RALEIGH — Fast-growing software communications company Bandwidth is getting new corporate headquarters in Raleigh.

The uptick: adding 1,165 new jobs with an average salary of $96,832 and generating more than $100 million in capital investments..

The Raleigh firm — founded by attorney-turned-entrepreneur David Morken in a Raleigh spare bedroom more than 20 years ago — today got approved to purchase a 40-acre plot of land from the State of North Carolina located at the southwest corner of Reedy Creek Rd and Edwards Mill Road for the new 500,000-square-feet facility.

Raleigh beat out other cities to win the project, including Denver and Rochester, NY.

The price tag: $30 million.

The transaction is pending a formal purchase and sale agreement between the Company and the State and is subject to due diligence.

“As an essential Nationwide service provider of 911, voice calls and text messages headquartered here in North Carolina, we are proud to have kept up with the unprecedented levels of demand for communications services during this challenging time,” said David Morken, founder and CEO of Bandwidth, in a statement. “We’re enabling a more connected world at a time when people everywhere need it most.  Our mission is critical, and we remain steadfast in continuing to execute on that mission for the people of North Carolina and all Americans.”

“We’ve been scouting for ideal ground on which to cultivate our bright future, a place to plant innovative seeds of thought and to harvest success for our customers for many seasons to come,” he continued, “and we are thrilled to support the North Carolina State Fair. ”

Bandwidth CEO David Morken

Bandwidth is currently headquartered on NC State’s Centennial campus.

Back in 1999, Morken was fresh from serving in the Marine Corps as an advocate judge when he founded the Raleigh-based software communications company from a friend’s spare bedroom. For more than 18 years, he bootstrapped the company. Then in 2017, Bandwidth went public valued at around $300 million. Last year, it hit the $2 billion mark.

Companies like Google, Microsoft, Rover and Zoom use Bandwidth’s APIs to easily embed voice, messaging and 911 access into software and applications.

As part of the transaction, Bandwidth has agreed to improve parking capacity and function for the NC State Fair. It will receive up to $32 million from the State in a North Carolina Job Development Investment Grant over a 12-year period starting in 2024, if it meets the hiring requirements.

“Though the current backdrop is highly challenging for everyone, the Commerce Department is proud to continue carrying out its mission – and that includes helping companies execute strategic growth plans that involve North Carolina,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland, in a release. “Today’s announcement by Bandwidth showcases the resiliency and reliability of our state and its renowned economic assets – especially our tech-savvy workforce.”

 

Bandwidth’s David Morken: ‘We’re a 20-year overnight success’ as company hits $2 billion valuation mark