APA Justice – PBS Documentary: Builders of the Silicon Dream
By Jeremy Wu for APA Justice
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has premiered Builders of the Silicon Dream, a landmark documentary celebrating the often-overlooked and pivotal contributions of Asian immigrants and Asian American innovators to the creation and growth of Silicon Valley.
The 51-minute film debuted nationally on October 4, 2025. It is available on https://www.pbs.org/video/builders-of-the-silicon-dream-b60su7/ and https://siliconaapi.com/. The film traces how U.S.-educated Asian scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs from the 1960s and 70s helped propel Silicon Valley’s rise.
The film situates this transformation within a broader historical context. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which abolished racially restrictive quotas, opened U.S. doors to skilled Asian professionals and triggered the first great wave of immigrant talent that would shape the Valley’s emergence. Many of these pioneers came from modest beginnings, facing barriers of language, culture, and discrimination, yet their perseverance and technical brilliance became a driving force of American innovation.
Builders of the Silicon Dream features trailblazers whose work and vision redefined industries and communities:
Kenneth Fong 方瑞賢, a pioneering biotech entrepreneur (Clontech Laboratories) and philanthropist who mentored the next generation
Ta-Lin Hsu 徐大麟, founder of MediaTek and a cross-Pacific venture capital pioneer who helped establish Taiwan as a semiconductor powerhouse
David Tsang 臧大化, who built multiple storage and semiconductor companies and co-founding Alexander’s Steakhouse with his wife Cathy
Hsing Kung 龔行憲, an expert in optics, which forms the backbone of internet infrastructure, and a technology executive, civic leader, and advocate for Asian American participation in public life
The documentary also covered
1957 Nobel laureates Chen Ning Yang 杨振宁 and Tsung-Dao Lee 李政道, as well as Chien-Shiung Wu 吳健雄, a pioneering experimental physicist whose collaboration with Yang and Lee helped reshape modern physics and inspired generations of young scientists from Asia to pursue their dreams in the United States
The “bamboo ceiling” faced by Morris Chang 張忠謀, who returned to Taiwan and founded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest independent manufacturer of advanced semiconductor chips, after he was passed over for CEO at Texas Instrument
Chenming Hu 胡正明, inventor of the FinFET transistor that revolutionized microchip design
Annalee Saxenian, Dean Emerita of UC Berkeley’s School of Information and daughter from Armenian immigrant parents, whose scholarship illuminated how immigrant networks and transnational collaboration fueled Silicon Valley’s success
Beyond professional success, the film humanizes the immigrant experience—revealing the sacrifices, family separations, and perseverance behind the pursuit of the American dream. It does not shy away from the darker realities of exclusion, from the Chinese Exclusion Act and the murder of Vincent Chin to the resurgence of anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic, reminding viewers that progress and prejudice have always intertwined in the Asian American story.
More than a historical account, the documentary celebrates how diversity and shared purpose—rather than competition alone—built the foundation for the Silicon Dream that continues to inspire the world today.
Featuring voices such as Congresswoman Judy Chu 赵美心 and Hsing Kung, the documentary calls for greater Asian American civic participation and political engagement to ensure that their stories and contributions are represented in policymaking. It concludes with a timeless message: that technology must enhance humanity, and that true success is not measured by wealth or fame, but by how much one contributes to the greater good.
The documentary was directed and produced by Tony Shyu 徐國興 (Himalaya Entertainment) and co-produced by Diana Ding 丁維平 and the Silicon Valley Community Media.
