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The Roots of Silicon Valley, Part 3: Startup Fever and Venture Capital

Key players in the creation of Silicon Valley’s semiconductor ecosystem (Source: Dr. Jeff Software)

The company was eventually sold to Perhaps these inventions would have hap- any of these scenarios not unfolded?
National Semiconductor in 1987 for one-third pened somewhere else, at some other time, by Clearly, fate played a role in bringing
of the price paid by Schlumberger eight years somebody else. The fact that they all occurred Shockley and semiconductors to Palo Alto,
earlier. With the Fairchild brand now dead, within a short space of time — in and around but the West Coast proved a far more fertile
Brooks left, and the company was back in the Palo Alto — driven by the entrepreneurial environment for the risk-taking spirit of the
hands of former Fairchild general manager spirit of the “Traitorous Eight” and many Traitorous Eight and their peers than the
Charlie Sporck. other key players, along with the startup ethos more risk-averse East Coast business and
Kirk Pond became COO at National of Stanford University, made Silicon Valley financial communities.
Semiconductor in 1994, where he led the unique in the history of technology. All eight of the original founders eventually
successful management buyout in 1997. With But what if Shockley’s parents had moved left Fairchild and went on to become serial
the Fairchild name revived, Pond continued as to Colorado, Nevada, or West Virginia to entrepreneurs, co-founding a wide variety
president and CEO until 2005, when he became pursue their mining careers on their return to of new startups, both in semiconductors and
chairman, before retiring a year later in 2006. the U.S. rather than Palo Alto? Would Silicon venture capital. They surrounded themselves
Pond was succeeded by Mark Thompson Valley have developed instead in those places? with brilliant engineers who also wanted
until the company was acquired by ON What if Shockley had chosen to set up to start new companies, prove themselves,
Semiconductor (now onsemi) in September Shockley Semiconductors on the East Coast, and change the world — stoking the startup
2016. ON Semiconductor was the discrete, where there was an already-well-developed boom driven by Shockley Semiconductor as
standard analog and logic device division infrastructure, rather than Palo Alto, which the embryo, Fairchild Semiconductor as the
spun out from Motorola’s Semiconductor had none? From the perspective of infrastruc- incubator, and the Palo Alto ecosystem as the
Components Group in 1999. ture, the East Coast was far better positioned catalyst.
to forge a Silicon Valley. The rest, as they say, is history.
SILICON VALLEY LEGACY What if the Russians, Europeans, or Japa- Perhaps Walker, the co-founder of LSI
On Feb. 14, 1956, Arnold O. Beckman and nese had invented the integrated circuit first? Logic, best summed up the entrepreneurial
William B. Shockley announced to a luncheon Could Silicon Valley have sprung up in the spirit of the Valley, and the rise and fall of
audience of scientists, educators, and the USSR, Europe, or Tokyo instead? Fairchild, with this comment: “It’s amazing
press at San Francisco’s St. Francis Hotel that What if Stanford’s Terman had not had the what a few dedicated people can accomplish
they were founding Shockley Semiconductor foresight to develop a community of interest when they have clear goals and a minimum of
Laboratory in Palo Alto. Not long thereafter, between Stanford’s faculty and a fledgling corporate bull----.” ■
three critical advances in the 1960s — industry, encouraging new enterprises to
integrated circuits, startup fever, and venture cluster around the university? This article was originally published on
capital — changed the world. What would the world look like today had EE Times and may be viewed at bit.ly/3Fe6jri.

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