Some of the biggest reasons are significantly lower taxes, cheaper real estate, and less regulation. All of these traits are great for business. But there are other reasons, and one is that people love Austin. The culture, outdoor lifestyle, quality of life, and music scene create a serious draw, and CEOs are recognizing it.
Austin also benefits from its geographic location. It is easily accessible to more parts of the country. Douglas Merritt, the CEO of Splunk, recently moved here for that reason alone.
All over the news, it’s plain to see that California is a problem for tech. The cost of living in Silicon Valley is through the roof. California also has the highest income tax in the country. Texas has literally no state income tax and far less regulation with more affordable land to buy, making moving to Austin an easy decision. The other perks of Austin make life complete. There’s a reason why so many people are moving to Austin after all.
Here is an up-to-date list of tech companies making moving to Austin and boosting their presence here.
Tesla
Elon Musk is coming into Austin in a big way. In 2020, he announced the company would build a second Gigafactory like the one in Nevada. Here he plans to make the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Simi, as well as the Model 3 and Model Y models for the eastern half of the country.
Called Gigafactory Texas or Giga Texas, the factory is near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and slated for completion at the end of 2021. The company plans to hire 5,000 employees.
But that’s not all. Musk also moved his private foundation, called “The Musk Foundation,” to town and his company Neuralink started recruiting for jobs here back in September of 2020. If you haven’t heard about Neuralink, you will. The company plans to expand from 100 employees to a whopping 10,000.
Overall, it looks like Musk is calling Texas home. Space X is also expanding in the state. It’s a good guess that the company’s headquarters will end up in Texas and possibly Austin. Time will tell.
Oracle Moves Headquarters to Austin
In December, Oracle announced it would move its headquarters from Redwood City to Austin while keeping some operations in California. It released a written statement saying, “Oracle is implementing a more flexible employee work location policy and has changed its Corporate Headquarters from Redwood City, California to Austin, Texas. We believe these moves best position Oracle for growth and provide our personnel with more flexibility about where and how they work.”
Oracle already began building a campus here in 2018 and currently employs 2,500 people here. At the ribbon-cutting for the campus, owner Larry Ellison said, “we have big plans,” stating, “we have a handful of hubs in the United States, and Austin is one of the key places we want to be because that’s where we think our people want to be.”
Oracle is big – really big. It is the second-largest software company in the world. It designs, manufactures, and sells database software, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and cloud engineering systems. (1) . It has 6,500 employees and was the largest employer in Redwood City. At the same ribbon ceremony in 2018, Ellison estimated the campus could grow to 10,000 employees.
Ellison has run the company since its beginnings in 1977, and like Musk, he’s rich. He purchased 98% of the island of Lanai in Hawaii in 2018. Rather than move to Austin, Ellison plans to work from the island remotely, which could be the most famous remote job in history.
The company promotes working from home, so it’s hard to say how many employees will ultimately work here in Austin. But if it is close to what Ellison estimated in 2018, it will be massive.
More Growth From Existing Companies
Expansions are also happening with companies already here, both in and outside the tech industry. Here are some examples.
GOOGLE already has a presence here, but it has big plans to expand. With new office openings happening in 2023 and having secured 900,000 square feet of land, it could house as many as 11,000 employees. More news to come.
Amazon is ever-expanding and will do some of it right here in Austin. It will be big, too. The company plans to open an 820,000 sq ft. distribution center in Pflugerville in 2021, bringing 1,000 jobs. A separate sorting facility in Kyle will add another 200 jobs in its 300,000 sq ft facility. Two more distribution centers will open up, one in Buda and another in Round Rock, with each providing “hundreds” of jobs.
On a related note, Amazon also owns Whole Foods and will expand its grocery workforce by 600 people.
BAE Systems is an aerospace and defense technology company and plans to build a new campus here in Parmer Austin Business Park. The expansion will result in 1,400 employees. David Harrold, the Vice President and general manager of Countermeasure & Electromagnetic Attack Solutions at BAE Systems, said “Austin is an ideal location to attract talent we need to deliver the latest capabilities to our customers.”
AirTable, the well-known cloud collaboration solution provider, will add 100 employees to its customer engagement center.
Tata Consultancy Services provides IT services and digital and business solutions. The company is adding 530 employees.
Flash Parking provides a parking assets management cloud software platform and parking smart station equipment. It will expand by 150 people.
ZenBusiness is an Austin startup that is growing fast. The company helps small companies incorporate and manage their business records. It recently gained an extra $55 million from investors and will add 100 more employees.
Magnitude Software specializes in operational analytics and data management. The company is in the process of adding 360 new employees.
Other Companies Moving to Austin Inside and Outside of Tech
Saleen Performance Parts announced in October of 2020 it will move its manufacturing company to Round Rock. It will add 150 more jobs, with more jobs expected in the future.
Flex Heath is a medical equipment contract manufacturer and plans to add 600 employees.
Are There More Companies on the Way?
Absolutely, and one indicator of that is where CEOs decide to live. The CEO of Dropbox, Drew Houston, has recently chosen Austin to be his full-time residence, as did Splunk CEO Douglas Merritt.
Conclusion
With all the business moves and expansions in Austin, people need a place to call home. If you are one of them, you’ll be happy to know that real estate costs here are far less than in California, though competition will be more challenging in an already tough market.
Smart Austin Realty is here to help. Our home listings, experienced realtors, and guides can help you stay competitive in today’s market to help you land the home or condo you always wanted. Austin is a glorious place to live, and the right home makes it even better. We can help you make the transition easier. Contact us to find out more.
