Why Phoenix Became A Hot Spot For Tech Companies

While cities like Austin, Texas have garnered attention for drawing tech companies away from Silicon Valley, another hub is emerging as a major power player — Phoenix, Arizona. The fifth largest U.S. city has been a longtime hub for aerospace and defense, now it’s becoming an epicenter of semiconductor manufacturing and autonomous vehicles. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company recently completed the most advanced chip fab on U.S. soil and has pledged to invest $65 billion in the area. The city is also where Waymo launched its commercial robotaxi service, and now it’s the new home of Amazon’s long-awaited Prime Air drone delivery service. CNBC's Kate Rooney goes behind the scenes of Amazon's cutting-edge drone delivery operation and explores how Phoenix became a hot spot for tech companies. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 2:22 Post WWII boom 4:21 Rise of the Silicon Desert 8:48 Autonomous vehicles 10:54 Amazon drone delivery 13:21 Looking ahead Produced, Shot and Edited by Andrew Evers Reporter Kate Rooney Field Producer Kevin Schmidt Senior Director Jeniece Pettitt Additional Reporting and Production Katie Tarasov Additional Camera Jacob Jimenez Animation Jason Reginato Additional footage: Waymo, Amazon, TSMC, Honeywell, Getty Images, Intel