SILICON VALLEY

Silicon Valley is actually the nickname for the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, California. The area then became the home to many of the world’s largest high-tech companies, the headquarters of 39 most successful businesses, and thousands of startup companies.

Stanford University has an important role in the area becoming the center of innovation. Students and leaders at Stanford University saw the need for more experts in the area. During the 1940s and 1950s, Frederick Terman who was Stanford’s dean of engineering, encouraged graduates and even students to start their own companies. That is why the Silicon Valley grew around Stanford University campus. One of the major success stories was Hewlett-Packard. Two Stanford graduates, William Hewlett and David Packard, founded the company in Packard’s garage. Later Hewlett-Packard has become the largest personal computer manufacturer in the world. They also made the first ink jet printer in 1984 and changed the home printing market.

Another company that has its headquarters in the Silicon Valley is Apple. It is one of the most successful companies in the world. Apple doesn’t only design products like tablets, mobile devices and personal computers. They also sell software, services and digital applications.

Google also has its headquarters in the Silicon Valley. Their products are used in more than 50 companies. You can find Google products in more than 100 languages. Sergey Brin and Larry Page founded the company in Larry’s dorm room in 1998. They were Stanford University graduates. Google first began as an online search company, but now it offers more than 50 online products like email, online document and saving options.

There are many more leading companies in Silicon Valley that make the products we use every day.