The recent relocation of several U.S. tech stars, including tesla CEO Musk, from Silicon Valley, in addition to the prevalence of remote work prompted by the epidemic, coupled with an extremely confrontational political climate, has dimmed the luster of the tech industry’s stronghold.
AFP reports that long before the 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) epidemic affected Silicon Valley, a dream destination for tech talent located in Northern California, the nightmarish traffic and high cost of living in the area were already a deterrent. In addition, drought and rampant wildfires have also dampened Silicon Valley’s appeal.
Technology stars who have been the first to leave include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel and CEO Alex Karp.
Some companies have also packed up their belongings and are preparing to move their headquarters out of Silicon Valley, such as Oracle and Hewlett PackardEnterprise, which are moving to Texas.
Oracle, which was founded in Silicon Valley in 1977, said this month that it was moving its headquarters “in pursuit of growth and to provide employees with more flexibility in where and how they work.
Hewlett-Packard (Hewlett-Packard) from the old Silicon Valley, the establishment of the company’s family, said the reason why the headquarters moved to Houston, because customers “in this unusual period is undergoing digital transformation”.
Rob Enderle, an independent analyst of the technology industry who grew up in California and moved to Oregon six years ago, noted, “There’s always a risk that someday enough people will say it’s no longer a good place to live and there’s no reason to do business here.”
Some states with lower taxes and costs of living are attracting technology companies to the state, and industry players can negotiate what incentives are available to move in.
Allison, who currently serves as Oracle’s chief of technology, informed employees that he is moving to Lanai, Hawaii, which he bought eight years ago, and will work from there on video.
Affected by the epidemic, more and more technology companies are allowing employees to work remotely, making Silicon Valley’s famous campus-style corporate headquarters less and less in demand. Twitter, for example, has said it may allow employees to work remotely indefinitely.
Musk confirmed he has left California for Texas. He got into a heated argument with authorities earlier this year when he allowed his factory to continue operating despite a California anti-epidemic lockdown.
Internet companies like Brex, Dropbox and Splunk, all of which have their roots in Silicon Valley, have left the San Francisco area for their respective chief executives. Others like Palantell, though founded in Silicon Valley, have also moved their headquarters to Denver, Colorado.
Joe Lonsdale, another Palantell co-founder, moved his venture capital firm from San Francisco to Austin, Texas, for reasons related to tax rates and political ideology.
Austin is far more tolerant of diverse ideologies than San Francisco,” he tweeted in November. A place with great leftist hippies bringing great culture, music, food, etc. is usually a good idea…as long as it’s not all about them running the state.”
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