By CNET Networks, 20 January 2003 11:22
NEWS High tech execs debating the future of Silicon Valley are in no doubt that the once lucrative Bay Area will rise again - though the question of 'when?' is one which yields a far less unanimous response. Representatives from some of the area's major companies gathered in San Jose, California, on Friday for the annual Outlook Conference of the Bay Area Council, a regional business association. Yogen Dalal, managing partner at venture capital firm Mayfield, said: "We're all wondering if this economic engine called the San Francisco Bay Area will again be a centre of growth and innovation." The panellists were by and large tentatively optimistic on the matter. The general consensus was that Silicon Valley will make a comeback some day but that the next several years would be slow going. The heady days of the internet boom, all agreed, are not about to be repeated anytime soon. The overarching advice they offered to several hundred entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and business leaders in the audience, was to "have patience" warning that there will be no sudden or dramatic recovery any time soon. Judy Estrin, chief executive of networking technology developer Packet Design, said: "Have patience. We need to build the right foundation for future growth, not a quick fix that takes us two steps back."
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