Move 37

AI generated image, any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental

In my previous article, Space Invaders are Here, I played with Grok 3 computer coding and was impressed with the results. After spending more time with it, I noticed that this LLM with DeepSearch turned on excels in topics related to the USA but falls short when it comes to Europe. I suspect this discrepancy might be due to the selection of sources, as LLM reviewed nearly 500 sources for the USA compared to less than 200 for Europe. I hope that over time, LLM will improve and become more knowledgeable about the world at large. Meanwhile, an alternative would be to use other LLMs that are more knowledgeable about a part of the world of interest to you.

You’ve likely heard stories of people, perhaps even your friends, moving from one city or country to another. The reasons for such moves can vary greatly, from escaping real-life dangers like war and terror to seeking better lifestyles and tax benefits. Personally, I have moved between cities and countries several times, primarily for work and family reasons. I’m not sure if one of my past moves could be considered a Move 37 or if it is yet to come.

Did you know that companies move too? Have you ever wondered why? I asked LLM about companies that have moved from California to other parts of the USA in the past five years, and here is an insightful overview:

1. Realtor.com: Moved to Austin, Texas, in February 2025, with approximately 1,400 employees and $468 million in 2024 revenue. The move was driven by Texas's strong talent pool, growing economy, and business-friendly environment, including no corporate income tax (Realtor.com Press Release). This reflects a trend of real estate firms seeking growth in dynamic markets.
2. X (formerly Twitter): Relocated to Bastrop, Texas, in September 2024, with about 2,840 employees and an estimated $4.5 billion in 2024 revenue. The move was likely influenced by lower taxes and regulatory benefits, following Elon Musk's broader strategy to move operations to Texas (X Headquarters Move).
3. Chevron: Shifted to Houston, Texas, in August 2024, with approximately 45,600 employees and $202.792 billion in 2024 revenue. The relocation was due to California's challenging business climate, including high regulations, and Texas's role as an energy hub (Chevron Relocation).
4. SpaceX: Moved to Starbase, Texas, in July 2024, with around 10,000 employees and $13 billion in 2024 revenue. The move was spurred by regulatory concerns in California, particularly around a gender identity law, and Texas's business-friendly policies (SpaceX Move).
5. Neutrogena: Relocated to Skillman, New Jersey, in April 2024, with about 750 employees and $750 million in 2024 revenue. The move was to consolidate operations with parent company Kenvue, reflecting strategic alignment (Neutrogena Move).
6. Skillz: Moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, in June 2023, with approximately 240 employees and $140 million in 2023 revenue. The relocation was likely for Nevada's business-friendly environment, enhancing its mobile gaming operations (Skillz Headquarters).
7. Kelly-Moore Paints: Shifted to Irving, Texas, in April 2023, with around 1,500 employees and $282 million in 2023 revenue. The move was for operational efficiencies, being closer to its manufacturing plant in Hurst, Texas (Kelly-Moore Paints Move).
8. McAfee: Opened a regional headquarters in Frisco, Texas, in January 2023, with about 2,000 employees and $2.1 billion in 2024 revenue. The expansion was for a business-friendly environment and to enhance operations (McAfee Regional HQ).
9. Lucas Oil Products: Relocated to Indiana in November 2022, with specific employee and revenue data unavailable. The move was likely for market proximity and operational reasons (Lucas Oil Move).
10. FICO: Moved to Montana in November 2021, with employee and revenue data unavailable. The relocation was likely for remote work benefits and a business-friendly environment (FICO Move).
11. Tesla: Shifted to Austin, Texas, in October 2021, with around 100,000 employees and $53.823 billion in 2021 revenue. The move was driven by tax benefits and a more favorable business climate (Tesla Move).
12. First Foundation Bank: Parent company First Foundation Inc. moved to Dallas, Texas, in September 2021, with the bank having approximately 489 employees and $170 million in 2024 revenue. The move was for lower taxes and growth opportunities (First Foundation Move).
13. AECOM: Relocated to Dallas, Texas, in August 2021, with about 51,000 employees and $16.21 billion in 2024 revenue. The move was for business-friendly policies and lower taxes (AECOM Move).
14. Snowflake: Moved principal executive office to Bozeman, Montana, with remote work options, in May 2021, with around 7,004 employees and $3.41 billion in 2024 revenue. The move was for remote work flexibility and a business-friendly environment (Snowflake Move).
15. Charles Schwab: Shifted to Westlake, Texas, in January 2021, with approximately 32,000 employees and $18.521 billion in 2021 revenue. The move was driven by tax advantages and operational needs following the acquisition of TD Ameritrade (Charles Schwab Move).
16. Oracle: Relocated to Austin, Texas, in December 2020, with about 132,000 employees and $39.068 billion in 2020 revenue. The move was for lower taxes and a business-friendly environment (Oracle Move).
17. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): Moved to Houston, Texas, in December 2020, with around 60,000 employees and $26.982 billion in 2020 revenue. The relocation was for tax benefits and business climate (HPE Move).
18. CBRE Group: Shifted to Dallas, Texas, in October 2020, with approximately 100,000 employees and $23.894 billion in 2020 revenue. The move was for business-friendly policies and market access (CBRE Move).
19. Pabst Brewing Co.: Relocated to San Antonio, Texas, in October 2020, with employee and revenue data unavailable. The move was likely for market access and operational reasons (Pabst Brewing Move).
20. Palantir: Moved to Denver, Colorado, in August 2020, with about 2,000 employees and $1.09 billion in 2020 revenue. The relocation was for operational reasons and a business-friendly environment (Palantir Move).

The exodus of companies from California is clearly driven by tax and regulatory reasons. Out of 20 companies, 14 moved to Texas. If you worked at one of the companies mentioned, please share your thoughts. Did LLM get it right? If you worked at a company not mentioned but that also moved from California, please write the company name and the year of the move in your comment.

On a less positive note, I asked LLM the same question today, 8 March 2025, and LLM reviewed only 131 sources, providing a much less detailed response than it did six days ago. Should I consider purchasing a subscription to get better results?

This article was written for fun, please do not judge. Instead, please share your comments in a constructive and respectful manner. The author and AI remain innocent until proven guilty.

Abbreviations: LLMs refer to both large language models and large thinking (reasoning) models.