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Silicon Forest

{{Short description|Nickname for the cluster of high-tech companies near Portland, USA}}

{{About|an area in the northwestern United States|the district in Novosibirsk, Russia|Akademgorodok|the Portland sculpture|Silicon Forest (sculpture)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}

File:Intel Ronler Acres Hillsboro Oregon.JPG

Silicon Forest is a Washington County cluster of high-tech companies located in the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. The term most frequently refers to the industrial corridor between Beaverton and Hillsboro in northwest Oregon. The high-technology industry accounted for 19 percent of Oregon's economy in 2005, and the Silicon Forest name has been applied to the industry throughout the state in such places as Corvallis, Bend, and White City. Nevertheless, the name refers primarily to the Portland metropolitan area, where about 1,500 high-tech firms were located as of 2006.{{cite news|url=https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/silicon_forest/| title=Oregon Silicon Forest|date=July 24, 2024|work=The Oregon Encyclopedia| access-date=July 24, 2024}}

The name is analogous to Silicon Valley. In the greater Portland area, these companies have traditionally specialized in hardware — specifically test-and-measurement equipment (Tektronix), computer chips (Intel and an array of smaller chip manufacturers), electronic displays (InFocus, Planar Systems and Pixelworks) and printers (Hewlett-Packard Co, Xerox and Epson). There is a small clean technology emphasis in the area.{{cite journal|last=Alpern|first=Peter|title=Portland Cultivates Future as Hub for Manufacturing Alternative Energy|journal=IndustryWeek|date=October 4, 2010|url=http://www.industryweek.com/articles/portland_cultivates_future_as_hub_for_manufacturing_alternative_energy_22925.aspx|access-date=November 30, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030033439/http://www.industryweek.com/articles/portland_cultivates_future_as_hub_for_manufacturing_alternative_energy_22925.aspx|archive-date=October 30, 2010}}

History

File:Mentor Graphics entrance.JPG Business) headquarters in Wilsonville]]

Silicon Forest can refer to all the technology companies in Oregon,Rogoway, Mike (April 9, 2006). Bizz blog: Silicon Forest. The Oregonian. but initially referred to Washington County on Portland’s west side. First used in a Japanese company’s press release dating to 1981, Lattice Semiconductor trademarked the term in 1984 but does not use the term in its marketing materials. Lattice’s founder is sometimes mentioned as the person who came up with the term.

The high-tech industry in the Portland area dates back to at least the 1940s, with Tektronix and Electro Scientific Industries as pioneers.Manaton, Michael E. (August 4, 1994). "Tektronix began 'Silicon Forest' boom". The Oregonian (MetroWest edition). Tektronix and ESI both started out in Portland proper, but moved to Washington County in 1951 and 1962, respectively, and developed sites designed to attract other high-tech companies. Floating Point Systems, co-founded by three former Tektronix employees in Beaverton in 1970, was the first spin-off company in Silicon Forest and the third (after Tek and ESI) to be traded on the NYSE.G.B. Dodds, C.E. Wollner & M.M. Lee, The Silicon Forest, Oregon Historical Society Press, 1990, pp. 46-55. These three companies, and later Intel, led to the creation of a number of other spin-offs and startups, some of which were remarkably successful. A 2003 dissertation on these spin-offs led to a poster depicting the genealogy of 894 Silicon Forest companies.{{cite web |url=http://www.pdx.edu/ims/silicon-forest-universe |title=Silicon Forest Universe |publisher= Portland State University: The Institute for Portland Metropolitan Studies |access-date= June 28, 2010}} High-tech employment in the state reached a peak of almost 73,000 in 2001, but has never recovered from the dot-com bust. Statewide, tech employment totaled 57,000 in the spring of 2012.{{cite news| url=http://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/index.ssf/2012/07/investment_in_oregon_tech_comp.html | work=The Oregonian | title=Investment in Oregon tech companies heats up, but employment hasn't bounced back | date=July 26, 2012 |last=Rogoway |first=Mike}}

Unlike other regions with a "silicon" appellation, semiconductors truly are the heart of Oregon's tech industry.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

