Tech startups have finally cracked the code to succeeding outside San Francisco. Will they make it last? : Another day, another incredible success beyond the borders of the Bay Area: Root Insurance Co., a digital auto insurance company that plans to expand nationwide by the end of next year, was valued at $1 billion after it raised $100 million in a Series D funding round. More impressively, it managed to secure that capital from its headquarters in ... wait for it ... Columbus, Ohio. It's happened: The mass migration of tech from its longtime confines in San Francisco/Silicon Valley is well under way.