As California Declines, Texas Is The Heir Apparent To Big-Tech Looking To Flee Progressive Laws

Written By BlabberBuzz | Monday, 08 February 2021 11:30 AM
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As California Declines, Texas Is The Heir Apparent To Big-Tech Looking To Flee Progressive Laws

Is Texas a dangerous rival to California as a destination for high-tech? The increasing exodus of banner companies attributed to the specific liberal progressive policies in California -– like Oracle Corp., Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Co., Tesla Inc.'s Space-X and many more -– implies that there’s something to the notion. However, skeptics rightly said that lots of other places have made an effort to become the new Silicon Valley and never made it - but they all agree that the traditional Texas lifestyle and limited government of a Red State is appealing and this might give Texas the chance to unseat California as its own world level economy.

Texas, though, could be different, and not due to the recent high-profile relocations. Unlike other would-be innovation hubs, the state has been calmly nurturing high-tech industry for decades. If Texas ultimately challenges California, the consequences could be serious, not just for industry, but for U.S. politics.

At many times in the nation’s history, different areas have risen as clusters where industrial innovation has thrived, spawning powerful new corporations and unbelievable amounts of wealth. These “places of invention” attract a critical mass of companies and talent. They often depend on institutions that train the next generation of workers and entrepreneurs.

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Silicon Valley fits the model. As Margaret O’Mara has remarked in her entertaining history of the region, a critical convergence of engineering talent, venture capital, educational institutions and government money unleashed waves of innovation, each building on the former one to generate ever-larger economic booms.

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Although nothing lasts forever. Consider the fate of Hartford, Connecticut. That city was in the past a high-tech powerhouse in the late 19th century, controlling precision engineering and instrumentation. Its glory days ended a long time ago. Other centers of innovation and invention have undergone similar fortunes: Philadelphia, which largely pioneered machine-tool production; Detroit, crucible of the automobile industry; and others.

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If Silicon Valley loses its marquee status, it will almost surely give way to several hubs in Texas, a state now more readily associated with Ted Cruz, capital punishment and crude oil. The concept that it could eventually displace California as the leading center of innovation appears far-fetched. Except when you take a closer look – and go far back in time.

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As one account of Texas's high-tech history has shown, a new age began in 1930. The year brought news of the greatest oil discovery ever made in the lower 48 states: the so-called Joiner Strike in the East Texas oil patch. But it further saw the creation of Geophysical Service, a company that worked with sound waves to prospect for oil, which quickly grew to an industry standard. The company expanded rapidly, growing into submarine detection throughout World War II.

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In 1951, the company became Texas Instruments, one of the giants of the computer age. Three years later, TI became the first company to design, build and market silicon transistors; seven years later, it developed the first integrated circuits, or computer chips. These became the building block of everything from hand-held calculators to full size computers. Even as Silicon Valley grew the visible leader in computing technology, Texas Instruments flourished in Dallas, growing ever larger.

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