Silicon Valley has become synonymous with the technology scene in the United States and is home to the headquarters of giants such as Google and Facebook.
Sprawling across the Santa Clara Valley, Palo Alto, San Jose and other parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, the technology hotspot earned its name from the silicon-chip makers that set up shop there.
iPhone maker Apple is also based in the valley and is looking to build a four-storey, 260,000sq m R&D hub.
While it's often conflated with the city of San Francisco, the traditional heart of Silicon Valley is closer to San Jose to the south. However, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year this was beginning to change, and tech firms were gravitating further north towards San Francisco.
According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report from 2010, the area makes up around 30 per cent of all venture capital investment in the United States.
As well as being the base of software and hardware giants, the region also hosts offices of social networking firms such as Twitter and LinkedIn.
Up until the 1960s it was known as the Valley of Heart's Delight because of its orchards and was believed to be the largest fruit packing area in the world.
By Hamish Fletcher | Email Hamish