By Lily Wang
Amazon, the third most valuable company in the world, founded its first headquarters in Seattle in 1999. Now, it’s time for it to pick a second headquarter. Amazon has been looking for the optimal location for a couple of years. Evidence indicates that Amazon is most likely to pick Northern Virginia, more specifically, an area near Dulles International Airport for its second headquarters. Here is why:
The site around Dulles International Airport is called the “bullseye of America’s internet,” or Data Center Alley. According to Time Magazine, more than 70% of the world’s total daily internet traffic flows though there. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said himself, “Virginia’s outstanding business climate and world-class workforce make our Commonwealth the right place for Amazon to place this key base of operations.”
Amazon has been quietly expanding its infrastructure around the chosen site. According to Time Magazine, Amazon just located a brand new headquarters for Amazon Web Services, its rapidly growing cloud service, less than three miles away from the site.
References:
“Amazon Dethrones Microsoft to Become the World’s Third Most Valuable Company.” The Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company, 14 Feb. 2018, www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazons-market-value-tops-microsoft-for-first-time-ranking-it-3rd-in-the-world/.
Names, The list features 20. “Here Are the Top 20 Cities for Amazon HQ2.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 18 Jan. 2018, 12:12 PM ET, money.cnn.com/2018/01/18/technology/amazon-second-headquarters-list/index.html.
Peterson, Hayley. “Amazon Has Already Picked Its HQ2 Location, According to This Theory. Here’s Where It Is | Money.” Time, Time, 30 Mar. 2018, time.com/money/5222986/amazon-hq2-bullseye-internet/.
