Japan’s Renesas Electronics Triples Texas Footprint

Renesas Electronics Corporation’s new 95,000-square-foot lease at 3700 North Capital of Texas Highway is the latest entry in Austin’s tech hardware manufacturing boom.

The Japan-based semiconductor manufacturing company has nearly tripled its space from its old, 34,203-square-foot lease at 900 South Capital of Texas Highway, according to the Austin Business Journal. Shea Petricek, Renesas vice president of product marketing, power systems engineering and software told the outlet that the expansion is tied to Austin’s proximity to its customers, along with other factors.

While the city’s “Silicon Hills” reputation might have taken a hit in years past, the boom in AI companies and the infrastructure they require is generating a surge in real estate tied to the technology. Most recently, the newly-minted richest man in the world, Elon Musk, whose companies just tripled their space in Bastrop, are working towards a massive semiconductor manufacturing facility in Grimes County, northwest of the Houston metro. Entities tied to Musk shelled out $5 million to renovate office space at the former Seahold Power Plant in Downtown Austin to prepare for the buildout of the Grimes County Terafab plant.

Across the state, data center construction is growing at a rate that experts say will give the state the most active centers by 2030. Meta is growing in El Paso, Google is expanding across the state, and Oracle is investing in Abilene.

While the boom continues to scale, not everyone is happy with the new developments coming to town. Local leaders have been searching for ways to limit or regulate data center developments for years, and furor over the no-holds-barred approach taken by some companies has reached the ear of Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott recently called for a total ban on data center development in rural communities, and has come out in support of regulating some aspects of their functions along with rescinding specific tax breaks.

— Hunter Cooke