Silicon Wadi (Hebrew: סיליקון ואדי‎, lit: "Silicon Valley") is an area with a high concentration of high-technology companies on the coastal plain of Israel, similar to Silicon Valley in the U.S. state of California, and is the reason Israel is nicknamed the Start-Up Nation. The area covers much of the country, although especially high concentrations of high-tech industry can be found in the area around Tel Aviv, including small clusters around the cities of Ra'anana, Petah Tikva, Herzliya, Netanya, the academic city of Rehovot and its neighbour Ness Ziona. In addition, high-tech clusters can be found in Haifa and Caesarea. More recent high-tech establishments have been raised in Jerusalem, Beersheba, and in towns such as Yokneam Illit and Israel's first "private city," Airport City, near