Where is Silicon Valley?
Quick Answer
Silicon Valley is in the southern San Francisco Bay Area of California, centred on the Santa Clara Valley and cities such as San Jose, Palo Alto and Mountain View.
The Full Story
The region earned its name from the silicon chips produced by its many semiconductor companies in the 1960s and 1970s. Journalist Don Hoefler popularised the term Silicon Valley in a 1971 series in the trade paper Electronic News. Stanford University played a key role, encouraging graduates to start companies nearby, such as Hewlett-Packard, founded in a Palo Alto garage in 1939. Today it is home to the headquarters of tech giants including Apple, Google, Nvidia and Meta. The area attracts a large share of all US venture capital investment each year.
Key Facts
YouTube Angle
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