An Oregon tech firm that moved around Portland suburbs for a few years now will split its headquarters between Texas and Washington.
Q5id, which opened in 2018 and makes cybersecurity software for identity verification, announced the moves to Austin and Bellevue last week.
"Austin and Bellevue are thriving enterprise class business/technology and infrastructure hubs. Both locations have thriving employment bases of the best engineering talent, locations of key business partners, tax- and business-friendly environments, and top quality of life," Q5id CEO and Board President Michael Marcotte said in a statement.
Portland entrepreneur Steve Larson led the company as CEO until March, when Q5id announced Marcotte as the new leader. Larson "stepped out of an operational role as Q5id requires an exponential global growth leadership team," the company said at the time.
Larson had founded a similar company called SureID that was viewed as a success until the loss of a large Navy contract and the company experienced hundreds of layoffs. He co-founded Q5id about a year after leaving as SureID's CEO.
Q5id operated in Beaverton for a time. At one point, people were working out of Larson's private airport hangar. But in 2021, the firm subleased 67,000 square feet near the Hillsboro Stadium, and moved in that September. Larson told the Business Journal in 2021 that company officials anticipated the Hillsboro space would provide enough room for at least four years.
The Bellevue headquarters will be at 800 Bellevue Way N.E., with a ribbon-cutting scheduled for May 22. The Austin headquarters will be located at 801 Barton Springs Road, with a ribbon-cutting on May 23.
Marcotte is trying to cast Q5id as a globally relevant company.
"As a global world-class enterprise cybersecurity software identity management company, it is imperative Q5iD be in the nucleus of these two thriving enterprise business technology economies," he said in a statement. "It's also self-evident that some of our most strategically valuable relationships are in these two locations."
Some other Oregon companies have moved to Texas over recent years, including delivery startup MilkRun and packaging maker D6 Inc.
