It is easy to imagine that the devices of a mad alchemist took effect: creating the most famous valley in the world - or Silicon Valley -. Although we know that it is not true, it gives it a mystical touch, yes. An unbeatable climate, the best landscape, the most creative people, the best ideas, the most successful companies, the most avant-garde architecture... in short.

History reminds us of the accidental - but magnificent - idea of a Stanford professor that had nothing to do with magic potions that promise eternal freshness. Something that began as a small refuge for students and entrepreneurs made Silicon Valley a concept in itself: perennial innovation.

Although Silicon Valley is known for being a melting pot of cultures - with half of its population being foreigners - those who have the opportunity to experience firsthand, at least for a few days, what it means to be part of something much bigger than our own ingenuity should consider themselves lucky. 

With the introduction done, here is the story of this great journey in the first person by Alejandro Jatib, CEO of Lab9.

To the readers of this blog:

It is easy to describe what a ceibo flower looks like or how long a flamingo's limbs are, but conveying in writing the sensations involved in traveling to the opposite end of America can be a bit challenging. However, I promise not to disappoint you in these lines, to walk for a few minutes through the warm San Francisco Bay.

The itinerary of this journey through Silicon Valley - which took place in October 2022 - read something like this: 

Saturday: stop in San Francisco

Sunday: get to know the city in a Tesla car

Monday: visit to the Hacker Dojo and HP Garage

Tuesday: visit to the Amazon fulfillment center

Wednesday: visit to the Amazon Go store + Meta Reality Labs

Thursday: visit SAP offices + Stanford University + Steve Jobs' garage house + Apple building in Cupertino

Friday: visit to Google Bay View + Computer Museum

Arrival in Silicon Valley

We arrived in the city of San Francisco on a Saturday where we were received by an expert in microprocessor design from Tucumán - he has lived there for more than 20 years -. His entertainment was no less: he waited for us at noon to taste the Argentine dish par excellence, a good barbecue. Between bites, the conversation flowed between anecdotes and smiles. The thing is that the man from Tucuman, in addition to being a genius of small things, also works for one of the most recognized IT companies in the world! Of course, he is part of the Amazon staff.

Touring the city in a Tesla

The next day we decided to make effective use of the new innovation technologies and we rented a Tesla car through a mobile application called Turo. As expected, the speedometer was tested but always driving with due caution.

Now on wheels we set out to explore the heart of the city and with it one of the most curious streets I have ever seen, Lombard Street. Part of its road is made up of 8 turns, which made it known for being “the most winding road in the United States.” The only objective of this peculiar construction - made in 1922 - had to do with the reduction of 27% of its slope to allow the transit of cars. Everyone wants to go down there. Interesting, right?

Then we took the opportunity to observe and photograph one of the most iconic points in San Francisco, the famous red Golden Gate Bridge - uniting Silicon Valley with the other side of the San Francisco Bay. We were able to appreciate it from all angles, going from here to there. A true spectacle of modern architecture.

Later we had the opportunity to visit Pier 39, a port area visited by many tourists due to its excellent gastronomic offer and places selling souvenirs. Spoiler alert for Harry Potter fans! From there the landscape gave us a magnificent view of Alcatraz Island, a shame I couldn't visit it. But to calm that anguish a little, we ended the day by watching an NBA basketball game at the Chace Center. An incredible end to the day.

A start to the week with the aroma of innovation

With the characteristic momentum of the weekends, we started Monday honoring the reason for existence of Silicon Valley: visiting the collaborative space of Hacker Dojo and the famous HP garage that acted as the effervescent seed of innovation.

The first is a very aesthetically beautiful and extremely functional place for its members - they have a fairly affordable subscription. Its pearls are plastic and metal 3D printers, as well as devices that allow electronic objects to be assembled. A first from Silicon Valley! In Lab9 there will be hackathons simultaneously with other cities from January/February 2023.

Finally we were able to see the garage that we already mentioned, the place where Hewlett and Packard had their first office, creating their first product and selling it to Disney. Immediately afterward we visited the original HP offices, along with an incredible showroom in which all the brand's products are displayed, current ones and some historical ones. In fact, there is a boxed photo of the beginnings of Silicon Valley that had a huge impact on me.

Getting to know the heart of Amazon

On Tuesday we left for the Amazon logistics center, where we were able to observe the automation processes for the arrival of merchandise and assembly of packages. I found it very interesting on a general level, especially the random organization of the products on the different shelves and the use of robots that speed up the process.

Later we arrived at the Tesla factory, but unfortunately we had to see it from the outside because visits were still restricted. That's why we saved time and decided to stroll through a Milpitas shopping mall - one of the busiest in the Silicon Valley area.

Between automated stores and virtual reality headsets

With super pleasant weather, we walked around the city and visited an Amazon Go location, Amazon's automated day store. The number of sensors and cameras arranged on the ceiling of the store caught my attention. The story was like this: to enter one had to register in an app and then pass a turnstile and begin the purchasing process, which is nothing more than being detected by those sensors and at the end, the payment is made. The practicality is unbeatable.

The last tourist stop on Wednesday was atthe first Meta store in Silicon Valley, located in one of the Meta Reality Labs buildings where we were able to try a virtual reality headset launched on the market that same week - called Meta Quest Pro -. As it could not be otherwise, I acquired its predecessor -Meta Quest 2- to begin to venture into the development of the multiverse.

Historical walks

On the penultimate day we visited the SAP offices where they gave us a talk about remote work, based on our own internal studies. Then we had lunch with other international diners. Later we went to see Stanford University, the garage of Steve Jobs' house and the Apple building in Cupertino.

At nightfall in Silicon Valley, SAP invited us to watch an ice hockey game at the SAP Arena in San Jose - sponsored by themselves.

Google Bay View and the Computer Museum

On our last day, we were lucky enough to explore the facilities of lthe new sustainable buildings of Google Bay View. It looked like a micro city with bicycles and directions to navigate its streets, where each area - inside and outside the buildings - revealed a particular theme. There are spaces for meetings, collaborative work and relaxation, of course. There are also self-service stops for eating and drinking.

As icing on the cake, we took a tour of the Computer Museum, where you can see the evolution of computers and computing from its beginnings to the present.

It was a trip that lasted less than a breath but without a doubt Silicon Valley is a place that always leaves you wanting to know more, because you know that there is always something new to discover. That's what it's about.

We invite you to closely follow this special and exclusive series of notes on Silicon Valley, to travel for a few minutes to the mecca of technology!