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Venture Capital and the Growth of Silicon Valley
Hambrecht, William R.
26/2  (Winter 1984): 74-82

Today, new business formation and venture capital have been enjoying an unprecedented popularity. The new technology is significant because that is where most of the venture capital is going now and will continue to go in eighties. However, there is no question that there are many other opportunities in the U.S. today where venture capital might play a very useful role. There is tremendous opportunity in an industry that moves from an era of regulation to deregulation. There were few major catalytic events that occurred over a 15 year period that propelled the U.S. into a position of technological leader-ship. First, in the mid-1930s there was a wave of refugees who came to this country. Among them, some were talented scientists and engineers. The second catalytic event was the massive investment in government research and development during the World War II. The Radiation Laboratory at MIT and the Radio Research Lab at Harvard trained a great number of scientists and set a pattern for the post-war space effort which greatly contributed to the development of digital technology.

 

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