New York Emerging as the New Silicon Valley

Facebook Leases Building in Hudson Yards

Employs 2,900 Staff

IT Giants like Google and Apple

Compete to Lease Buildings in New York

Shift from Technology-Centered to Talent-Centered

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] Recently, Facebook leased a building in Hudson Yards on the west side of Midtown Manhattan, New York. Employing 2,900 staff members in New York alone, Facebook is establishing a new base on the U.S. East Coast following its presence in the western 'Silicon Valley.' Facebook is not alone. Amazon, the largest e-commerce company in the U.S., is also reported to have signed a lease for a building near 10th Avenue in Hudson Yards, where Facebook is located, to accommodate about 1,500 employees.

As IT giants such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple have recently begun to establish themselves in New York, the city has emerged as the strongest competitor to Silicon Valley in the western U.S.

According to The New York Times on the 5th (local time), the four major IT companies?Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple?are expected to have about 20,000 employees stationed in New York by 2022. These companies already have large offices stretching from Midtown along the Hudson River to Lower Manhattan, or have been competing to sign leases for the same buildings over the past few months.

The first IT company to arrive in New York was Google. Google's first New York employee left Silicon Valley in 2000 and started working at a Starbucks in Manhattan. Currently, Google leases two buildings near St. John's Terminal and the Holland Tunnel in Manhattan.

Notably, these companies' choice of New York as the new Silicon Valley was a voluntary decision without economic incentives from the city or state governments.

The reason these companies chose 'New York' is to leverage the skilled talent pool. In particular, New York's geographic proximity to Europe, an important market for IT companies, is an advantage.

Industry experts interpret this as a shift in IT companies' focus from 'technology-centered' to 'talent-centered.'

Jamila Reeves, Facebook spokesperson, said, "New York is a vibrant market with tremendous talent."

According to New York State, IT-related jobs in New York increased by 80% over the past decade, from 79,400 in 2009 to 142,600. As of November 2019, New York ranked third among U.S. cities in the number of IT-related jobs, following San Francisco and Seattle.

As New York establishes itself as the new Silicon Valley, not only related jobs but also investment scale has increased. According to a report by global consulting firm PwC, investors invested more than $27 billion in New York startups from 2018 through the third quarter of 2019. This is about one-third of the $100 billion invested in Silicon Valley startups during the same period.

However, concerns have been raised that the influx of IT giants to the U.S. East Coast is deepening economic polarization in New York. Policy analyst Kiana Davis said, "As these companies attract highly educated and capable employees, New York will experience higher rents and unprecedented inflation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.