Silicon Valley is the home to many of the world’s largest and most influential high-tech companies,  as well as thousands of high-tech start-up companies.

Located south of San Francisco, in the Santa Clara Valley, the region is centered on Stanford University, where many of the region’s most important companies – ranging from Hewlett-Packard to Google – were founded.

Silicon Valley has been called the “birthplace of the 21st century.”

The term Silicon Valley originally referred to the early companies that designed and produced the first silicon chips, which later gave birth to some of the most prominent computer companies.  Today the valley is home to the largest and most innovative software and Internet companies.

The valley continues to be an incubator for technological innovation. More than one third of the total venture funding in the United States is directed to Silicon Valley start-ups.

Credits:  Unless otherwise credited, the photos on the interior pages of this website were taken by Robert Nicholson.   All photos and text are protected by US and International copyright laws.