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Wednesday, May. 13, 2026

Is Phoenix’s “Silicon Desert” tech growth still happening?

Mia Osmonbekov, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
yes

Phoenix’s technology sector has continued to grow since the initial wave of hiring and startup investments in 2020. 

Intel broke ground on two semiconductor factories in Chandler in 2021, a project expected to create 3,000 tech-adjacent jobs and 15,000 indirect ones. That same year, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) started building its first semiconductor fabrication plant in North Phoenix. TSMC has since expanded, breaking ground on a fourth fabrication plant and its first advanced chip packaging facility in Arizona.

In 2022, California-based telecommunications company Viasat added 1,500 jobs in Tempe, while tech company Sendoso moved its headquarters from San Francisco to Arizona, bringing an estimated 1,000 jobs. 

From 2020 to 2024, startups in the Greater Phoenix area raised more than $6 billion in venture capital funding. The growth was reflected in Arizona’s inaugural tech week in April, which attracted more than 18,000 people to events focused on technology and entrepreneurship. 

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