03/25/2024

These Three Technologies Are Reinventing Silicon Valley

From orchards to the center of the tech universe

Not only have I had the privilege of working in and covering Silicon Valley for the past 40 years, but I was also born here. I remember what it was like when it was called the “Valley of Heart’s Delight.” Back then, the entire valley was orchards of apricots, peaches, cherries and fields of strawberries. In fact, at that time, the area’s primary business was fruit-packing canneries that processed these fruits and made jams and jellies. The summer mornings of my childhood were marked by the sweet aroma of jams and jellies prepped for canning.

But by the mid-1960s, urban crawl kicked in. Soon, orchards were dug up to make way for new businesses and housing. The last major cannery closed in 1967.

In a timely turn of events, around 1965, the semiconductor era was born in the valley. This region south of San Francisco became a center of our tech universe, led by Shockley Semiconductor labs, Fairchild Semiconductor International, Intel and others.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.