Silicon Valley is an economic large urban agglomeration, in which more than half of the technical and scientific potential in the field of electronic industry is concentrated. It is located on the California territory of the San Francisco Peninsula and stretches from west to east. Its area is about 900 km2. The valley got its name from the chemical element silicon (the English name is silicon), which is widely used in the production of semiconductor devices.
Silicon Valley is a conditional concept. It is not indicated on geographical maps and has no borders. Currently, this term is used to refer to the financial zone in which the large cities of Palo Alto, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Santa Clara are concentrated. This phrase first appeared in 1971 thanks to journalist Don Hofler.
The Silicon Valley of the United States is America’s third technological center in terms of the number of employees working in the field of IT technology. Almost 40% of the engineers involved in the information systems industry live here with families. More than three thousand major centers, corporations, start-ups, innovative companies are concentrated in this area. They are engaged in the creation of high-tech software, microchips, biotechnologies, mobile communication devices, etc. The intensive development of electronic and information technologies in this place is associated with the financing and investment of start-up companies, the close location of large cities and the collective work of leading American universities.
Silicon Valley began its historical journey in 1951. At that time, Terman Fred (vice president of Stanford University located here) began to lease land to attract finance for the rapid development of research in high technology. The circle of tenants was limited only to high-tech companies that could be useful for the research work of the university. After a couple of decades, the valley has become the global center of the electronics industry.
Fairchild Semiconductor played an important role in the well-known name, which was the first in the world to introduce a device using a silicon (silicone) integrated circuit. In the future, this company became the creator of new structural divisions, such as Philips Semiconductors, Intel, AMD, National Semiconductors. It is to them that Silicon Valley owes its name.
In Russia in 2009, a project plan appeared under the name Skolkovo. According to supporters of the innovation center, after a while it will be Silicon Valley in Russia, the Russian analogue of the California valley. But opponents of the project are sure that it will be an
offshore zone of privileged government companies.
It is planned to create attractive places for programmers, scientists, designers, engineers and financiers in this center near Moscow. In the future, Russian specialists will create competitive technologies here. The main goal of the project is to stop the leak of Russian scientists, specialists and promising students abroad and return those who left. To date, Skolkovo has already recruited staff who will be able to begin their fruitful activities in the near future.