Conference Presentation, Panel, Fireside Chat
California: Global Incubator for Innovation and Growth
- Bracken Darrell predicts global innovation hubs will emerge, including EPFL in Switzerland and accelerating leadership in China, while noting that 500 to 600 connected devices per home in the U.S. and Western Europe are expected by 2022, with near-total room connectivity anticipated over the next 15 to 20 years.
- The future of work is projected to shift from physical office presence to performance-based collaboration across locations, driving high growth in video tools and integrated but geographically segregated teams.
- Significant market risks include the threat of data hoarding by large tech firms like Google and Facebook, the continued impact of H-1B visa restrictions forcing companies to build development centers outside the U.S., and the potential for global competition to overtake California's disproportionate market share of innovation.
- Gil Elbaz anticipates that Southern California will evolve into a major innovation hub distinct from Silicon Valley, fueled by "irrational" investor behavior similar to the Bay Area over the last five to ten years and a culture of risk-taking.
- Northern California faces retention challenges due to high costs of living, causing students to seek opportunities in other states or cities like New York, while California state schools face pressure as bright students increasingly choose out-of-state institutions such as Carnegie Mellon or the University of Washington.
- Adam Miller plans to hire dozens of personnel monthly from local universities, expecting 80% of the 200 juniors and master's students in their summer program to receive job offers, while hoping cultural shifts in Southern California regarding technology's social acceptability will help graduates stay in LA.
- Donna Morris forecasts that cloud models and the Internet of Things will drive demand for storage capacity and engineering talent, specifically for skills in Hadoop and cloud technologies, as traditional home items begin generating data.
- Operational strategies include limiting key projects to a maximum of three locations to mitigate time zone hindrances and ensuring speed, while recognizing that physical proximity remains critical during design phases but less so for execution and maintenance.
- To maintain a talent pipeline, Donna Morris advocates for fixing primary education, emphasizing STEM, and changing culture around technology careers, while Bracken Darrell suggests California should address visa issues, funding, and tax breaks for startups to compete with France's PhD funding program.
- Kevin Cloud asserts that California remains a unique laboratory for testing and funding ideas due to an extraordinary culture of openness, though this market share is at risk if global competition intensifies without state intervention.