In 2012 the

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, ...

metro area was dubbed the Silicon

Shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the begin ...

. Like many regions that have taken on Silicon-themed names, the Silicon Shire is home to a thriving technology sector. In 2015, the region's rapid growth led to Eugene being named one of "The Next Top 10 Cities For Tech Jobs" by

Fast Company magazine ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan We ...

. There are more than 400 companies in the Silicon Shire region, employing more than 4,570 people with an annual payroll of about $296 million. Key factors in the region's growth are the presence of higher education, a high quality of life, a low cost environment, and technological advancements. The region is home to the largest game developer cluster in Oregon, and also is the location of

Symantec Symantec may refer to: *An American consumer software company now known as Gen Digital Inc. *A brand of enterprise security software purchased by Broadcom Inc. Broadcom Inc. is an American designer, developer, manufacturer and global supplier ...

's third largest site in the world. In addition to technology, the region also boasts a significant healthcare sector as well as food processing, craft breweries, and

small-scale agriculture A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

. Regional companies have developed partnerships with local school districts to advance

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

education in the region. In 2013, companies from the region organized an event at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is a ...

which gave students and faculty a chance to mingle with representatives from local tech firms. In early 2015, companies from the region partnered with an international advocacy group for mobile app developers to host an event featuring speakers including Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Peter Defazio. Later that year,

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the num ...

obtained a federal Small Community Air Service Development grant to establish a direct route connecting the region to Silicon Valley. In 2016, the City of Eugene, the

Eugene Water and Electric Board The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) is Oregon's largest customer-owned utility. Founded in 1911, it provides electricity and water to more than 86,000 customers in or around Eugene, Oregon. Chartered by the City of Eugene, a five-member ...

, and the Lane Council of Governments partnered to construct a municipally-owned fiber network called EUGNet. The development of this network and the region's well established tech sector were key factors that led to Eugene being named a "Gigabit City" by the

Mozilla Foundation The Mozilla Foundation (stylized as moz://a) is an American non-profit organization that exists to support and collectively lead the open source Mozilla project. Founded in July 2003, the organization sets the policies that govern development, ...

in early 2017. Mozilla offered $150,000 in grants to regional organizations to fund a range of technology projects focused on making technology in the region more inclusive and engaging. In early 2018, the Silicon Shire region was featured in an article in

WIRED Magazine ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fr ...

References

{{Reflist Eugene, Oregon Springfield, Oregon

See also

References