Silicon Valley is a global center of technological innovation located in the South San Francisco Bay Area of California. The area was named after the primary material found in computer microprocessors. Silicon Valley is home to dozens of major technology, software, and internet companies.

Still, the term Silicon Valley has grown to largely encapsulate the entirety of the tech community in the Bay Area in casual conversation. Cities that officially comprise Silicon Valley include San Jose, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Redwood City and Sunnyvale.

Originally Answered: Are any of the characters in HBO's "Silicon Valley" based off real people? Peter Gregory is a mix between Peter Thiel (college dropout encouragement) and Paul Graham (incubator-style investment, and initials). Gavin Belson is a mix between Brin, Page, and Schmidt.

Bangalore in India and the central California region in the USA are called the Silicon Valley of their respective countries. They are called so because of their extensive use of electronic chips, many of which are primarily made of silicon.