 In 2004, however, when Bill Gates was asked by an "Albany Times Union" reporter what he thought about Tech Valley, he responded that he had no idea where that was; two years later though, $400,000 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was used to fund the Tech Valley High School.Capchips.com is website with clippings of events and other news related to technology in Tech Valley.. [20]

The goal of luring a computer chip fabrication plant (chip fab) was one of the earliest goals of, and reasons underlying, the Tech Valley name.The plan to get a chip fab to the Capital District predates the Tech Valley slogan.