Amazon may be garnering many of the headlines, as the Seattle-based e-commerce and tech giant continues the process of picking a location for its second corporate headquarters, which has been dubbed HQ2.
But it isn't the only tech sector behemoth looking for a new location. Apple, too, is on the hunt for a new campus that will employ thousands of workers. And North Carolina might have the inside track to the facility.
According to a report from CNBC on Wednesday, Apple is vetting the Tar Heel State as a site for a new campus in the state's Research Triangle region that will house technical support staff at first, and possibly expand with other operations. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook is said to have held some meetings with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper last weekend about the possibility of Apple bringing its new campus to the state. Cooper has reportedly been negotiating an incentive package to entice Apple, but such a package is said to still need approval from the North Carolina state legislature.
The thought of Apple setting up a new, large shop all the way across the country from its Cupertino headquarters is not so far-fetched an idea. Apple already has several ties to North Carolina, including a data center in the state. Also, Cook, who delivered the commencement address at Duke University, in Raleigh last weekend, earned an MBA degree from the school. And Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of internet software and services, is a Duke alum.
Apple's plans are part of a pledge the company has made to invest $350 billion in the United States over the next five years, hire 20,000 more Apple employees, and set up a new Apple campus.
