logo
Foreign-born workers now two-third of South Bay tech workforce: study

Foreign-born workers now two-third of South Bay tech workforce: study

Yahoo12-03-2025

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Bay Area has long been a beacon of diversity, both nationally and globally. New research shows how far that diversity has progressed over three decades in the tech-centric South Bay.
What we know
Since the 1970s and '80s, tech has transformed the one-time produce valley into Silicon Valley — a haven for high-tech companies and workers.
Research from Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a South Bay think tank, shows tech workers from outside the United States are a dominant majority.
"We just track population trends; we do that routinely. And we've seen that the share of the population that is coming from some other country has continuously grown," said Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley.
He said over the past 30 years, the percentage of foreign-born tech workers in Silicon Valley has swelled to two-thirds of all tech workers.
What they're saying
"That actually tracks with what I see around me when I go over to visit folks at Meta or Google and notice a lot of people who are apparently foreign-born," said Larry Magid, a longtime South Bay tech expert.
"Everybody knew California is the place to be. It has top schools as well; that's why I'm here," added Ashish Aggarwal.
Aggarwal was born and raised in India and moved to Silicon Valley in the early 2000s. In 2024, he launched Jubilee TV, a television and communications hub for seniors.
"There's still a massive amount of talent and hunger in those kids coming to the U.S.," he said. "There is a great appetite from investors to foster innovation in Silicon Valley, in California."
Experts said Silicon Valley's three pillars of education, climate, and diversity continue to attract and retain the best and brightest from around the world.
San Jose State University computer scientist Dr. Ahmed Banafa was working in Pennsylvania 30 years ago when he visited Silicon Valley for a web project. He instantly fell in love with the culture and went back to the Keystone State.
"I told my friends in Pennsylvania, 'Sell everything, I'm not coming back,'" he said excitedly, explaining that he didn't even retrieve his belongings. "I told them sell everything. I'm not kidding."
Experts said the only thing that can threaten that mystical allure is the problem of overpopulation and the high cost of housing.
"The companies themselves are starting to relocate their workforce to other places around the country and even around the world," said Hancock.
The Nvidia GTC runs March 17-21 at the McHenry Convention Center in downtown San Jose. Thousands of tech enthusiasts from around the world are expected to attend.
Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on the Instagram platform, @jessegontv and on Facebook, @JesseKTVU.
The Source
Interviews with Joint Venture Silicon Valley, tech expert Larry Magid, and current foreign-born tech workers in the South Bay.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 Wallpaper Studio offers a home for its best customization tools
Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 Wallpaper Studio offers a home for its best customization tools

Android Authority

time8 minutes ago

  • Android Authority

Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 Wallpaper Studio offers a home for its best customization tools

Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR Google's been refreshing its Wallpapers & style app for Android 16 QPR1 with new features like Magic Portrait and theme support. With QPR1 Beta 2 the company has started grouping together its wallpaper creation and editing tools under a new Wallpaper Studio banner. This replaces the previous 'suggested photos' view. When you're interested in customizing the look and feel of your Pixel phone, there's probably nowhere better to start than Google's own Wallpaper & style app. It already offered a ton of control over setting up both your lock screen and home screen, and it's only been getting better as of late, thanks to some smart UI updates in QPR1 Beta 1. With this week's release of QPR1 Beta 2 we've been digging around in search of everything new Google's managed to cook up, and have identified some further improvements hitting Wallpaper & style. In Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2, when you go to select a wallpaper in the Wallpaper & style app (or simply accessed through system settings) you'll discover a new Wallpaper Studio section up top. Now we should be clear that functionally we're not seeing anything new here; the actual wallpaper creation and editing tools found with this release are all ones we were already aware of, but are now being grouped together in this convenient fashion. That offers a one-stop shop for not just generating emoji wallpaper, but also taking advantage of Google's powerful effects and AI tools. Those include options like making pseudo-3D effects with Cinematic wallpapers or tapping into the generative power of the AI wallpaper tools Google introduced with the Pixel 8 series. Maybe the coolest present here is the Magic Portrait feature we only just got to know with QPR1 Beta 1, which beyond offering some clever framing modes allows you to do stuff like applying dynamic weather effects, helping your phone's wallpaper reflect the world around you. While we'd definitely love to see Wallpaper & style pick up even more functionality along that line, a little UI cleanup and the introduction of this appropriate Wallpaper Studio branding is just fine by us, too. Keep checking in with Android Authority for even more coverage of the changes Google's packed into QPR1 Beta 2. We've already spotted things like a status bar reorganization and smarter volume controls, and you had better believe that the list will only keep growing. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.

Brazil's Supreme Court justices agree to make social media companies liable for user content
Brazil's Supreme Court justices agree to make social media companies liable for user content

Yahoo

time10 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Brazil's Supreme Court justices agree to make social media companies liable for user content

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The majority of justices on Brazil's Supreme Court have agreed to make social media companies liable for illegal postings by their users. Gilmar Mendes on Wednesday became the sixth of the court's 11 justices to vote to open a path for companies like Meta, X and Microsoft to be sued and pay fines for content published by their users. Voting is ongoing but a simple majority is all that is needed for the measure to pass. The ruling will come after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned of possible visa restrictions against foreign officials allegedly involved in censoring American citizens. The only dissenting Brazilian justice so far is André Mendonça and his vote was made public last week. The social media proposal would become law once voting is finished and the result is published. But Brazil's Congress could still pass another law to reverse the measure. The current legislation states social media companies can only be held responsible in those cases if they do not remove hazardous content after a court order. Mauricio Savarese, The Associated Press

Brazil's Supreme Court justices agree to make social media companies liable for user content
Brazil's Supreme Court justices agree to make social media companies liable for user content

Associated Press

time15 minutes ago

  • Associated Press

Brazil's Supreme Court justices agree to make social media companies liable for user content

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The majority of justices on Brazil's Supreme Court have agreed to make social media companies liable for illegal postings by their users. Gilmar Mendes on Wednesday became the sixth of the court's 11 justices to vote to open a path for companies like Meta, X and Microsoft to be sued and pay fines for content published by their users. Voting is ongoing but a simple majority is all that is needed for the measure to pass. The ruling will come after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned of possible visa restrictions against foreign officials allegedly involved in censoring American citizens. The only dissenting Brazilian justice so far is André Mendonça and his vote was made public last week. The social media proposal would become law once voting is finished and the result is published. But Brazil's Congress could still pass another law to reverse the measure. The current legislation states social media companies can only be held responsible in those cases if they do not remove hazardous content after a court order.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store