California’s Silicon Valley is a Mecca for techies and computer geeks. More precisely, its name stands for Silicon Valley, one of the elements most commonly used in the manufacture of electronic devices, and this is due to the rapid flourishing of the computers, technology and electricity companies that originated here around the 80s.
Silicon Valley is located in the Bay of San Francisco and is currently the hub of innovation where all startups would like to settle, and is home to the likes of Google, Apple, HP or Facebook.
On a trip to the United States, techies shouldn’t miss out on a visit to Silicon Valley. Therefore, below we propose to visit the key places where some of the world’s most important companies in the technology sector were born and raised.
University avenue
University Avenue is located in Palo Alto. It’s easy to see investors and entrepreneurs negotiating in coffee shops to find the next startup that will change the world. This avenue is the heart of Silicon Valley and is home to the Lucky Office, known as the “finest building in Silicon Valley,” where companies like Google or Paypal took their first steps to become multinationals.
Stanford University
Stanford is one of the most prestigious private American universities in the world. Located 56 km from San Francisco, it is where personalities such as Larry Page (Google), Hewlett & Packard (HP) or Bill Gates (Microsoft) formed their ideas for these global corporations.
Currently, you can visit the Bill Gates sponsored William Gates Building of Computer Science and where the first Google server is located.
On the other hand, the place where Dave Packard and his friend Bill Hewlett invested, invented various electrical devices and other experiments, was their home garage. Who would have told these young people in 1939 that their electronic components company would achieve worldwide recognition as HP? While the interior of the original garage cannot be visited, Stanford University has a copy of it that lets us know what their workspace looked like.
Googleplex
Although Google has offices all over the world, the Googleplex (made up of the words Google and Complex) is the main headquarters and arguably the headquarters of the most famous company in the world. However, the entrance to the building is prohibited, except when visiting with someone from the company.
Computer History Museum
The Computer History Museum is a tribute to the high-tech industry. It opened its doors in 1996, and since then, its exhibitions are dedicated to the history of computers and computers, the digital age and the revolution that new technologies have brought into our lives.
In this museum, we can contemplate from the first devices and mini-computers to the first video games about slot machines and supercomputers. And, of course, one cannot but pay tribute to silicon and its use in transistors.
Last updated: 20/12/2022
