The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) today announced Utah-based Pluralsight will expand in the state, adding approximately 2,400 jobs, $86.2 million in new state revenue and an estimated $371.7 million in capital investment.
“Pluralsight is a Utah business success story, and we are proud to support the expansion of homegrown companies,” said. Gov. Gary R. Herbert. “As a major player in Silicon Slopes, Pluralsight will continue to benefit from the state’s strong business environment and talent. We look forward to their future growth.”
Founded in 2004, Pluralsight offers on-demand, digital technology learning tools, including more than 6,000 expert-authored technology courses, adaptive skill tests, custom curriculums for individuals and businesses, and live mentoring. In 2016, the company expanded its product offering to serve large enterprises. Since that expansion, Pluralsight serves 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies, helping close the technology skills gap that is prevalent among many companies worldwide.
“Pluralsight’s remarkable growth resulted in several worldwide locations and opportunities for expansion outside of Utah,” said Val Hale, executive director of GOED. “We’re pleased they’ve decided to keep their headquarters in the state and look forward to their continued success.”
The company has been profitable since its inception with a compounded annual revenue growth rate of over 80 percent for the last five years. Pluralsight’s hiring has increased substantially since 2015. To accommodate this growth, the company plans to expand in Utah and is currently assessing locations for a new, state-of-the-art campus.
“What began in Utah will stay in Utah,” said Aaron Skonnard, CEO and co-founder, of Pluralsight. “Silicon Slopes’ deep talent pool for software engineers and other technical jobs is thriving. That’s why we plan to keep investing in this community. We’ve loved our home in Farmington and are looking forward to creating a new, much larger home south of Salt Lake City.”
Pluralsight will create up to 2,464 jobs over the next 10 years. The total wages in aggregate are required to exceed 110 percent of the county average wage. Projected new state wages over the life of the agreement are expected to be approximately $1,421,599,490. Projected new state tax revenues, as a result of corporate, payroll and sales taxes, are estimated to be $86,190,587 million over 10 years.
“We congratulate Pluralsight on their phenomenal success, and look forward to working with them to select a permanent site in the coming months,” said Theresa Foxley, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah.
Pluralsight may earn up to 25 percent of the new state taxes they will pay over the 10-year life of the agreement in the form of a post-performance Economic Development Tax Increment Finance (EDTIF) tax credit rebate. As part of the contract with Pluralsight, the GOED Board of Directors has approved a post-performance tax credit rebate not to exceed $21,547,647. Each year as Pluralsight meets the criteria in its contract with the state, it will earn a portion of the total tax credit rebate.
The company is working to determine the best location for its new headquarters. During the exploration and building phase of its new headquarters, the company will accommodate its extensive growth by moving many software engineering and other technical functions from its Farmington and Lehi locations to a new location in South Jordan next month. All other functions will remain in Farmington until construction is finished on its new headquarters. The location of Pluralsight’s headquarters will be announced at a future date.