Silicon Valley braces for the good times to end

For much of the past two decades, the ethos of Silicon Valley was largely defined by Facebook's former motto: "move fast and break things." But in a sudden and dizzying shift, the current mood in the tech sector could perhaps best be described with a far more restrained mantra: "cut costs and try to survive."

The tech industry is facing a new reality check as broader economic conditions have deteriorated. Each week seems to bring concerning headlines of tech companies laying off employees and implementing hiring freezes while tech stocks get battered, cryptocurrencies crash and people inside and outside the industry warn about a possible recession.

Silicon Valley is also arguably more sensitive than some other industries to shifting economic conditions, including from rising interest rates, given how many tech companies rely on easy access to funding to pursue their ambitious projects before making a profit, or in some cases, even generating revenue.