19 INTERNATIONAL TECH HUB | BDO LLP
SILICON VALLEY (US)
THE SUCCESS RATE Although regulatory and geopolitical issues often make the headlines, many companies still enter the US market. Many maturing tech companies also look to transfer entirely to the Silicon Valley area or at least have a substantial presence to have a footprint in the innovation capital of the world, as the opportunity is boundless. Here, the environment is very conducive to new things; new and bold ideas. This makes for an incredibly exciting, but also risky proposition, and many companies get started, get funding, but fail to make the cut. The unique aspect of Silicon Valley culture is that failure is treated as a learning opportunity. Company founders are not ashamed or embarrassed of having failed once or twice because markets see this failure as evidence of courage to pursue bold ideas and also as an experience that will teach those individuals how not to fail in future. This bold thinking extends from the entrepreneurs to the venture capitalists willing to play in the tech space. The overall success rate of venture capital has been good, but that has come from a willingness to invest in portfolios knowing that while many might fail, some will flourish and provide overall portfolio returns. It’s a unique part of Silicon Valley culture perhaps not found so widespread elsewhere.
With expert input from Aftab Jamil, Partner, National Leader, Technology Industry, BDO San Jose. Aftab has over 28 years’ experience in public accounting for the medical, life sciences and technology
sectors. He has experience with public and private companies, ranging from start-up, to scale-up, to established multinational businesses.
OVERVIEW: A MATURE TECH MARKET WITH OPPORTUNITIES FOR BIG IDEAS
Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area has star tech business pulling power, but investment continues to favour the new and the bold. Its well-established private equity and venture capital availability attracts innovators, entrepreneurs and talent alike, offering fertile ground for tech companies with high ambitions. THE TECH LANDSCAPE The Silicon Valley is the innovation capital of the world. Companies based here have been the growth engine for the US economy for a number of years, generating a significant contribution to the global economy as well. Given the types of companies based in the area – with new business models following the breakneck speed of innovation – Silicon Valley is a huge draw for any tech company looking to expand. THE TECH BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM The type of tech that made Silicon Valley famous is now a well- established market. Investors are looking at where the money is going next, rather than where it is now. Venture capital and private equity firms are hunting for the technologies of tomorrow so that they are associated with tomorrow’s tech leaders . The computer chip-led industry of old is a mature sector now, and a lot of manufacturing has moved out of the Silicon Valley area and out of US as a whole. Though these companies retain headquarters and product design functions in the Valley, the ecosystem now encompasses new types of tech business. From a capital investment standpoint, there’s movement towards companies going into areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality (AR/VR). Cloud technology, for example, has been on a fantastic trajectory. This type of growth and support pattern has led to an influx of businesses in such new sectors , because that is where many believe the future lies. With 5G on the horizon, there are plenty of opportunities for companies dealing in bandwidth and infrastructure for connected devices. The real beauty of Silicon Valley is that the local market is always at the cutting edge of where technology is headed. That creates a very healthy dynamic shift based on where people perceive the future to be, creating an interesting space for newer companies.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA’S SILICON VALLEY IS THE INNOVATION CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
Made with FlippingBook HTML5