AvidXchange is expanding its headquarters in Charlotte while adding 1,229 jobs and investing $41 million into Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday afternoon.
The financial tech company, which develops software that automates the bill payment process, says it will add the jobs over the next five years. Those jobs will include various positions in software development, marketing and finance. AvidXchange says the average salary for the new positions will $68,569, which is $3,000 higher than the average salary in Mecklenburg County.
AvidXchange's expansion will get state support through a job development grant of about $19.6 million, spread over 12 years. The grant is contingent upon the company’s job creation and investment into Mecklenburg County.
Cooper said at a news briefing after the announcement that the incentives will pay off.
"We’re talking about over $2 billion economic impact in our state, so it’s well worth it," Cooper said. "We wouldn’t do it if the economic analysis didn’t provide us with this information to show that we’ll be successful and it will be a net win."
The company is one of several in the last month to announce big jobs expansions in the state including Fortune 100 company Honeywell and LendingTree. All of these follow a law recently passed allowing companies to get more tax incentives when they bring new jobs to North Carolina.
Mecklenburg County will also provide about $2.1 million in tax breaks over the next seven years. County Commissioner Trevor Fuller said the board is excited about the expansion and expects positive returns on the investment.
“The activity generated by this project will provide the county with net revenue that will nearly double the county's investment in this project,” Fuller said.
AvidXchange Chief Executive Michael Praeger said he’s grateful to have the state’s support of the company, which began as a startup tech company in 2000.
“We launched AvidXchange 18 years ago in a coffee shop in Charlotte with five employees. Since then, we’ve grown to 1,200 employees, proud to call North Carolina home,” Praeger said. “I’m thrilled to have the state’s continued support as we look to double our employee base in the next five years.”
As part of the state's investment into the expansion, it will also move $6.5 million into a state account to fund infrastructure needs in rural communities.