High Tech in the Heartland is an occasional series exploring the relationship between Silicon Valley and the rest of America.The 2016 presidential election laid bare a chasm between technology companies and the rest of the country, namely the so-called flyover states and the region often derided as the Rust Belt.
Last summer, more than 140 tech executives penned an open letter stating that Donald Trump’s presidency would be a disaster if he were elected.
The rhetoric increased as the election approached, ratcheting up week after week, only to crumble as Trump’s Silicon Valley critics were humbled in the true sense of the word — meaning “to be brought low” — by the election result.With the red-blue battles largely behind us, VentureBeat’s High Tech in the Heartland series aims to explore the ecosystems of company formation, technological innovation, and the roles of private and public money, contrasting what’s afoot on the coasts with the state of affairs in the middle of the country.“Not to say that people in Silicon Valley don’t work hard, but people here work their asses off, and they’ve been doing it on the highline for generations.
Life is hard here, very aggie and blue collarish and people don’t have the same opportunities.” — Randy Reibel, Blackmore Sensors and Analytics“Silicon Valley is like a little island of success.
You get pretty insular about what’s important and what’s going on.” — Mark Kvamme, Drive Capital“You can call it the rustbelt, the heartland, anything you want.
People ask me, what’s an A-Kron?
Silicon Valley is coming for death.
Perennially youthful Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced last year a $3 billion initiative to obliterate human disease.
Among his many crusades, Paypal co-founder and Trump advisor Peter Thiel aims to end mortality.
Since the 19th century, average life expectancies have risen for everyone (though not at equal rates) thanks to advances in science and technology.
In particular, as Princeton economists revealed today, white middle-aged men with a high school education or less, hit disproportionately by the Great Recession, are dying of despair.
Or just those of people already doing great?
In what may be a Silicon Valley first, a new couple who met over
Airbnb got married at the company's headquarters this week.
This wasn't a straightforward case of a host and guest
falling in love through the home-sharing site, but rather a story
The groom, Ben, first fell in love with the
bride's apartment through the home-sharing site when he was
JOHANNESBURG—Africa’s most valuable company is now suddenly one of the world’s most valuable companies, too.
On Wednesday, Naspers Ltd. NPSNY -1.31% —a media and internet firm little known outside South Africa and Silicon Valley—reported a surge in half-year earnings, bolstered by its 33.3% stake in Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. TCEHY -4.17%
The performance sent shares up 0.8%, bringing its gains over the last year to 84%.
That has suddenly made it the world’s 65th largest listed company by market value among the Stoxx Global 3000 index.
Last year, it wasn’t close to breaking into the top 100, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
The stock market gains have been driven almost entirely by Tencent’s own soaring share price.
The world is witnessing the biggest protest movement in Iran since the 2009 Green Movement uprising.
Over the last two weeks, there has been unrest in nearly every major Iranian city and dozens of smaller towns.
The repression is felt not only on the streets: Iranian authorities disrupted internet access across the country and blocked Instagram and the messaging app Telegram.
Freedom of expression—which includes secure internet access—is the bloodline of democracy, but with the internet shut down, Telegram’s more than 40 million users in Iran have essentially had their communication cut off.
The decision to restrict communications has had an immense impact on the daily lives of Iranian citizens, including the more than 48 million smartphone users.
That’s because Iranians do online what they cannot usually do in the streets: Assemble, organize, and express themselves.
Silicon Valley is coming for death.
Perennially youthful Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced last year a $3 billion initiative to obliterate human disease.
Among his many crusades, Paypal co-founder and Trump advisor Peter Thiel aims to end mortality.
Since the 19th century, average life expectancies have risen for everyone (though not at equal rates) thanks to advances in science and technology.
In particular, as Princeton economists revealed today, white middle-aged men with a high school education or less, hit disproportionately by the Great Recession, are dying of despair.
Or just those of people already doing great?
In what may be a Silicon Valley first, a new couple who met over
Airbnb got married at the company's headquarters this week.
This wasn't a straightforward case of a host and guest
falling in love through the home-sharing site, but rather a story
The groom, Ben, first fell in love with the
bride's apartment through the home-sharing site when he was
The world is witnessing the biggest protest movement in Iran since the 2009 Green Movement uprising.
Over the last two weeks, there has been unrest in nearly every major Iranian city and dozens of smaller towns.
The repression is felt not only on the streets: Iranian authorities disrupted internet access across the country and blocked Instagram and the messaging app Telegram.
Freedom of expression—which includes secure internet access—is the bloodline of democracy, but with the internet shut down, Telegram’s more than 40 million users in Iran have essentially had their communication cut off.
The decision to restrict communications has had an immense impact on the daily lives of Iranian citizens, including the more than 48 million smartphone users.
That’s because Iranians do online what they cannot usually do in the streets: Assemble, organize, and express themselves.
High Tech in the Heartland is an occasional series exploring the relationship between Silicon Valley and the rest of America.The 2016 presidential election laid bare a chasm between technology companies and the rest of the country, namely the so-called flyover states and the region often derided as the Rust Belt.
Last summer, more than 140 tech executives penned an open letter stating that Donald Trump’s presidency would be a disaster if he were elected.
The rhetoric increased as the election approached, ratcheting up week after week, only to crumble as Trump’s Silicon Valley critics were humbled in the true sense of the word — meaning “to be brought low” — by the election result.With the red-blue battles largely behind us, VentureBeat’s High Tech in the Heartland series aims to explore the ecosystems of company formation, technological innovation, and the roles of private and public money, contrasting what’s afoot on the coasts with the state of affairs in the middle of the country.“Not to say that people in Silicon Valley don’t work hard, but people here work their asses off, and they’ve been doing it on the highline for generations.
Life is hard here, very aggie and blue collarish and people don’t have the same opportunities.” — Randy Reibel, Blackmore Sensors and Analytics“Silicon Valley is like a little island of success.
You get pretty insular about what’s important and what’s going on.” — Mark Kvamme, Drive Capital“You can call it the rustbelt, the heartland, anything you want.
People ask me, what’s an A-Kron?
JOHANNESBURG—Africa’s most valuable company is now suddenly one of the world’s most valuable companies, too.
On Wednesday, Naspers Ltd. NPSNY -1.31% —a media and internet firm little known outside South Africa and Silicon Valley—reported a surge in half-year earnings, bolstered by its 33.3% stake in Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. TCEHY -4.17%
The performance sent shares up 0.8%, bringing its gains over the last year to 84%.
That has suddenly made it the world’s 65th largest listed company by market value among the Stoxx Global 3000 index.
Last year, it wasn’t close to breaking into the top 100, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
The stock market gains have been driven almost entirely by Tencent’s own soaring share price.