And then there were 20.
Amazon has whittled the number of potential sites for its second headquarters from 238 to 20, and Austin has a spot in the final slate of cities vying to host the e-commerce giant.
In the announcement this morning, Seattle-based Amazon said it expects to bring 50,000 jobs to the host city of its so-called HQ2, along with a $5 billion investment. Austin submitted its bid to host Amazon in October, along with a handful of other cities in Texas – including Dallas, which is also a finalist.
The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, which submitted Austin's bid, said in a release this morning that the chamber looks forward to presenting its pitch to Amazon, but that it has no further information on the decision timeline.
Excited that Austin region has advanced to second round of #Amazon HQ2. Look forward to presenting the best of what our region has to offer and how we can partner with Amazon.
— AustinChamber (@AustinChamber) January 18, 2018
As far as what Austin put on the table to lure Amazon, it’s not exactly clear.
The bid process in Austin and other would-be host cities has been less than transparent, as Amazon encouraged cities submitting proposals to keep the bids “confidential.”
Mayor Steve Adler said at a press conference this morning that he hasn't heard any conversations about offering incentives to Amazon, adding that those discussions should be transparent if, or when, they happen.
In a statement, Gov. Greg Abbott cited the state's business-friendly regulatory climate as reasons both Dallas and Austin are "among the most sought after locations for companies looking to grow and thrive."
Amazon said it would make a final decision on HQ2 in 2018. See the full list of finalists below.
- Atlanta, GA
- Austin, TX
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Columbus, OH
- Dallas, TX
- Denver, CO
- Indianapolis, IN
- Los Angeles, CA
- Miami, FL
- Montgomery County, MD
- Nashville, TN
- Newark, NJ
- New York City, NY
- Northern Virginia, VA
- Philadelphia, PA
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Raleigh, NC
- Toronto, ON
- Washington, D.C.
