Kochi: The Mayor of the city of Menlo Park, California has said that 100 technology startups from Kerala could be given a chance to travel to the Silicon Valley. This would be aimed at providing an opportunity to learn about the nuances of building a billion dollar tech company.
“We are extremely impressed by the talent of the youngsters here as well as by the kind of support that the government is extending. We will be very pleased to welcome selected startups to Silicon Valley and provide them an opportunity to expand and grow their business there,” said Ms Catherine Carlton, Mayor of Menlo Park .
Ms. Carlton and her team are on a six-day tour to Kerala ahead of the signing of a historic twin city agreement between Kochi and Menlo Park. Menlo Park is also the city that houses a number of technology giants including Facebook.
“Kerala has got abundant talent and huge potential for growth. One of the objectives of the twin city agreement is to promote sharing of talent and ideas in the technology sector, thus boosting employment opportunities in both the countries,” Ms Carlton said. A Memorandum of Understanding with regard to the sister-city agreement will be signed between Ms Carlton and Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany in Thiruvananthapuram on February 11.
This will be the first agreement between an Indian city and Menlo Park, which is also known as the “Capital for Venture Capital”.