Intel's headquarters remain in Santa Clara, California, but in the 1990s the company began moving its most advanced technical operations to Oregon. Its Ronler Acres campus eventually became its most advanced anywhere, and Oregon is now Intel's largest operating hub. In late 2012, Intel had close to 17,000 employees in Oregon—more than anywhere else the company operated;{{cite news| url=http://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/index.ssf/2012/10/intel_makes_a_bet_on_oregon_an.html | work=The Oregonian | date=October 25, 2012 |title=Intel makes a bet on the future, and Oregon, with massive Hillsboro expansion |last=Rogoway|first=Mike}} by 2022, the number had grown to about 22,000.{{cite web |last1=Davidson |first1=Kate |title=Oregon's largest private employer, Intel, announces plans to expand in Europe |url=https://www.opb.org/article/2022/03/15/intel-expands-europe-plans-build-fab-facilities-diversify-chip-industry/ |publisher=OPB |access-date=March 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316162157/https://www.opb.org/article/2022/03/15/intel-expands-europe-plans-build-fab-facilities-diversify-chip-industry/ |archive-date=March 16, 2022 |date=March 15, 2022 |url-status=live}}

Companies and subsidiaries

{{Incomplete list|date=March 2012}}

The following is a sample of past and present notable companies in the Silicon Forest. They may have been founded in the Silicon Forest or have a major subsidiary there. A list of Portland tech startups (technology companies founded in Portland) is provided separately.

=Current=

File:Genentech Hillsboro Oregon.JPG facility in Hillsboro]]

{{colbegin|colwidth=}}

  • Act-On
  • Adtran (after acquired a startup named ”SmartRG”){{cite news|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/adtran-acquires-smartrg-leading-provider-130000928.html|title=ADTRAN Acquires SmartRG—Leading Provider of Connected Home Software Platforms & Cloud Services|date=December 18, 2018|access-date=September 15, 2019}}
  • Aistock
  • Airbnb
  • Amazon Web Services (via acquisition of Elemental Technologies)
  • Ambric (acquired by Nethra Imaging in April 2009)

  • Analog Devices
  • Apple Inc. (Software Engineering in Vancouver, WA. This was previously the Claris products group) and a new R&D facility around Hillsboro.{{cite news|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2018/05/apple_quietly_opens_oregon_eng_1.html|title=Apple quietly opens Oregon engineering lab, poaches from Intel|date=May 30, 2018|newspaper=The Oregonian|access-date=September 15, 2019|last=Rogoway|first=Mike}}
  • Arris Group (via acquisition of C-COR)
  • ASML Holding
  • Atos

| url = http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/real-estate-daily/2014/10/cool-spaces-inside-ebays-growing-portland-office.html

| title = Cool Spaces: Inside eBay's growing Portland office, which has a personality all its own

