Scottsdale has rarely been seen as a tech leader; a great place to retire, to vacation, to golf and to party, of course. It has also had a thriving business climate, but when it comes to tech it has been dwarfed by other areas of the Valley. Even a massive Intel campus has provided Chandler a noteworthy tech climate.
A recent development may demonstrate that the perception has materially shifted however; that Scottsdale may take its place near the top of the local tech scene.
Semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASM recently announced that they are building a massive 250,000 square foot facility in the city, and will be spending around $300 million to make this come to fruition. When it comes to the semiconductor industry, you can think of them as the pick and shovel makers in a gold rush, as they create the incredibly sophisticated equipment necessary to create the world’s most powerful chips.
The Dutch company is no tiny player in the space: they have 1.7 billion Euro in revenue in 2021 and count industry giants Intel and TSMC among their clients. Considering the aforementioned companies and their major imprints in the state (and strongly gro, as it will ease any supply chain concerns, allow for much better collaboration, and better achieve their expansion goals.
While perhaps not traditionally known for IT prowess, Scottsdale has somewhat flown under the radar in this space. We should remind our readers that GoDaddy did find its start here and has grown to a powerhouse from here. Also, the company formerly known as JDA Software (currently Blue Yonder) is also HQed here, and if you haven’t heard of them, they made $1.1 billion in revenue in 2021, so now you know.
So while not a tsunami wave necessarily, it is a strong rising tide lifting the boats here. And why not? Highly paid talent wants to live well, and Scottsdale is the place for that.
So perhaps Scottsdale doesn’t need a high end university to draw major tech companies here. When it is the preferred place for so many in the area to live, it has the luxury of being able to ride the state’s coattails and their attempts to lure tech companies here, and simply be excellent in all other aspects in order to bring business in. After all, when the top brass and and well-paid employees prefer to live in our city, maybe that’s enough.