Arizona pitches chip execs with sunshine and serious perks
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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs talks to semiconductor professionals at Arizona Semiconductor Leadership Day. Photo: Jessica Boehm/Axios
Arizona's top politicians, business leaders and economic developers rolled out the red carpet for visiting semiconductor industry leaders on Monday, giving the hard sell on relocating to the state.
The big picture: The Arizona Commerce Authority and Greater Phoenix Economic Council invited about 600 people, more than half from outside the U.S., to learn about the state's fast-growing chips industry.
- The event was held the day before SEMICON West, the nation's largest semiconductor conference, which moved to Phoenix this year after 35 years in San Francisco.
What they're saying: Here were the most convincing pitches we heard:
🔥 We're so hot right now: Leaders were quick to remind the crowd that the state has received more semiconductor-related investment since 2020 than any other state. They brought out executives from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Intel and Amkor to talk about their multibillion-dollar projects.
- "Arizona is home to the most advanced chip-processing technology in the country. Nowhere else in the United States even comes close," Gov. Katie Hobbs said.
👵🏼 We're experienced: Arizona's foray into semiconductors began in 1947 when Motorola built a facility in the Valley, and speakers made sure the crowd knew that the state's interest in semiconductors came long before TSMC's bombshell 2020 announcement.
👶 But we're also young: Arizona is the youngest state in the contiguous U.S., which means our roads, utilities and other infrastructure are newer and more efficient, GPEC interim CEO Thomas Maynard said.
🤝 We like newcomers: Speakers repeatedly mentioned that more than 70% of the adult population was born outside Arizona.
- Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, who grew up in New Mexico, noted that few cities in the country would elect a non-native as mayor.
💧 We have water (we promise!): With frequent national headlines warning about the drought-stricken Western U.S., panelists did all they could to dispel concerns that Arizona is running out of the precious resource.
- "We live in a desert… so we didn't start talking about water and sustainability five years ago. We started talking about this 50 years ago," Chamber of Southern Arizona vice president of economic development Daniela Gallagher said.
☀️ We've got 300-plus days of sunshine: Our tried and true sales pitch.
- Of note: The 100-plus days of 100-plus-degree temperatures were not mentioned.