| date = November 26, 2014

| author = Cathy Cheney

| work = Portland Business Journal

| access-date = March 22, 2015

}}

  • EPSON[http://www.epi.epson.com/about.htm About Epson Portland Inc.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007121545/http://www.epi.epson.com/about.htm |date=October 7, 2007 }} Epson Portland Inc. Retrieved on October 8, 2007.
  • Expensify{{Cite web|url=https://use.expensify.com/|title=Expensify - Preaccounting & Spend Management Software|website=Expensify - Expense Management}}{{cite news |last1=Spencer |first1=Malia |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2017/08/25/why-expensify-picked-portland.html |title=Why Expensify Picked Portland |work=Portland Business Journal |date=August 25, 2017}}
  • Extensis
  • Thermo Fisher Scientific (via acquisition of FEI Company)
  • FLIR Systems
  • ForgeRock
  • GemStone Systems
  • Genentech{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/04/genentech_opens_in_hillsboro_f.html| title=Genentech opens in Hillsboro, fueling Oregon's biotech aspirations| last=Rogoway | first= Mike|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=April 5, 2010|access-date=June 19, 2010}}
  • Google
  • Grass Valley
  • Hewlett-Packard
  • IBM (by acquisition of Sequent)
  • InFocus{{cite news|title=Metro West Neighbors: Emerging suburb built on silicon| last=Tims| first=Dana| date=December 8, 2005|work=The Oregonian|page=9}}
  • IntelSuh, Elizabeth (October 28, 2007). "Intel's impact on community helps other businesses thrive". The Oregonian.
  • Integra Telecom
  • IP Fabrics
  • IXIA
  • Jaguar Land Rover{{cite news| url=https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/index.ssf/2015/04/look_inside_jaguar_land_rovers.html | publisher=OregonLive | title=A look inside Jaguar Land Rover's Portland research lab | date= April 12, 2015|last=Rogoway|first=Mike}}
  • Janrain
  • Kryptiq Corporation{{cite news| url=http://blog.oregonlive.com/siliconforest/2010/06/kryptiq_sets_move_as_growth_re.html | work=The Oregonian | title=Kryptiq sets move as it adds employees | date=June 15, 2010 |last=Rogoway|first=Mike}}
  • Kyocera{{cite web|url=https://www.columbian.com/news/2017/apr/20/kyocera-opens-10m-vancouver-facility/|title=Kyocera opens $10M Vancouver facility|date=April 20, 2017|newspaper=The Columbian|access-date=September 15, 2019}}
  • LaCie
  • Laika{{cite news| url=http://blog.oregonlive.com/siliconforest/2006/05/laikas_place_in_the_silicon_fo.html | work=The Oregonian | title=Laika's place in the Silicon Forest | date=May 17, 2006 |last=Rogoway|first=Mike}}
  • Lam Research (through merging with Novellus Systems)
  • Lattice Semiconductor
  • Lightspeed Systems
  • Linear Technology
  • Logitech
  • Maxim Integrated Products
  • McAfee
  • Mentor Graphics
  • Mozilla{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/index.ssf/2013/07/mozilla_will_expand_portland_o.html|title=Mozilla will expand Portland office, add staff and lease its own space|author=Rogoway, Mike|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=July 18, 2013|access-date=August 3, 2015}}
  • Microchip Technology (purchased Fujitsu old facility)
  • Microsoft, especially for hardware engineering design center{{cite news|url= https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2021/01/microsoft-poaches-intel-vp-for-new-hillsboro-engineering-site.html|title=Microsoft poaches Intel VP for big new Hillsboro engineering site|date=January 27, 2021|newspaper=The Oregonian|last=Rogoway|first=Mike|access-date=June 20, 2021}}
  • New Relic (Engineering Headquarters)
  • Nike, Inc. (Consumer Digital Division)
  • Nvidia Corporation
  • NuScale Power
  • OpenSesame Inc
  • ON Semiconductor{{cite news|url=http://blog.oregonlive.com/siliconforest/2010/05/ww_zz_silicon_forest_week_in_r.html|title=Chip manufacturers plan to grow, Hillsboro rebounds: Silicon Forest week in review|author=Rogoway, Mike|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=May 14, 2010|access-date=June 20, 2010}}
  • Oracle Corporation (by acquisition of Sun Microsystems)
  • Oregon Scientific
  • Panic Software
  • PacStar
  • Phoseon Technology{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/03/2010_oregon_technology_awards.html|title=2010 Oregon Technology Awards finalists named|last=The Oregonian|date=March 12, 2010|work=The Oregonian|access-date=March 14, 2010}}
  • Pivotal Labs
  • Pixelworks
  • Planar Systems
  • Pop Art, Inc.
  • Puppet{{cite news|last=Siemers|first=Erik|title=Google, Cisco, VMware invest $8.5M in Puppet Labs|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/morning_call/2011/11/google-cisco-part-of-puppet-labs.html| access-date=November 30, 2011|newspaper=Portland Business Journal|date=November 29, 2011}}
  • Qorvo
  • RadiSys Corporation
  • Razorfish
  • Rentrak
  • RFPIO
  • Rivos{{Cite web |date=2022-05-02 |title=Apple lawsuit against chipmaking startup Rivos alleges theft of trade secrets |url=https://siliconangle.com/2022/05/02/apple-lawsuit-chipmaking-startup-rivos-alleges-theft-trade-secrets/ |access-date=2022-12-30 |website=SiliconANGLE |language=en-US}}
  • Rohde & Schwarz
  • Rockwell Collins
  • Sage Software (by the acquisition of Timberline)
  • Salesforce.com
  • Sensory, Inc.
  • SEH America{{cite web|url=http://www.sehamerica.com/section.cfm?wSectionID=577|title=About SEH America|access-date=15 September 2019}}
  • Sharp Corporation{{Cite web | url =http://www.sharplabs.com/index.php/about-sla/locations | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20141117105741/http://www.sharplabs.com/index.php/about-sla/locations | url-status =dead | archive-date =November 17, 2014 | title = Locations | website = Sharp Laboratories of America}}
  • Silicon Labs
  • Siltronic
  • Simple{{Cite news | url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/12/14/entirely-mobile-bank-simple-relies-on-personal-touches/74392280/ | access-date = April 14, 2016 | title = Wow: Banking with no branches, no fees, handwritten thank-yous | first = Hadley | last = Malcolm | website = USA Today | date = December 14, 2015}}
  • Shimadzu Corp.
  • Skyworks (by the acquisition of Avnera){{Cite web | url = http://www.skyworksinc.com | title = Skyworks - Home | website = skyworksinc.com}}
  • Smarsh
  • Sellgo
  • SurveyMonkey
  • Squarespace
  • Synopsys
  • Tektronix
  • Tripwire
  • Urban Airship{{Cite web | url = http://www.wallstreetdaily.com/2011/11/08/app-developers-ride-on-urban-airship-push-notifications/ | website = Wall St. Daily | access-date = November 12, 2011 | date = November 8, 2011 | first = Justin | last = Fritz | title = Why App Developers Are Hitching a Ride on Urban Airship}}
  • Vacasa
  • Vape-Jet{{Cite web | url = https://vape-jet.com/ | access-date = October 18, 2020 | title = Vape-Jet | website = vape-jet.com}}
  • VeriWave[http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2006/01/30/focus10.html Venture Capitalists loosen purse strings for startups] Portland Business Journal. Retrieved on July 23, 2010
  • Vernier Software & Technology
  • Vevo{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/index.ssf/2017/07/vevo_music_video_titan_grows_p.html|title=Vevo, music video titan, grows Portland engineering outpost|author=Rogoway, Mike|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=July 27, 2017}}
  • Wacom (North American Headquarters are based in Portland)
  • WaferTech (TSMC subsidiary)
  • Webtrends
  • WebMD
  • Welch Allyn
  • Workday, Inc
  • Xerox{{cite news|title=Xerox's Wilsonville unit continues to make strides|last=Kosseff|first=Jeffrey|date=May 14, 2002|work=The Oregonian|page=C1}}
  • ZoomInfo

