Tech Valley

Tech Valley
Region
Etymology: From "Tech" for the high-tech industries and "Valley" for the Hudson Valley
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
RegionUpstate New York
CountiesAlbany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga, Schoharie, Warren, Washington, Columbia, Montgomery, Fulton, Greene, Essex, Clinton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Ulster, Dutchess, Franklin, Orange
CitiesAlbany, Schenectady, Troy, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Plattsburgh, Kingston, Glens Falls
Area
 • Total15,637 sq mi (40,500 km2)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total2,312,952
 • Density150/sq mi (57/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern Standard Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Area code518 and 845
Websitehttp://www.techvalley.org
The main laboratory building of the IBM Watson Research Center is located in Yorktown Heights, New York.

Tech Valley began as a marketing name for the eastern part of the U.S. state of New York, encompassing the Capital District and the Hudson Valley.[1] Originating in 1998 to promote the greater Albany area as a high-tech competitor to regions such as Silicon Valley and Boston, the moniker subsequently grew to represent the counties in New York between IBM's Westchester County plants in the south and the Canada–United States border to the north, and has since evolved to constitute both the technologically oriented metonym and the geographic territory comprising most of New York State north of New York City. The area's high technology ecosystem is supported by technologically focused academic institutions including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute.[2]

Tech Valley grew to encompass 19 counties straddling both sides of the Adirondack Northway and the New York Thruway,[1] and with heavy state taxpayer subsidy, has experienced significant growth in the computer hardware side of the high-technology industry, with great strides in the nanotechnology sector, digital electronics design, and water- and electricity-dependent integrated microchip circuit manufacturing,[3] involving companies including IBM in Armonk and its Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, GlobalFoundries in Malta, and others.[2][4][5] As of August 2022, venture capital investment in Tech Valley had grown to US$410.92 million.[6] Westchester County has developed a burgeoning biotechnology sector in the 21st century, with over US$1 billion in planned private investment as of 2016,[7] earning the county the nickname Biochester.[8] In April 2021, GlobalFoundries, a company specializing in the semiconductor industry, moved its headquarters from Silicon Valley, California to its most advanced semiconductor-chip manufacturing facility in Saratoga County, New York near a section of the Adirondack Northway, in Malta, New York.[9]

  1. ^ a b "About Tech Valley". Tech Valley Chamber Coalition. Archived from the original on 2008-11-03. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  2. ^ a b Larry Rulison (July 10, 2015). "Made in Albany: IBM reveals breakthrough chip made at SUNY Poly". Albany Times-Union. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  3. ^ Keshia Clukey (June 27, 2014). "Better than advertised: Chip plant beats expectations". Albany Business Review. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  4. ^ "Fab 8 Overview". GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  5. ^ Freeman Klopott, Xu Wang, and Niamh Ring (September 27, 2011). "IBM, Intel Start $4.4 Billion in Chip Venture in New York". 2011 Bloomberg. Retrieved July 12, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Venture Investment - Regional Aggregate Data" (PDF). National Venture Capital Association and PitchBook. Retrieved March 23, 2024. This figure is the sum of VC estimates for Congressional Districts 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21.
  7. ^ John Jordan (January 2016). "$1.2 Billion Project Could Make Westchester a Biotech Destination". Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  8. ^ Steve Ditlea (7 May 2015). "Westchester's Unexpected Powerhouse Position In the Biotech Industry - Four years after our initial look at Westchester's biotech industry, the sector has gone from fledgling to behemoth". Today Media. Retrieved April 7, 2016. All around, there are signs of a Biochester bloom:
  9. ^ "GLOBALFOUNDRIES Moves Corporate Headquarters to its Most Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Facility in New York | GlobalFoundries". globalfoundries.com. 26 April 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.