As the tech talent in Austin, Texas continues to grow, more and more tech giants are making the move to the Lone Star State. Oracle and Hewlett Packard are among the big names who have recently announced plans to relocate their headquarters to Austin. With the influx of large companies, such as Oracle, other technology companies are hoping to tap into the local talent pool. Built In has created an updated list of companies that have moved from places like San Francisco, Portland, North Carolina and Dallas.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk made headlines when he announced in October that the company would be moving its headquarters to Austin, and officially made the move in December. The company is currently in the process of building a four to five million square foot gigafactory near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, which is expected to employ at least 5000 people. Green Dot also announced in mid-August that its corporate headquarters will be moving from Pasadena, California, to Austin. Founded in 1999, Green Dot is a digital banking and fintech company that has served more than 33 million customers.
The company is actively hiring for dozens of remote stations and is also a provider of reloadable prepaid debit cards. Government software provider GoVos announced plans to move its headquarters from Dallas to Austin in August. It plans to hire at least 40 new employees by the end of the year. Markaaz, an AI-based software company that connects SMEs with customers and services, also announced its move from Los Angeles to Austin in April.
According to Austin Inno, Markaaz plans to incorporate 70 people by the end of the year. CrowdStreet, a real estate investment platform originating from Portland, Oregon, made its move in March and planned to hire 80 new employees by the end of the year. Harmonate, which specializes in streamlining private equity document processing and data operations, also announced its move from California to Austin in late March. Amazon's logistics center in Pflugerville is one of the largest buildings in the city with an area of more than 3.8 million square feet on 95 acres of land.
The center employs more than a thousand people and has become one of the largest employers in the city. Elon Musk's space company SpaceX has two existing facilities in Texas and is working on a third manufacturing plant here in Austin. Musk has cited Texas tax rates and trade regulations as his appeal to the Lone Star State.Tesla's 7.9 million square foot Gigafactory is currently under construction and when complete will be equivalent to about 138 football fields and employ 5000 people. In many cases, those transplants are moving to Texas because their companies decided to move here first, and in some cases, those companies receive big incentives from local government in the Austin area.As more tech giants make their way to Texas, it's clear that Austin is becoming a major hub for technology companies looking for access to top talent and business opportunities.
