Elon Musk And Many Other Millionaires Are Leaving Silicon Valley

Since 1938, when Bill Hewlett and David Packard began experimenting in a Palo Alto workshop, Silicon Valley has become the apex of the tech industry.

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Decades later, things are about to change. Probably the most obvious proof of that: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), a subsidiary of the corporation, will be relocating its headquarters to Texas. Oracle (ORCL), another longtime stalwart from Silicon Valley, revealed intentions of moving its headquarters to Austin. A series of high-profile tech investors and executives are also fleeing San Francisco. After selling his Bel Air homes earlier this year, Elon Musk confirmed he has relocated to Texas.

During the pandemic, as people are working from home anyway, such changes ought to be anticipated. Numerous tech giants have also said that even after the pandemic ceases, they would allow workers the opportunity to indefinitely work from home.

However, the move of company headquarters, business leaders, and major VC investors refer to a tech industry corporate diaspora, and what others have referred to as a Bay Area “tech exodus.”

Those that have already moved from San Francisco have complained about the city and state’s poor management. Although they haven’t mentioned anything specifically, California has imposed regulations associated with COVID-19 that were critical of those in technology. In comparison, Florida and Texas have implemented far less strict regulations.

According to data from the Austin Chamber of Commerce, as of November, 39 businesses in tech and other sectors had moved to Austin so far this year. 8VC, the venture capital company led by co-founder Joe Londonsdale of Palantir, is among the others. Tesla (TSLA) is also constructing a 4 million square foot facility just off Austin that is projected to generate 5,000 jobs.

Some of the big names in tech who have announced plans to leave the Bay Area for Texas just this year include Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Oracle, Drew Houston (Dropbox CEO), FileTrail, DZS Inc., and QuestionPro.

And those who have already relocated to Florida recently are David Blumberg (Blumberg Capital), Keith Rabois (General partner at Founders Fund and a former executive at PayPal and LinkedIn), and Jon Oringer (Founder and executive chairman of Shutterstock).

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