{{colend}}

=Former=

File:SolarWorld-Hillsboro.jpg, which closed in 2017 and was later used by SunPower, until 2021]]

  • BiiN (defunct)
  • Central Point Software (defunct)
  • ClearEdge Power{{cite news|url=http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/12/21/story2.html|title=ClearEdge hums along|last=Siemers|first=Erik|date=December 18, 2009|work=Portland Business Journal|access-date=February 18, 2010}}
  • Etec Systems, Inc. (acquired by Applied Materials)
  • Floating Point Systems (defunct)
  • Fujitsu (factory closed, sold to Microchip Technology)Read, Richard (March 7, 2004). "Racing the world". The Oregonian.
  • Jive Software (acquired & closed){{Cite news|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2018/05/jive_software_an_inspiration_a.html|title=Jive Software: A Cautionary Tale|date=May 1, 2018|newspaper=The Oregonian|last=Rogoway|first=Mike}}
  • MathStar (defunct)
  • Merix Corporation (acquired by Viasystems)
  • Microsoft's Surface Hub R&D (closed down){{Cite web|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2017/07/microsoft_to_close_wilsonville.html|title=Microsoft to close Wilsonville plant, lay off 124 workers|date=July 11, 2017|publisher=OregonLive|last=Marum|first=Anna}}
  • nCUBE. Beaverton HQ was established in 1983. Acquired by C-COR in 2005, which was in turn acquired by ARRIS in 2007. CommScope acquired ARRIS in 2019, and closed the Beaverton office in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • NEC (factory closed)
  • Open Source Development Labs (defunct)
  • Oregon Graduate Institute (merged with OHSU in 2001; Washington County campus closed in 2014)
  • Sequent Computer Systems (purchased by IBM in 1993) Sequent, founded by a team that included three Intel VPs and 15 other employees, also mostly from Intel, made a major contribution to multiprocessing and was largely responsible for the demise of large minicomputers, which could be replaced by much smaller and cheaper micro-processor-based multiprocessor systems. It went public in 1987 and was beginning to also encroach on the market for large mainframe transaction processing systems when IBM bought it out.
  • SolarWorld{{cite news |last1=Pursinger |first1=Geoff |title=Here comes the sun: SunPower takes over SolarWorld plant |url=https://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/409101-308188-here-comes-the-sun-sunpower-takes-over-solarworld-plant |access-date=March 19, 2022 |work=Portland Tribune |date=October 15, 2018}}{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
  • SunPower (in former SolarWorld facility){{cite news |last1=Rogoway |first1=Mike |title=SunPower will close former SolarWorld factory in Hillsboro, lay off 170 |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2021/01/sunpower-will-close-former-solarworld-factory-in-hillsboro-lay-off-170.html |access-date=March 19, 2022 |work=The Oregonian |date=January 7, 2021}}

See also

References

{{reflist|30em}}

External links

{{commons category}}

  • {{Oregon Encyclopedia|silicon_forest|author=Wollner, Craig}}
  • [http://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/ The Oregonian's Silicon Forest Blog]
  • [http://aboutus.org/PortlandTech Portland Tech] portal at AboutUs.org
  • [http://siliconflorist.com/ Silicon Florist]: Coverage of the web-based startup scene

*Silicon Forest

Category:High-technology business districts in the United States

Category:Economy of Portland, Oregon

Category:Washington County, Oregon

Category:Information technology places

Category:1981 in Oregon

Category:1981 neologisms

Category:Science and technology in Oregon