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Austin may soon be home to a tech plant that would dwarf the Tesla Gigafactory in both investment and job creation.
Samsung Electronics Co. is considering starting construction on a $10 billion memory chip plant in Austin as soon as this year, Bloomberg reported Friday.
<p>The Samsung plant would compete with industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which is scheduled to begin construction on a $12 billion semiconductor factory in Phoenix <a href="https://azbigmedia.com/real-estate/taiwan-semiconductor-launches-38b-phoenix-presence-by-signing-major-lease/#:~:text=Taiwan%20Semiconductor%20Manufacturing%20Company%20is,to%20begin%20production%20by%202024." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">later this year</a>. </p><p>Samsung is capitalizing on a federal effort to draw advanced manufacturing plants away from Asia, Bloomberg reported. </p><p>Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC purchased roughly 258 acres of land in Northeast Austin in late October, near its existing chip manufacturing plant. Last month, Austin City Council approved a rezoning request from the company to allow for industrial use. </p><p>"The proposed (zoning) agreement will reflect almost the same conditions approved on the current Samsung Austin Semiconductor site," Case Manager Sherri Sirwaitis wrote in <a href="https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=351517" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a staff report</a> submitted to the council. </p><p>Samsung opened its first Austin plant in 1997 and has since expanded its campus, which now spans roughly 300 acres and employs around 3,000 people, <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2021/01/22/austin-could-be-home-to-10b-samsung-plant.amp.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to the Austin Business Journal</a>. </p><p>The company also has a long history of working with state and local governments on tax incentive deals. Between 2009 and 2019, Travis County rebated Samsung $65 million as part of an ongoing incentives agreement. </p><p>One of the people close to the matter told Bloomberg that the company may go ahead without such an incentives agreement. But the Travis County Commissioners Court is scheduled to consider whether to accept an application for an economic incentive agreement on Tuesday. A spokesperson would not say which company has filed the application—nicknamed "Project Silicon Silver." </p><p>Travis County commissioners last considered an unnamed economic incentives agreement application in May 2020, which was later revealed to have been filed by Tesla. They later approved a multimillion-dollar incentives agreement for the electric automaker, which is currently building a $1.1 billion Gigafactory in Southeast Travis County. </p><p>In response to criticism regarding the agreement, Travis County commissioners voted unanimously <a href="https://austonia.com/travis-county-incentives" target="_self">last month</a> to amend its economic incentives policy to include community input requirements. As a result, if commissioners vote to accept the Project Silicon Silver application, the court will be required to post draft agreements publicly and host public hearings before taking action on any incentive agreement. </p>
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Frank Coppersmith, CEO of custom software application company Smarter Reality, relocated to the Austin area from Silicon Valley in 2005.
One by one, millionaires and tech giants—and all their employees—have made Austin home. In fact, in 2020, Austin topped LinkedIn's list of cities that gained the most newcomers.
So, what's all the fuss about Austin from West Coast tech stars?
<p>In short, it's friendly business climate, low taxes and workforce, says <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-welcomes-oracle-headquarters-to-texas" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Texas Gov. Greg Abbott when he welcomed software giant Oracle to the state</a>. But it's more than that, as Austonia found out by talking with multiple techies who've moved to Austin.</p><p>For business reasons or not, the trend of moving to Austin has moved electric vehicle manufacturer <a href="https://austonia.com/technology/elon-musk-tesla" target="_self">Tesla</a> and <a href="https://austonia.com/elon-musk-moving-to-austin" target="_blank">possibly richest man Elon Musk</a>, DropBox CEO Drew Houston, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/why-silicon-valley-companies-are-moving-to-texas-5092782" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hardware producer Hewlett Packard Enterprises, and venture capital firm 8VC</a>, among others, in 2020 alone.</p><p>Between business and lifestyle, techies have found there's no place like Austin.</p><p><strong>Business-friendly culture</strong></p><p>Years ago, local techie Frank Coppersmith predicted tech would eventually flee the Bay Area.</p><p>Coppersmith was a factory production manager for a San Jose, California technology company focused on the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain. Prompted by the semiconductor sector's move outside of the area, he followed suit, landing in Round Rock in 2005. He now is the CEO of software development company, Smarter Reality, located in the Domain.