Axon, Axoff?
Phoenix Business Journal
The Phoenix region's source for local business news & events. Part of the American City Business Journals network.
Each week, here's where we highlight our latest cover story:
A high-stakes game of chicken is playing out in the city of Scottsdale. Nobody seems ready to blink.
On paper, the marriage between Axon Enterprise Inc. and Scottsdale is a perfect fit. Axon CEO Rick Smith is a Chaparral High School alum who founded the Taser maker in 1993 and has grown it into one of the Valley's most successful public companies. Smith wants to keep Axon in its hometown long-term —?albeit?with a catch.
Smith has spent years developing an ambitious vision for Axon that would see the company — which boasts a market cap of nearly $45 billion after expanding its products and services to include body-worn cameras, drones and AI — build a Silicon Valley-esque corporate campus complete with a headquarters building large enough to fit 1,500 employees.
The sprawling 70-acre campus is also set to feature ample outdoor space, seven restaurants, a hotel and 1,895 residential units. Those residential units, however, are threatening to cause a breakup that could have ramifications throughout the region.
Axon's planned Scottsdale HQ campus in peril over controversial apartments | By Paul Thompson
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In the Tech World
Each week, we feature our latest tech news:
领英推荐
Scottsdale-based DAS Technology has acquired Engage to Sell, an automotive software company headquartered in Wisconsin, to expand customer engagement options for its clients.
DAS Technology in December obtained the assets of Engage to Sell, including the company's software, clients and staff of live chat agents. The Engage to Sell platform enables automotive dealers to follow up on more customer leads and close sales faster.
As part of the acquisition, DAS Technology launched its new AI Engage messaging platform that pairs its patented lead response capabilities with Engage to Sell's software and "live moderators," providing its automotive retail customers with an option to message a representative 24 hours a day to gain immediate answers and details for vehicle inventory, reviews, trade-in valuations, service appointments, video content and more, according to the company.
Executive Spotlight
Each week we highlight a video clip from our weekly profile interview series, Executive Inc.
Jay McKee
Company: Lessen
Education: Bachelor's degree in business, Arizona State University
Newsletter curated by Phoenix Business Journal Managing Editor Paul Thompson and Associate Editor Mignon Gould, MFA. If you have any tips for the newsroom, please reach out to Paul at [email protected] or Editor-in-Chief Greg Barr at [email protected].