Despite an outflux of some talent thanks to the cluster’s sky-high costs and pandemic-related remote work, Silicon Valley is still home to an estimated 40,000 startups and 1,000 VC firms, as well as many iconic tech companies. A third of total venture funding in the U.S. — more than $25 billion — flowed into the Valley in the first quarter of 2021. It is indisputably the world’s top startup ecosystem. Stanford University is the seed that spawned the Valley and it continues to play a major role in the ecosystem. Stanford alumni generate nearly $3 trillion in economic impact each year, which amounts to approximately 4% of the world’s total GDP. Other local universities like University of California at Berkeley, San Jose State, and several community colleges contribute to the ecosystem's dominance and staff its startups. Silicon Valley offers some of the world’s best networking. It’s successful startups, when they grow up to become corporate giants, often continue to be based in the area. This attracts not only plentiful talent but other entities as well, from corporations like Walmart to the incubators of foreign governments. This concentration of people and ideas results in an incredibly vibrant ecosystem. The area’s energy is reflected in its many startup focused events, such as TECHSPO Silicon Valley, Palo Alto meetup 106 Miles, and Startup Grind, which describes itself as a “global community for entrepreneurs” and organizes monthly events for ecosystem players.