Amazon probably hasn't mapped out your everyday routine as well as Facebook and Google have — but it probably knows more about your city than you do.
Thanks to its massive HQ2 contest, Amazon stockpiled top secret data and future development plans from cities across the U.S. and Canada. The tech giant has yet to pick the location for its second global headquarters (the first being in Seattle), but what it learned about the 237 reject cities could still come in handy, Axios reports.
A year ago, Amazon invited cities to propose why they'd be the best home for HQ2, requesting larger metropolitan areas with effective transit systems. The promise of 50,000 full-time, high-paying jobs lured 238 applicants, who spilled transit improvement plans, potential tax incentives, and other hopes for the future to the company. Those details might still be a secret to residents and even some city leaders, Brookings Institution expert Joe Parilla tells Axios.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Amazon will only bestow its thousands of HQ2 jobs on one lucky city, and it has narrowed its search down to 20 finalists. But unlike its competitors, Amazon knows what 237 other areas have to offer. Those secrets could come in handy as Amazon looks to build smaller data centers, research and development facilities, and more, Parilla tells Axios.
The potential jobs that come with those builds would prove a huge benefit for communities. Yet by proposing tax breaks and financial incentives to reel in HQ2, these cities also laid all their cards on the table. Now Amazon knows what everyone can provide, and it could force cities to fork over HQ2-level deals for far fewer jobs. Read more about Amazon's data powerhouse at Axios.
-
August 17 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include voting rights of felons, misdirection on the way to the Alaska summit, and more
-
5 crime-ridden cartoons about National Guard deployment in DCCartoons Artists take on the crime of littering, the real criminals in DC, and more
-
Trump and Modi: the end of a beautiful friendship?In the Spotlight Harsh US tariffs designed to wrest concessions from Delhi have been condemned as 'a new form of imperialism'
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance mergerSpeed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profitsSpeed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliablespeed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
