Moov, a data-fueled marketplace for used semiconductor manufacturing equipment, today announced the location of its new headquarters in the 100 Mill building in Tempe, Arizona.
Moov will command the 16th floor, spanning about 32,000 square feet, at 100 Mill. That 18-story tower is among the premier commercial real estate locations in Greater Phoenix. Amazon and Deloitte also are building tenants.
“With our permanent headquarters at 100 Mill, we establish Moov as among the most significant players within the semiconductor industry here in the Silicon Desert,” said Moov co-founder and CEO Steven Zhou. “Our accelerating success and funding are affirmations that Moov is filling a critical need in the semiconductor industry — creating a more flexible supply chain for capital equipment while drastically reducing procurement lead times. As the United States and other countries around the world double down on growing their domestic semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, the ability to quickly and cost-effectively source capital equipment to expand existing capacity and equip new fabs is critical.”
Moov’s new headquarters also sets the stage for the company’s plan to increase its headcount by about 300% in 2022. Moov will employ more than 150 total employees by the end of this year. About three-quarters of the new hires will be based in Greater Phoenix.
The region has become a burgeoning national semiconductor hub, attracting billions of investment dollars in recent months.
A growing urgency has pervaded the sector, as the shortage of new manufacturing equipment, especially for legacy nodes, is increasingly acute. Lead times on some types of equipment can exceed a year. Chip shortages are expected to spur a 10% increase in expenditure on semiconductor equipment this year, hitting a record high of $98 billion, according to the industry trade group SEMI.
Moov is uniquely positioned to solve a problem identified by a U.S. Department of Commerce January report: Less-advanced chips are feeling supply shortages most keenly; they are produced by equipment often no longer in production — an obstacle compounded by the fact that no unified secondary market for equipment exists.
Chicago-based Cushman & Wakefield plc (NYSE: CWK) is assisting Moov’s custom buildout with real estate and project management services.
Amenities at the state-of-the-art 100 Mill building include 10-foot floor-to-ceiling glass, a rooftop deck, a fitness center, a training room and conference center, a tenant bar and lounge, a covered outdoor first-floor patio, a lobby coffee shop, on-site bike storage and retail space spanning 7,500 square feet.
“We are investing time and resources to custom-build our new space, which will accommodate our ambitious hiring plan for the greater Phoenix area, while keeping employee wellness in mind,” Zhou said. “What can we provide to make them most productive while elevating the electric culture we’ve already created? The layout of our new headquarters space encourages easier cross-functional collaboration and sets all Moovers up for success. We’ve also been intentional in the design. It will have stations that accommodate various styles of working: standing, sitting, ‘relaxed,’ private, collaborative, etcetera. We’ll also have unique areas for relaxation and fun that all organically build a sense of camaraderie, where our teammates can gather and talk about things outside of work initiatives.”
Greater Phoenix continues to grow in importance to the U.S. semiconductor industry.
California-headquartered Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) last year announced it would invest $20 billion to build two new semiconductor factories at the chip company’s Chandler campus. And, the investment by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in its already-under-construction semiconductor fabrication facility in north Phoenix ultimately could reach roughly $35 billion.
The region now is home to more than 75 semiconductor and related device manufacturing operations that employ nearly 20,000 people, according to the Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s 2021 Semiconductor Industry Report. The council’s current prospect pipeline includes 40 semiconductor manufacturers and related supply chain firms that could bring an additional number of jobs surpassing 10,000 and $45 billion in capital investment to the region. Semiconductor and related device manufacturing jobs in Phoenix grew 10.94% from 2020 to 2021.
And, Moov is contributing to Metro Phoenix’ and Tempe’s boom in the general tech-job market. City of Tempe data show that Metro Phoenix ranks third nationally in tech talent markets for growth, with Tempe No. 1 within the metro area. Bestplaces.net projects Tempe job growth during the next decade to be 49.9% — significantly higher than the national average of 33.5%. SmartAsset last year listed Tempe No. 7 in its rankings of America’s top boomtowns.
