Silicon Valley

A technology region in the southern San Francisco Bay Area, known for its concentration of semiconductor, computing, and venture-capital firms.

Stanford Industrial Park: A research and business campus founded by Stanford University in 1951, later renamed Stanford Research Park. It gave technology firms space near Stanford and helped establish the region’s research-industry links.
Venture capital: Financing invested in young companies with high growth potential, usually in exchange for equity. Specialist investors funded risky technology ventures and connected founders with industry networks.
The Traitorous Eight: Eight engineers who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in 1957 to found Fairchild Semiconductor. Their departure established a pattern of spin-offs that repeatedly created new Valley firms.
Semiconductor industry: The global industry that designs and manufactures semiconductor devices and integrated circuits. Semiconductor production and design gave the Valley its early industrial foundation.
Dot-com bubble: A period of rapid speculation in Internet-related companies that peaked around 2000 and was followed by a market crash. The boom and collapse exposed the risks of the Valley’s startup-driven investment cycles.
Frederick Terman: A Stanford engineering professor and dean who promoted university-industry ties and supported technology entrepreneurship. His efforts helped attract electronics firms and create a local technology ecosystem.
Stanford University: A private research university in Stanford, California, founded in 1885. Research, graduates, and entrepreneurial programs have sustained close ties between the university and local firms.
Robert Noyce: An American physicist and inventor who co-invented the integrated circuit and co-founded Intel. His work and companies linked the region’s semiconductor roots to the microprocessor era.
Personal computer: A general-purpose computer designed for use by one person at a time. Valley firms helped turn personal computing into a commercial industry.
Gentrification: The transformation of a neighborhood through investment and an influx of wealthier residents, often raising costs and displacing existing communities. Technology-sector growth has contributed to rising housing costs and displacement across the region.

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