Every time I've heard "X is the new Silicon Valley" or "Y is the Silicon Valley of/for Z" it's because they are trying to sell me something. Every time. Silicon

Every time I've heard "X is the new Silicon Valley" or "Y is the Silicon Valley of/for Z" it's because they are trying to sell me something. Every time. Silicon Valley is just Silicon Valley. It's its own thing. Just like Florence was Florence during the renaissance. The fact that someone has to define itself as "just like Silicon Valley" tells me they are imitative rather than innovative. And at that point they already lost the game. Then they list the reasons for their claim. I've heard them all. - Government funded innovation fund = no interest from the private sector - Cheaper devs = they are bleeding talent through brain drain - Better labor pool thanks to lax immigration policy = they are bleeding talent and consider engineering to be a commodity (they think they can replace top performers with lower performers. It's brick laying after all) - Ties with Regional University = They are bleeding talent to the top X institutions What I want to see is direct access to private investors, SV salaries, a top 5 worldwide university within walking distance, non-compete and access to a large mature unified consumer market. If some place can deliver that, then it will become its own thing.