the enormously successful Hewlett-Packard. After World War Two, Terman became the dean of his faculty, and he used his influence to establish the Stanford Industrial Park, now home to more than 150 companies, including Tesla Motors and Skype.
silicon chips
A journalist called Don Hoefler first used the term ‘Silicon Valley’ in 1971. He referred to the Santa Clara Valley, a region on the southern end of California’s San Francisco Bay that encompasses Stanford University and Stanford Industrial Park, and the cities of Palo Alto and San Jose. So named because of the silicon required to create semiconductor computer chips, it wasn’t until the 1980s that the term became widely used to refer both to the region and the high-tech companies located there.
big tech
Today, Silicon Valley is a global center for technology and innovation. It is home to many of the world’s biggest high-tech corporations, including Apple, Facebook, Google, and Netflix, as well as thousands of startup companies, specializing in everything from software or social media to fiber optics or robotics. Not surprisingly, the region is one of the richest in the US, and the companies there benefit from easy access to suppliers, cutting-edge research, and highly qualified graduates.