Bandwidth's $100M HQ is a bet on a return to the office

Unlike most offices in the Triangle, Raleigh's newest headquarters building is expected to be full every day of the workweek.

Driving the news: Bandwidth, a communications software maker and one of Raleigh's largest homegrown tech companies, unveiled its new 500,000-square-foot headquarters on Friday at the intersection of Edwards Mill and Reedy Creek roads.

• The 40-acre campus comes complete with a 5-story office building, soccer fields and basketball courts, a cafeteria as well as a Montessori pre-school where employees can send their kids.

Why it matters: It's a $100 million bet that working in person will make the company more successful than the hybrid approach taken by many of its peers.

• Since 2022, Bandwidth employees who didn't want to work in-person were told they should find a new workplace, which resulted in a high turnover rate.

What they're saying: The company's CEO David Morken is still adamant about the strategy, saying it's vital for the company's culture.

• "Being together is meaningful, and this campus supports that philosophy," Morken said in an interview with Axios and two other outlets. "And it's not for everybody, but it's right for us."

Be smart: Bandwidth's software helps facilitate voice and text messaging over the internet.

• In 2020, the state offered the company an incentive package worth up to $32.2 million to create 1,165 jobs.
• Three years later, its headcount remains mostly the same at around 750 employees, according to the company's figures.
• Shares of its stock have fallen significantly from a record high of $178 in 2021 to $14.65 last Friday.

The plan to hire those employees still remains, Morken said, "But the dates may have changed a little."