SPONSORED BY KLA CORPORATION December 07, 2020
From Silicon Valley to Ann Arbor: One tech exec's experience Gary White, systems and electrical engineering manager, KLA Corporation In 1971, a reporter named Don Hoefler dubbed the San Francisco Bay Area’s buzzing electronics hotbed as “Silicon Valley,” and our national technology headquarters was officially born. Today, Silicon Valley is widely accepted as the global center for electronics, innovation and venture capital—but that doesn’t make it the only one. Moreover, the proliferation of technology across industries globally has made it clear companies no longer need to only pursue talent living in this region. Accordingly, corporations are waking up to the potential of burgeoning tech hubs around the world, and Ann Arbor is one such market gaining attention. Since 1976, semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer KLA Corporation has been a staple of the Valley alongside neighbors like Hewlett Packard, Intel, NVIDIA, Apple and Oracle. It’s also my employer. As Bay Area native, I never thought I’d call anywhere else home. But, in June of 2019, my organization’s vice president asked me how I’d feel about being part of the effort to bring KLA to the Midwest and establishing the company’s second U.S. headquarters, which would act as a research and development (R&D) center focused on artificial intelligence and equipment development. I accepted, and now over a year later, am happy to say I haven’t looked back since. Many friends and family have been surprised that I took the plunge and left Silicon Valley. “Ann Arbor?” they ask, “Isn’t that where U of M is?” Lucky for me it sure is. Beyond getting to enjoy my job and Ann Arbor’s vibrancy and beauty, living here has also reminded me how much I love college football. The “tech-xodus” from Silicon Valley Most people have likely heard of semiconductors, but many probably don’t really know what they are. For me, working in the field of microelectronics was always part of the