Brice Wallace
Gabb Wireless Inc. is talking expansion.
The company, which specializes in kid-safe technology, has announced it will add 700 jobs at its headquarters city of Lehi over the next 10 years.
“This is our state. We started this business here and we’re going to build it here,” Nate Randle, CEO, told the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah) board about the expansion project during the board’s regular August meeting. The board later approved a tax credit incentive tied to the expansion’s job creation.
Founded in 2018, the company has more than 200 Utah employees. It provides technologies for phones, watches and software used by children and teenagers, aimed at providing a reliable and safe experience for them and peace of mind for their parents. It has said that introducing young minds to too much technology too early can have long-term negative effects on their development and mental health, and that social media and harmful applications can damage their personal growth.
Randle told the board that “the dangers and addictions of social media are crushing our kids,” but while Gabb Wireless is a for-profit company, it is taking a stand to protect the next generation from being destroyed by companies “doing whatever it takes to addict them to these screens.”
Gabb Wireless started in Provo and later moved to Lehi. Now it has outgrown its space in the Saprea building, Randle said.
“So we’re ready to take our next step to a newer, even bigger location right there in Lehi,” said Randle, whose Utah roots include attending Davis High School and the University of Utah. “And to be able to build this business here means everything to me and everything to our company.”
Gabb has hundreds of thousands of customers nationwide, with about 20 percent being in Utah, he said. “So we have tens of thousands of moms and dads and guardians here who believe in safe tech for their kids,” Randle said.
The Go Utah board approved a tax credit incentive of up to about $3 million over 10 years, based on the generation of new state tax revenue of $15 million during that time. The project is expected to generate new wages totaling $332 million over 10 years, with an average salary of $93,892, and “significant” capital expenditure, according to Go Utah documents.
“We’re honored that Gabb Wireless has chosen to expand its footprint in Utah,” Ryan Starks, Go Utah’s executive director, said in a prepared statement. “The company’s focus on responsible technology use for kids and families reflects Utah’s family-centered culture and values. We’re confident the community will support the good work of this company and fulfill the many employment opportunities it generates.”
“Gabb is a company whose values align with Utah’s values,” said Scott Cuthbertson, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. “When the tech industry recently experienced layoffs, Gabb chose to retain their employees. Today, this home-grown Utah tech company is adding hundreds of new jobs.”
“Lehi City is excited to welcome the new headquarters of Gabb Wireless to our great city,” said Marlin Eldred, Lehi’s economic development director. “It encompasses the entrepreneurial spirit that drives technology innovation in the heart of Silicon Slopes.”
Go Utah does not provide upfront cash incentives. Each year that an incentivized company meets the obligations in its contract with the state, it will qualify to receive a portion of the new, additional state taxes the company paid to the state.