Big Technology

Three Mayors on Their (Very Real) Challenge to Silicon Valley’s Dominance

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, and Austin Mayor Steve Adler speak on why Silicon Valley’s hold on the tech industry may be weakening

Alex Kantrowitz
OneZero
Published in
5 min readFeb 18, 2021

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Mayor Francis Suarez, Mayor Steve Adler, and Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway

Mayor Francis Suarez took his seat on a beautiful Miami afternoon, with a blue sky, bay, boats, and palm trees visible behind him. He was in good spirits, happy to again be talking about Miami’s potential as a tech hub. “This,” he told me, “is not a virtual background.”

The notion that any city could challenge the Bay Area’s tech dominance seemed ludicrous even a few months ago. But a full year of remote work can change things. Over the past two weeks, I’ve spoken with Mayor Suarez, Austin Mayor Steve Adler, and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway about why they believe the tech industry may grow more dispersed, not concentrated, as the pandemic ends. And though I came in skeptical — especially after publishing data last year that dispelled some tech migration myths — I walked away believing it’s indeed possible that Silicon Valley won’t return to normal when we all do.

Silicon Valley — the place, not the idea — is more vulnerable today than any time in…

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OneZero
OneZero

Published in OneZero

OneZero is a former publication from Medium about the impact of technology on people and the future. Currently inactive and not taking submissions.

Alex Kantrowitz
Alex Kantrowitz

Written by Alex Kantrowitz

Veteran journalist covering Big Tech and society. Subscribe to my newsletter here: https://bigtechnology.com.