[Herald Interview] Fairfax County seeks to attract Korea’s emerging tech firms

Fairfax County Economic Development Authority Vice President David Kelley (FCEDA)

Aiming to reinforce its reputation as the “Silicon Valley of the East,” Fairfax County, located near Washington, DC in the US state of Virginia, is seeking to bring in more Korean tech firms specializing in emerging technologies such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence and aerospace, David Kelley, the vice president of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said.

"Fairfax County likes to pride itself on innovation, and especially innovation around emerging technologies. There's a lot of great ideas around the world, and we are really focused on Korea because there’s a lot of innovation coming out of Korea," Kelley said during an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Friday.

He was visiting the country to meet with potential partners here, participating in a number of tech affairs including the International Security Conference, the International Aerospace Industry Fair, and an AI conference with Google.

For Korea's emerging tech companies seeking to tap into the US market or get government deals, Fairfax County is an attractive place to start, given that its proximity to the US capital offers convenient access to the federal government, he said.

"The federal government's very innovative because they're looking for the latest and greatest technologies for defense, also for civilian, for homeland security and other areas as well," Kelley said.

According to Kelley, the contracts companies in Fairfax County have signed with the federal government amount to almost $36 billion, putting the county ahead of 46 states.

"They can be close to lobbying if they need to lobby," he said.

At the same time, the county serves as a "digital gateway" with access to data centers established there and also in neighboring Loudoun County for advanced technology companies.

Fairfax County is in constant competition with Silicon Valley in terms of the number of AI-related jobs. While Silicon Valley is in the lead now, the Virginia county had overtaken the California tech hub as of around March, Kelley said.

With the region's unique charming points combined with the economic development authority's supportive measures, the county has grown to accommodate some 10,000 tech companies.

By Jo He-rim(herim@heraldcorp.com)