California tech company plans to move its headquarters to Fort Worth

Fort Worth is eyeing more tech jobs, this time with a relocation from California.

SmartAction, a small company that provides artificial intelligence services to businesses, wants to move its headquarters from the Los Angeles area to Fort Worth. The move would bring a small number of jobs, a minimum of 66, but Robert Sturns, economic development director, said it furthers Fort Worth’s efforts to attract tech jobs and corporate headquarters.

“SmartAction is another company that allows us to really build that nucleus of technology companies in Fort Worth and it gives us the ability to attract more and larger innovative tech companies,” Sturns told the City Council Tuesday.

The jobs will pay a minimum of just under $66,000. A Fort Worth Chamber announcement said as many as 81 jobs would open in Fort Worth, including marketing, information technology, and software engineering positions.

The company will initially lease a 7,400 square foot space at 9800 Hillwood Parkway in far north Fort Worth, but is expected to move into a permanent headquarters by Jan. 1, 2022.

The city is offering a incentive in the form of grants capped at $660,000 or $10,000 for each full-time job. But mechanisms exist for the city to recoup costs.

If at any point during the three-year agreement SmartAction employees 46 to 65 full-time employees, the company must pay the city $15,000 for each position below the required 66. So if SmartAction employs 46 full-time workers, it must pay Fort Worth $300,000, according to Sturns’ presentation. If the company has less than 46 full-time jobs, it must pay back the full $660,000.

The Council will vote on the agreement June 8.

Sturns said SmartAction looked at Fort Worth over other cities, like Austin, because the company believes it can expand and retain jobs in the city.

“We couldn’t be more excited to join the thriving community of Fort Worth,” Gary Davis, CEO of SmartAction, said in a statement provided by the Fort Worth Chamber. “This move will further create growth and opportunities enabling us to better serve our customers and meet their demands. We are grateful for the support and collaborative efforts from the local community in Fort Worth as we finalized this project.”