The Silicon Valley Dream and What Went Wrong (Part II)

The Silicon Valley seen from Monument Peak near Milpitas, Calif., in this file photo. Yuval Helfman/Shutterstock

Commentary

(This article is part two of a three-part series. Part I and III can be found here and here.)

Military Roots to Public-Focused

Silicon Valley was created in the Second World War to help the U.S. Army win the war. The government funded companies such as Fairchild Semiconductor. Berkeley, with its Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, was tasked with making an atomic bomb. People from Stanford were tasked to figure out how to make transistors, chips, and radars. HP and many other companies pitched in to help America win the war.