</p><p>"As much as I liked California, it was clear that the direction of the way the industry was moving and the way California was moving, that there would just be more opportunity elsewhere," Coppersmith said.</p><p><a href="https://www.academia.edu/5618347/A_History_of_High_Tech_and_the_Technopolis_in_Austin" target="_blank">Austin's relationship</a> with tech can be traced back to the 1950s, when Austin sought to become a technology town in an effort to replace the city's reliance on oil jobs. IBM relocated its Selectric typewriter facility to Austin in 1963, followed by Texas Instruments in 1967 and Motorola in 1974, and the city eventually grew its own giant in 1984, Dell Computers. Like a ripple effect, big names have attracted more names to follow, with some of the biggest arriving in 2020.<br/></p><p><a href="https://www.austintechnologycouncil.org/" target="_blank">Austin Technology Council</a> CEO Amber Gunst says the state's "business-friendly" culture is an attractive draw, not just due to the lack of a state income tax but for how its local and state governments foster the growth and expansion of new and existing companies.</p><p>"That's not the case in California, especially in the Bay Area," Gunst said.</p><p>According to Gunst, the pandemic has exacerbated the migration of tech companies into Austin, with Bay Area and East Coast employers permitting staff to work anywhere. Gunst's group is a resource for new transplants, helping tech workers transition through the organization's job board and member connections, she said.</p><p>"That's the one difficulty that we face right now," she said. "Without being able to physically come together, we do have people who feel a bit isolated when they first move here and try to meet new people."</p><p><strong>Living in paradise</strong></p><p>California-native Adam Prishtina was prompted to move to Austin by the quality of life Central Texas offers. The Athena Health tech executive was living with his wife and one-year-old son in a 1,200-square-foot apartment in the heart of San Francisco in 2015. </p><p>"We said, 'this is crazy,'" Prishtina said. "We should look at an opportunity to be able to live in a house with a front yard and a back yard, to just have room for the family to grow and expand."</p><p>His Circle C neighborhood reminds him of Los Gatos, a wealthy Northern California suburb Prishtina couldn't have easily afforded, with his current 3,600-square-foot home he estimated to be priced upwards of $3 million there instead of the $500,000 he paid.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1152" data-rm-shortcode-id="20de98aba0b58749f52be5be89798954" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTQ1MDA5My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjYzNDEwNH0.KkcEa3HvAjwdm5mLXgBvK_QyunmZLAXAlJvEP8AA10c/img.png?width=980" data-width="1052" id="3a126" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">Tech exec Adam Prishtina's young sons enjoy fishing on a sunny day in Austin's Circle C neighborhood. The San Francisco-native moved to the area in 2015, prompted by a better quality of life. (Adam Prishtina)</small></p><p>And the same goes for technical writer Joyce Fee, who thinks of Central Texas life as "paradise."<br/></p><p>Fee worked in the technology field for about 25 years when she considered moving, prompted by worsening traffic, skyrocketing cost of living and deterioration of public schools.</p><p>After a visit to Austin, she and her partner looked for houses in the area online, seeking privacy, a pool and a five-minute walk to the lake. With some trepidation, they chose the Hill Country.</p><p>"We were afraid because we are a gay couple and we thought, 'Oh, man, are we going to go to Texas and get murdered or something like that,'" she said. "I remember those first few months, the neighbors were so warm and welcoming, (asking), 'How y'all doing.'"</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1404" data-rm-shortcode-id="57bdbda3d501cb3247960205c394e2fa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTQ1MzQzNi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2Nzg0MDQyOH0.XGsXPRxcOayvqgNjv1KJL04_p_oBHGbCScf-vUx5Hiw/img.png?width=980" data-width="1832" id="fd4fb" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">For California-transplant Joyce Fee, Central Texas is "paradise," given its lower cost of living and quality of life. (Leslee Bassman)</small></p><p><strong>Transitioning</strong><br/></p><p>Both Prishtina and Fee said they've encountered local folks who weren't inclined to roll out the welcome mat for the former West Coast residents. Chastised for raising city property taxes, pricing out longtime residents from their homes, Prishtina suggested West Coast transplants make themselves more approachable.</p><p>"If they get to know you, then that's going to reduce the stereotypes native Austinites have about Californians who move here," Prishtina said.</p><p>Lakeway resident Malur Narayan, who works for an Austin-based global consulting firm, offers advice to California techies who might encounter differences in the cuisine, culture and politics of their adopted state.</p><p>"The key advice (to newcomers) is to adapt because Texas is not California," Narayan said. "Take the best of what you have and offer it here."</p>
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Oracle is relocating its company headquarters to Austin from Redwood City, California.
National attention shifted to Austin late Friday afternoon when news broke that Oracle is relocating its California headquarters to Austin.
