How rich is my valley: Whether US techies are woke or anti-woke, what matters is how they immigrate to innovate

Silicon Valley used to be such a liberal bastion that techies, startup founders and CEOs supporting Republicans used to hide how they voted and donated. Recent years have seen Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and most attention-grabbing Elon Musk raise voices rightwards. Valley conservatism is no longer in the closet. But when one boils labels down to essentials, they amount to much less than their sound and fury.

US says hello, global talent | Silicon Valley’s greatness is how it has remained the marquee hub for global tech innovation last century into this one. This has taken a trifecta of supportive govt policies, splendid access to venture capital, and top R&D at public universities plus private sector labs. On top of this, the real magic sauce has been a remarkable concentration of talented individuals attracted from across the world.

China says, stay away | That Google, LinkedIn, Tesla and Nvidia have all been co-founded by immigrants is where America leaves China far behind. Even the huge domestic labour supply that used to provide a counterweight, has begun to shrink. A logical way to deal with its rapid aging is for China to open up to those who are not “descendents of the dragon”. To overcome prejudices around racial purity. There are no signs that it is ready for this mindset shift. In America, by contrast, no matter how much political heat immigration attracts, it continues apace, continuously adding to its labour force and economic growth.

Can India pull world talent too? | Unlike China, India’s labour supply is still expanding. But we should learn from US how foreign-born skillsets help the native-born. Being woke or antiwoke is besides the point. The point is to become an innovation hub.

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