Arizona’s innovation ecosystem is surging as global businesses, early-stage innovators and millennials converge.

• Tech driven companies have expanded in Arizona and are hiring thousands of the highly skilled, in-demand workers available in the state to propel their corporate growth goals.
• Global companies ADP, Apple, GM, GoDaddy, Intel, Raytheon and State Farm have expanded or announced expansion plans in Arizona. In fact, Apple's $2 billion investment in its Mesa facility is one of the largest in company history.
• California-based tech companies ZipRecruiter, Weebly and Houzz have bolstered the innovation economy with new Arizona operations.
• Homegrown players Infusionsoft and IO Data Centers have become market leaders.
• WebPT, ZocDoc, Dexcom and Orion Health have strengthened the biotech space with expansions in Arizona.

Arizona’s technology and innovation sectors employ hundreds of thousands of workers and represent a sophisticated blend of world-leading corporations, innovative startups and everything in between.

• Arizona has a dynamic ecosystem of global technology giants in established industries including semiconductor and aerospace & defense manufacturing, as well as innovative startup companies emerging in multiple growth sectors, particularly information technology and biotechnology.
• Computer systems design and related services are expected to have an employment increase of 28% from 2015 - 2020. This represents more than 8,500 new IT jobs. (Emsi 2017.2 QCEW and non-QCEW).
• Data processing, hosting and related services in Arizona have seen explosive growth between 2010 and 2015, with employment in this billion-dollar industry more than doubling since 2010.

Arizona’s creative, highly-skilled workforce is continually fed by the state’s university system and community college network, with the state’s urban communities acting as magnets to attract and retain these workers.

• Arizona State University in Tempe, one of the largest public universities in the U.S., and Maricopa County Community College District, the largest community college district in the country, output thousands of graduates with advanced degrees and certifications.
• 20-somethings make up 14 percent of Arizona’s total population, accounting for more than 923,000 people.
• Urban living centers have evolved, notably in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe which are magnets for millennial employees – supporting their lifestyle needs – and are draws for tech companies looking to build their workforces with employees that can integrate into their corporate culture.

Arizona has a robust portfolio of statewide programs and resources supporting both early-stage and large tech employers.

• Arizona boasts a community of more than 50 accelerators and incubators supporting entrepreneurs and assisting companies in advancing from idea to commercialization while providing technical expertise, mentorship and funding.
• Statewide programs led by the ACA help early-stage growth companies secure commercialization funding that boosts their attractiveness for additional capital investment from the private sector.
• Arizona’s State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the ACA, offers Arizona small businesses tools to assist them as they enter export markets for the first time or expand into new international markets.
• Arizona Innovation Challenge: ACA’s hallmark, bi-annual business plan competition awarding $3 million annually to entrepreneurs that are solving today’s problems with technology-based solutions.
• Arizona Innovation Accelerator Fund: An $18.2 million loan participation program to stimulate financing to small businesses and manufacturers, in collaboration with private finance partners, to foster business expansion and job creation in Arizona.
• Angel Investment: Individuals are currently authorized, in computing “Arizona adjusted gross income” for a taxable year, to subtract any net capital gain included in “federal adjusted gross income” in such taxable year that is derived from an investment in a qualified small business certified by the ACA. 
• The Arizona Commerce Authority provides workshops as well all information connecting small businesses to outside training sessions and resources helping you become successful with the SBIR/STTR grant process.
• RevAZ, Arizona’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, is the state’s central resource for technical assistance for small- and medium-sized manufacturers to enable them to grow and innovate.