WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A California-based company is receiving more than $17 million in taxpayer-funded incentives to create a location in downtown West Palm Beach's CityPlace, according to city records.
Officials are keeping the company's name a secret, but WPTV found various postings that point to a cloud computer company called ServiceNow as the prospective company. The company could become one of the first tenants of Related Ross' new office space development in downtown, called 10 and 15 CityPlace.
WATCH BELOW: Mystery company receives $17M to come to West Palm Beach
Chris Roog, the executive director for West Palm Beach's Community Redevelopment Agency, said the company is a cloud computing company from California that wants to provide businesses with artificial intelligence to automate their workflows.
Kelly Smallridge, the leader of The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, said this is one of the largest business development deals in history.
"I've been doing this a long time in Palm Beach County," she told commissioners on Tuesday night. "I believe this is the largest relocation deal that I have ever seen in ... over three decades of doing this."
According to city documents, city taxpayers will provide the company with up to $2 million in grant money, while the state will provide grants worth about $15 million along with tax credits. In return, the company said it will create a location in West Palm Beach and create 856 jobs.
The city's $2 million would be paid in installments over six years. Those payments could get smaller if the company doesn't reach 856 jobs, allowing them to completely claw back the money if there are fewer than 400 jobs.
The company would become one of the largest private employers in Palm Beach County if it reached 856 jobs, according to the Business Development Board's website.
The company's name hasn't been revealed publicly, but ServiceNow's website describes its product as a platform that brings "AI into the flow of work so employees can act, decide and resolve without switching solutions."
A Fortune 500 company, ServiceNow is advertising for positions in West Palm Beach, yet the company has no West Palm Beach office.
Karen Pavlin, the chief workforce innovation officer for Service Now, met with West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James and Related Ross Vice Chairman Eric Silagy in June for a panel. The company discussed in a blog post where it complimented the city's workforce advancement.
"It's clear: West Palm Beach is ready to rise—and our aim is to create career pathways that meet people where they are and develop a tech pipeline," the post reads.
Bloomberg also reported the company was planning a "major expansion" in West Palm Beach and even explored in March relocating its headquarters from Silicon Valley.
A spokesperson for the company and developer, Related Ross, didn't respond to WPTV's request to confirm ServiceNow was the mystery company. A spokesperson for the city of West Palm Beach said it couldn't reveal the name of the company at this time.
Related Ross is also starting a national marketing campaign, according to an Instagram post from an ad agency. The campaign called "West Palm Brilliant" includes posters calling the area "a beautiful place for tech is here" that are posted around CityPlace.
The developer also posted a video on YouTube related to the campaign, where the company said it plans to attract tech companies.
"We truly think the next chapter for the city and the region is a technology infusion," Related Ross Executive Vice President Jordan Rathlev said in the video. "This really will become the next Silicon Valley of this country."