After 17 years in the Bay Area, Palantir Technologies flounced out of California in 2020, declaring Silicon Valley a “monoculture”. According to the $43bn data analysis company, Denver Colorado is the future.
There is no guarantee Colorado will prove more tolerant of Palantir’s controversial government contracts than California. But Palantir is not alone in moving. In December Elon Musk declared he had relocated to Texas, where electric car company Tesla has a factory under construction. Oracle’s Larry Ellison says his primary residence is now Hawaii.
Software group Oracle is shifting its headquarters to Texas, where HP Enterprises is also headed. E-cigarette company Juul, whose plan to disrupt the tobacco industry has been hammered by regulators, has moved closer to lawmakers in Washington DC.
The tech exodus is being blamed on clashing ideologies. Californian Democrats have repeatedly fought with libertarian technocrats. But for those reaping gains…