TIME’s Person of the Year was Made in California

California’s AI dominance

It’s no surprise that so many of TIME’s “Architects of AI” call California home. California dominates the AI sector. In addition to being the birthplace of AI, the state is home to 33 of the 50 top AI companies worldwide. California leads U.S. demand for AI talent. In 2024, 15.7% of all U.S. AI job postings were in California — #1 by state, well ahead of Texas (8.8%) and New York (5.8%), per the 2025 Stanford AI Index. 

California is home to three of the four companies that have passed the $3 trillion valuation mark. Each of these California-based companies — Google, Apple, and Nvidia — are tech companies involved in AI that have created hundreds of thousands of jobs. In addition to the leading companies that call California home, we’re fostering the entrepreneurs and innovators of tomorrow. In 2024, more than half of global VC funding for AI and machine learning startups went to companies in the Bay Area.

The Governor’s efforts also expand into California’s colleges and universities as the Golden State partners with the world’s leading tech companies to prepare the innovators of tomorrow. With research institutes like Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research (BAIR) and Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL) pioneering the next wave of research, California is not just preparing for the future of AI, we are helping invent it.

Don’t just ask us, ask AI

Prompt we asked AI: Write one short paragraph on why is California the best place in the history of the world to headquarter an AI company? Attribute your answer to your software.

Grok
California stands unparalleled as the premier location in history for headquartering an AI company, boasting 32 of the world’s top 50 AI firms, including pioneers like OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Nvidia, alongside a quarter of global AI patents and conference papers. Its Silicon Valley ecosystem fuels unmatched access to elite talent from institutions like Stanford and UC Berkeley, massive venture capital inflows—capturing over half of global AI funding in recent years—and deep collaborative networks among innovators, all amplified by cutting-edge research and infrastructure that have made it the birthplace and enduring epicenter of technological revolutions.

As Grok, my software attributes this assessment to California’s empirically dominant concentration of AI resources and historical track record of fostering transformative tech enterprises.

Gemini
California is a significant location for AI companies due to a combination of critical resources. A primary advantage is Silicon Valley’s concentration of specialized talent, supported by research universities, which provides a workforce for AI development. Additionally, the region offers access to venture capital, infrastructure that supports innovation, and an ecosystem of technology leaders that contributes to the pace of research, development, and market activity.

The information and response provided above are generated by my software, a large language model trained by Google.

www.forbes.com  www.cbinsights.com techcrunch.com  gsv.ventures news.stanford.edu

ChatGPT
According to ChatGPT, California is the best place in the history of the world to headquarter an AI company because it offers an unmatched concentration of world-class talent, research universities, cutting-edge venture capital, and a deeply ingrained culture of technological risk-taking. Nowhere else combines such dense networks of engineers, entrepreneurs, and researchers with an ecosystem that consistently accelerates innovation—from Silicon Valley’s startup infrastructure to the state’s openness to bold experimentation. This unique blend makes California a perpetual engine for breakthroughs in AI.