The Story of Silicon Valley: The Legend of the HP Garage

Today, in the 21st century, whenever the term "Silicon Valley" is mentioned, what often comes to people's minds are the dazzling glass-walled buildings and the endless technological innovations. However, the true origin of Silicon Valley actually began with the pure friendship between two young men and how a visionary professor cleverly resolved the issue of Stanford University's land being "non-sellable."

Going back to 1938, two Stanford University graduates—Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard—rented a modest wooden garage at 367 Addison Ave, Palo Alto. Little known is that this garage was less than two kilometers away from the Stanford University campus.

The initial startup capital of $538 they received came from the generous support of Stanford professor Frederick Terman, who was later honored as the "Father of Silicon Valley."

It was in that unremarkable garage that Hewlett and Packard developed their first successful product—the HP 200A audio oscillator.

The first major customer of this product was none other than the famous Walt Disney. At that time, Disney was busily producing the film "Fantasia" and purchased eight improved oscillators for testing and calibrating the cinema sound systems.

In 1939, Hewlett-Packard (HP) was officially founded. The company name was formed by combining the last names of the two young men. Rumor has it that they originally decided whether to name the company Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett by flipping a coin. Clearly, in that game, Packard won.

As the 1940s rolled in, Professor Terman keenly observed a regrettable phenomenon: the excellent engineering talents cultivated by Stanford University had to cross the United States to seek development on the East Coast after graduation. He profoundly realized that if local job opportunities could not be created, California would forever remain merely a talent-exporting place.

However, there was a strict clause in the will of Stanford University's founder, Leland Stanford: the land of Stanford University could never be sold. Faced with the dual dilemmas of lack of funds and idle land, Professor Terman proposed a bold breakthrough plan: since the land could not be sold, it could be leased long-term. This proposal ultimately gained approval from the university.

In 1951, the Stanford Industrial Park (now renamed Stanford Research Park) was officially established, marking the birth of the world's first high-tech park founded by a university.

This concept is a stroke of genius. Stanford University obtained urgently needed operating funds through land leasing, while students gained valuable internship and employment opportunities.

In 1954, HP became one of the first tenants to move into the park. This "academic + industry" closely integrated operational mechanism laid the foundation for the classic Silicon Valley model.

Subsequently, more and more industry giants took root and grew in the park, including large defense contractors Lockheed, Xerox, Tesla, Meta, VMware, SAP, and so on.

Looking back through the river of history, we can clearly see: the rise of HP and Stanford's land strategy together forged the unique "Silicon Valley model":

1. **Garage Culture:** It symbolizes that innovation does not require expensive office buildings, only an excellent idea and solid hands-on ability.

2. **Integration of Production, Education, and Research:** Universities are no longer closed ivory towers, but engines of innovation and incubators for enterprises.

Today, this HP garage has transformed into a private museum. It has not only been designated as a California historical landmark but also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

People have given it a more resounding name: the birthplace of Silicon Valley.