Where's the next Silicon Valley (for the U.S.)?

[daylatedollarshort]

Undoubtedly Detroit (and Pittsburgh) thought for many years they'd never "be bested" either...

I don't know where the next tech centers will be or if they will change, but Silicon Valley has the local universities as well as climate and scenery going for it.

 

[unclemick]

Kansas City. Google trucks running all over the neighborhood.

I hope it takes a 100 yrs. I like my retro bib overalls.

heh heh heh - all praise for curmudgeons!.

 

[rodi]

Kansas City. Google trucks running all over the neighborhood.

I hope it takes a 100 yrs. I like my retro bib overalls.

heh heh heh - all praise for curmudgeons!.

The google fiber ground zero. I'd love to be in an area that Google decides to roll out their fiber internet experiment.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Here in Pittsburgh, we keep hearing that we are. CMU does a lot of innovative tech and Google now has a presence in the "Burgh.

 

[photoguy]

With regard to tech employment, start-ups, depth of business services and general depth of intellectual stimulation, I doubt the Silicon Valley area south of SF on the San Mateo peninsula will be bested, unless California really steps in a big one. How much sense would it have made 100 years ago to ask "what will the next US financial center be? New York of course. Even when you no longer have open outcry floor trading, the depth of services and brains in NYC is overwhelming.

+1

Due to network and size effects I don't see Silicon Valley losing its status as innovation leader until a totally new and different industry takes over.


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[Midpack]

+1

Due to network and size effects I don't see Silicon Valley losing its status as innovation leader until a totally new and different industry takes over.

Again, I am sure Detroit was confident they'd never lose their preeminence either.

You might well be right but the innovation theme in Pittsburgh was steel, in Detroit it was automobiles. In Silicon Valley it was once personal computers, and industry that's matured and could no longer sustain the region. Fortunately Silicon Valley evolved when the Internet and then mobile came along. May continue, may not. There are other industries that could make another region move to the forefront, I don't know what - energy, water (shortages), other?

And while the thread was about the US, where some have stated that NYC has been and will remain the financial capital of the world, many already say London has already taken (and subsequently lost) that distinction from NYC, with Hong Kong and Singapore coming on.

 

[eytonxav]

Take a look where tech venture capitalists are located, see http://www.walkersands.com/US-Venture-Capital-Firms-For-Tech-Startups

In my opinion, innovation is not necessarily the sole domain of silicon valley. Many colleges across the US have good incubation programs as well.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Famous last words of an Engineering VP:
"We're moving Software Engineering from Santa Clara to Dallas, Texas."

Guess how many engineers were relocated, versus changed employers? (Hint: Within an hour of the announcement, headhunters had put leaflets on every vehicle in the parking area. There were recruiters in every nearby lunch place all week.)

Yeah, I bet the next Silicon Valley is ..... Silicon Valley!

 

[JoeWras]

There's a barrier to entry for workers in the Valley because of rising costs.

I'd say that the new world of remote working obviates that issue quite a bit.

So I agree that Silicon Valley will continue for some time.

Those in the Valley do need to watch their arrogance, however. Seems like the a-hole factor is going up quite a bit. Keep your humility and the Valley can lead for a long time.

 

[eytonxav]

Those in the Valley do need to watch their arrogance, however. Seems like the a-hole factor is going up quite a bit. Keep your humility and the Valley can lead for a long time.

Until a major earthquake strikes. I don't expect to see any new fabs located there in the future, so its not so much a silicon valley any more.

 

[Brat]

I looked at that list and noticed how many VCs have multi-billion dollars to invest.

I counted 7 VCs with 5+B under management, only one of which is outside the Bay Area.

Bioscience is developing like gangbusters, they need investors with a very long time horizon who can spread their $ around to account for the high percentage of stillborn ventures in this field.

Taking a huge guess here: material science will be the source of significant innovation suitable for VC investment. Corning has done a lot with glass, I don't know of any who can develop in that field without bumping into their patents. That said there are a lot of other minerals and organic compounds out there which could have wide application. Consider Boeing's use of carbon fiber technology in aircraft.

 

[ls99]

Inside Yucca mountain.

 

[FUEGO]

I'm here in Raleigh and it's a little like Silicon Valley already. Lots of friends job hop between here and the real Silicon Valley and Austin, depending on where they find the best offers.

Raleigh has dirt cheap land and relatively easy development processes for building huge new mega office parks (I've worked on many). And a steady stream of STEM and medical grads coming from 3 huge universities with a combined enrollment of around 100,000. Lots of big tech companies and big pharma too. Plenty of start ups and a decent start up culture.

It's not that new though. The neighborhood I grew up in was full of IBM'ers (which has since waned in importance relative to newer tech firms).

 

[eytonxav]

I looked at that list and noticed how many VCs have multi-billion dollars to invest.

I counted 7 VCs with 5+B under management, only one of which is outside the Bay Area.

My point is that there are many VCs outside of silicon valley, and even CA for that matter (probably $45B or more from a $ perspective on the list). Also, SF and Menlo Park are outside of Silicon Valley as I understand it, unless the valley is now annexing territory
Nevertheless, innovation is certainly not restricted to that geography alone.

 

[clifp]

I think there is an outside chance of San Diego for Bio tech, or Austin for energy/electronics.

I will say having spent the last 15 years making a modest contribution to help Hawaii develop a tech industry it's extraordinary hard to replicate Silicon Valley. The lawyer, landlord, restaurant owner, accountant, and server company who are willing to take equity instead of case are essential but pretty much unique to Silicon Valley.

Accelerators provide a similar function for start ups in other places, but its not quite the same thing.

 

[Brat]

..Also, SF and Menlo Park are outside of Silicon Valley as I understand it, unless the valley is now annexing territory

You understand incorrectly. San Francisco may not technically be IN the Silicon Valley but ... let's put it this way: Google operates employee busses from downtown San Francisco to their headquarters in Mountain View. If you Google map Silicon Valley you will see it extends north to the San Mateo Bridge, east to Freemont, south to Los Gatos. Menlo Park is the investment center for the Silicon Valley, many located on Sand Hill Road between Stanford University and I-280.

 

[eytonxav]

You understand incorrectly. San Francisco may not technically be IN the Silicon Valley but ... let's put it this way: Google operates employee busses from downtown San Francisco to their headquarters in Mountain View. If you Google map Silicon Valley you will see it extends north to the San Mateo Bridge, east to Freemont, south to Los Gatos. Menlo Park is the investment center for the Silicon Valley, many located on Sand Hill Road between Stanford University and I-280.

OK, I stand corrected. I thought SV was just northern Santa Clara County, but I do recognize Menlo Park as being the primary VC spot for SV, but geographically I viewed it more like SF.

 

[AnIntentionalRoad]

It will be somewhere built around some company doing something that's yet to be conceived, just like textiles, steel, plastics, autos, computers, etc before it.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Haven't read the whole thread and don't know if these have been mentioned:

1. Northern Virginia (Arlington, Reston, Herndon)
2. Plano, Texas
3. Columbia, Maryland

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

I had never been to Silicon Valley until this past Spring, and I kept thinking that if something new comes along to replace computers and networking, then San Jose is the next Detroit. Talk about a single-industry town.

 

[Brat]

They do have a car manufacturer, Tesla, that is challenging the auto dealership model.

They also have medical devise manufacturers, Medtronic comes to mind.

Actually computers, per se, are being rapidly replaced by tablets. I don't think even Apple's business is primarily computers any more.