Pendo, a growing technology company founded in Raleigh, will more than triple its local operations over the next five years, adding 590 jobs and investing $34.5 million in Wake County, Governor Roy Cooper announced today.
“North Carolina is home to many of the best tech minds in the industry, and Pendo grew out of that innovative culture,” said Governor Cooper. “As homegrown companies evolve, they get the opportunity to reassess their location and expansion plans. North Carolina’s experienced tech talent pool won Pendo’s commitment to expand here.”
Pendo started in Raleigh in 2013 when alumni from Rally Software, Google, Cisco and Red Hat set out to build software to understand and act on what drives digital product success. Pendo’s product cloud now provides user insight, user guidance and user communication tools for digital product teams at software companies and digital enterprises around the world and across industries. They use Pendo to understand how users journey through their web and mobile applications, and provides tools to onboard and educate those users, collect feedback, and ultimately, to increase product adoption and engagement.
“Our mission at Pendo is big and bold—we want to improve society’s experience with software,” said Todd Olson, CEO and co-founder of Pendo. “To achieve that, we need to continue to find the best talent and offer them an amazing place to work. With its first class universities, hub of technology companies, and incredible quality of life, North Carolina, and specifically Raleigh, offers the perfect setting for our team to grow.”
This project will provide Pendo with a corporate headquarters location and facility to accommodate rapid growth. This location will be the company’s primary engineering hub, with dozens of software engineers and product managers, as well as its center for sales, marketing, customer success, and back office functions such as finance and human resources. Salaries will vary by position and experience. Once all positions are filled, the average salary is expected to be $86,824. The average salary in Wake County is $56,245.
“Pendo had an attractive offer to leave Raleigh, but our talent pipeline, top-tier universities and our stable and favorable business climate won out against competitors,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland. “I look forward to Pendo’s continued success here.”
The North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of N.C. (EDPNC) led the state’s support for the company’s selection.
The Pendo expansion in Wake County will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the State expects the project will grow the state’s economy by an estimated $1.2 billion. Using a formula that accounts for the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $8,788,500 spread over 12 years. State payments only occur following performance verification by the Departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.
Because Pendo chose to designate its corporate headquarters in Wake County, classified by the state’s economic tier system as Tier 3, the company’s JDIG agreement also calls for moving as much as $2.9 million in new tax revenue generated through the grant into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. The Utility Account helps rural communities finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business. Even when new jobs are created in a Tier 3 county such as Wake, the new tax revenue generated through JDIG grants helps more economically challenged communities throughout the state. More information on the state’s economic tier designations is available here.
“Pendo grew out of Raleigh’s innovation culture, and I’m proud to see the success they’ve achieved,” said N.C. Senator Dan Blue. “Pendo is creating nearly 600 jobs, and they chose to do it here because we have the talent they need to grow their business.”
“Pendo will continue to be a key part of our Raleigh’s growing and thriving technology leadership,” said NC Representative Rosa U. Gill. “I join all of Wake County and the Triangle in celebrating Pendo’s growth.”
Partnering with N.C. Commerce and the EDPNC on this project were the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, Wake County, the City of Raleigh, Wake County Economic Development, the City of Raleigh Office of Economic Development and Innovation, and the Raleigh Chamber.