MAJOR tech company coming to Detroit

**Mind field** · April-25-13, 02:55 PM

http://www.mlive.com/business/detroi...r_tech_co.html

So apparently the torrent of companies expanding or relocating to downtown continues unabated. Any speculation as to what this major announcement will be? This week we had ADP chosing Detroit over Seattle or suburban Chicago, more title source jobs, and hopefully the big announcement is coming soon! The more high end retail and large companies relocating to downtown, the more gravity downtown will have in attracting those that may have not even considered Detroit as an option.

**Spartan** · April-25-13, 03:14 PM

Could it be something related to Twitter? They already have some space here.

**michimoby** · April-25-13, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by Spartan

Could it be something related to Twitter? They already have some space here.

Doubtful. Twitter only has two people in Detroit, and they're both in sales. Their tech team is happy as a clam in California.

My guess is that it's Salesforce.

**iheartthed** · April-25-13, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by michimoby

Doubtful. Twitter only has two people in Detroit, and they're both in sales. Their tech team is happy as a clam in California.

My guess is that it's Salesforce.

Steve Ballmer was just in Detroit touring the area with Gilbert...

**artds** · April-25-13, 03:41 PM

Pandora [[smart phone music service and publicly traded company) has a small ad sales office in Birmingham with about 8 people in it.

**gameguy56** · April-25-13, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Steve Ballmer was just in Detroit touring the area with Gilbert...

Microsoft has a pretty big office in Southfield. So does IBM. I don't think people realize that Greater Detroit is ALREADY a pretty big tech hub. It's all enterprise though, not really the sexy stuff like videogames or startup web apps.

MS moving their office to downtown would be enormous. Ballmer was born in Detroit and grew up in Farmington Hills so he has some roots in the area [[and a net worth of about $15 billion).

MS's offices now are across the freeway from Lawrence Tech, which must be amusing to Ballmer since he took classes there.

**tkelly1986** · April-25-13, 04:05 PM

Microsoft would be a major win. They have offices all over the world and in many US cities besides metro Detroit. In a dream world they would consolidate offices in downtown Detroit or make Detroit the HQ of one of their divisions/subsidiaries.

**JBMcB** · April-25-13, 05:34 PM

Originally Posted by tkelly1986

Microsoft would be a major win. They have offices all over the world and in many US cities besides metro Detroit.

Microsoft just dumped a ton of money into revamping their Southfield office a few years ago, I doubt they'll be up for dumping a bunch more into moving.

**wolverine** · April-25-13, 07:56 PM

Originally Posted by JBMcB

Microsoft just dumped a ton of money into revamping their Southfield office a few years ago, I doubt they'll be up for dumping a bunch more into moving.

Hey well, tech companies need to refresh constantly to keep relevant. Dumping a renovated office after a few years isn't unusual. I've seen plenty of companies that have shuffled around even after multi million dollar build-outs....Most often in circumstances where landlords cut 10 year leases early after the "3 year rule"

**AuburnSpeedster** · April-25-13, 09:08 PM

Outside of who's coming downtown, I'd also be curious as to where exactly, too.

**stinkytofu** · April-25-13, 09:32 PM

IBM [[100% sure) and Microsoft [[99% sure) actually both have small offices in the RenCen.

**Mind field** · April-25-13, 09:40 PM

Hopefully the job count will be as substantial as the prestige of whatever company is making the move.

**michimoby** · April-25-13, 10:06 PM

Originally Posted by Mind field

Hopefully the job count will be as substantial as the prestige of whatever company is making the move.

This.

I remember reviewing a story a magazine did on Detroit's upstart tech scene, and Twitter was mentioned in the list of companies that were present. I told them to replace Twitter with Stik.com, which moved its entire operation from SF to the M@dison and was a far more tangible example of tech companies setting up shop in Detroit. They balked at the idea.

I'm all for big-name organizations being showcased, but I'd rather see the folks putting all their chips down getting more recognition. If someone's moving here, and it's big name, it better be a place that is "open for business" and hiring local talent.