forty miles of orchards turned into the place where trillion-dollar ideas get pitched over kombucha.
means a region in northern california, roughly san francisco to san jose, that became the world's densest cluster of tech companies, venture capital, and engineers chasing scale.
from named for the silicon used in semiconductors, coined by journalist don hoefler in a 1971 trade paper series about the chipmakers clustering around santa clara valley, which used to be full of apricot and prune orchards.
fairchild semiconductor — 1957 spinoff that trained the founders of intel and amd
hp garage — palo alto shed where hewlett and packard started, 1939
stanford industrial park — 1951 leased land that tied the university to tech founders
sand hill road — menlo park strip holding sequoia, kleiner perkins, and rivals