<p>The shift from Silicon Valley follows a recent trend of tech giants moving to Austin and other parts of Texas, <a href="https://austonia.com/elon-musk-texas-move" target="_self">including Tesla founder Elon Musk</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dropbox-drew-houston-moving-to-austin-report-2020-11" target="_blank">Dropbox CEO Drew Houston</a>. The industry's biggest companies are also planning expansion efforts here, including <a href="https://austonia.com/future/video-austin-apple-campus-construction-progress" target="_self">Apple's $1 billion campus under construction</a> in Northwest Austin as well as downtown office acquisitions from Facebook and Google. </p><p>But the Oracle announcement prompted the largest response yet, putting Austin into a significant national spotlight. Here is a roundup of reactionary coverage from major news outlets:</p><ul class="ee-ul"></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Employees from Oracle will be in familiar company should they relocate here. Business Insider reports <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/company-slack-channel-yc-founders-moved-austin-2020-12?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Falleyinsider%2Fsilicon_alley_insider+%28Silicon+Alley+Insider%29" target="_blank">about a Slack channel for founders of early-stage startups</a> who relocated from San Francisco to Austin. The channel had to be capped at 150 users because "there were too many people."</li><li>The tech industry's movement toward Austin is, in part, caused by the lack of available space to expand in Silicon Valley. Box Inc. CEO Aaron Levie told the Wall Street Journal that his company's Austin office, which opened six years ago, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-pandemic-loosens-silicon-valleys-tight-grip-on-tech-industry-11607894048?mod=rss_Technology" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">now employs more people than his headquarters</a> in Redwood City, California—the same city that Oracle called home since the 1980s—because "there's a finite space in the Valley."</li><li>The hyperbole about a tech "exodus" from Silicon Valley may be overblown. Axios talked to major players in the industry <a href="https://www.axios.com/silicon-valley-tech-exodus-innovation-growth-abb7b928-a2b7-4863-976f-9100e68d2f18.html" target="_blank">who aren't concerned about Texas overtaking the San Francisco area</a> as the center of the tech universe. In fact, data shows that tech growth is still mostly concentrated in coastal cities. </li></ul>
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(dwightsghost/flickr)
Shortly after being pulled over, you get a text message. It's the cop, and they want you to get on a video call.
<p>This is the future envisioned by Michael Odiari, an Austin entrepreneur who wants to "streamline and automate" traffic stops with a new app. </p><p>The app, called <a href="https://www.getcheckapp.com/" target="_blank">Check</a>, allows users to upload their drivers license and car registration. Then, when the user is pulled over, the service sends a text invite to video chat with the officer, who already has the user's information. </p><p>"It's dangerous for both sides," Odiari said of police traffic stops. His app "provides a way for police and motorists to communicate without escalating" the situation.</p>
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<p>Check's marketing promotes the app as a remedy for some of the racial disparities in regular traffic stops that garnered national attention over the summer. Late last month, protestors took to the streets in Omaha, Nebraska after police fatally shot a Black man in a traffic stop. And here in Austin, a <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/county/2020/11/16/report-austin-police-stopping-black-drivers-at-disproportionate-rates/114967984/" target="_blank">recent study of local traffic stops in the city</a> found black motorists were disproportionately pulled over by police.<br/></p><p>Odiari, the son of a Nigerian immigrant, says he too has stared down the barrel of a police officer's gun in what was supposed to be a routine traffic stop. During the incident, Odiari said the officer insisted that Odiari's vehicle registration was expired, even though it was not. </p><p>He believes the episode could have been smoothed with the app's services, which would transmit these documents to the officer before they approach the car. <br/></p><p>The app also appeals to law enforcement, says Odiari, who spent more than 80 hours doing police ride-alongs. Approaching a motorist's vehicle in a traffic stop is often described in law enforcement training as one of the most dangerous situations for officers, although studies of data have <a href="https://michiganlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/117MichLRev635_Woods.pdf" target="_blank">challenged the notion</a>. </p><p>Check currently has no contracts with police departments, though Odiari has been in talks with at least two in the Austin area.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="60571beff8ae73c0f5e6dd8e4bc09d97" id="9a8ab"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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</div></blockquote></div><p>Check's team is waiting to implement the video calling portion until they've built up a large enough user base through the app's other service—automating the traffic court visit.</p><p>Check has already attracted some investors.<br/></p><p> "We would invest in this business even without the social justice component," said Oksana Malysheva, the CEO of Sputnik ATX, an investment group. "This is an elegant solution that serves both sides of the equation incredibly well."</p><p>But efforts to improve policing with technology—a movement which has gained traction in recent years through body cameras and data services like <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinehaskins1/training-documents-palantir-lapd" target="_blank">Palantir</a>—have been criticized.</p><p>"Technology does very little to change the fundamental thing that police do," said Michael Sierra-Arévalo, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin who specializes in crime and law enforcement issues.<br/></p><p>He said the very nature of policing already promotes the kind of escalation that technology like Check hopes to prevent.</p><p>Previous attempts to reform police through technology have returned mixed results. Arévalo pointed to tasers, which were promoted roughly two decades ago as a way for police to de-escalate situations with non-violent force, however results have been mixed. </p><p>But Odiari remains hopeful. </p><p><span></span>"I'm not saying this is going to solve all the problems out there," Odiari said. "But this is a start for people to tell their government how they want police to communicate with them."<br/></p>
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