LinkedIn is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking and career development, and allows job seekers to post their CVs and employers to post jobs. As of 2021, LinkedIn had over 774 million registered members in more than 200 countries and territories.
Headquarters Location
LinkedIn’s headquarters is located in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company’s main office campus is at 1000 West Maude Avenue in Sunnyvale. This location houses LinkedIn’s product development, sales, marketing, and executive teams.
LinkedIn leased 57,120 square feet at 2029 Stierlin Court in Mountain View in 2012 and moved its product development and engineering teams there. In 2021, LinkedIn leased a new 263,269 square foot campus located at 400 Logue Avenue in Mountain View. This new campus is intended to house 3,000 employees across engineering, product, and design teams.
So in summary, LinkedIn’s current headquarters and main office campus is located in Sunnyvale, but the company also has major office locations in nearby Mountain View, California.
Brief History of Headquarters
Here is a brief history of LinkedIn’s headquarters locations:
- LinkedIn was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman, Allen Blue, Konstantin Guericke, Eric Ly, and Jean-Luc Vaillant.
- The company was officially launched in May 2003 with headquarters located in Hoffman’s living room in Berkeley, California.
- In 2004, LinkedIn moved to Palo Alto, California and was operated out of Hoffman’s garage.
- In 2005, LinkedIn moved to an official office at 369 Sherman Avenue in Palo Alto.
- In late 2006, LinkedIn leased approximately 12,500 square feet of office space at 2029 Stierlin Court in Mountain View.
- In February 2008, LinkedIn moved headquarters to a 23,000 square foot office at 2029 Stierlin Court in Mountain View.
- In 2010, LinkedIn leased an additional 33,600 square feet at the 2029 Stierlin Court location.
- In 2011, LinkedIn moved into a larger office campus located at 2065 Hamilton Avenue in San Mateo, California.
- In February 2012, LinkedIn leased 57,120 square feet at 2029 Stierlin Court in Mountain View to expand product development and engineering teams.
- In 2013, LinkedIn headquarters moved to its current location at 1000 W Maude Avenue in Sunnyvale, California.
- In 2021, LinkedIn leased a new 263,269 square foot campus at 400 Logue Avenue in Mountain View to house additional product and engineering employees.
So LinkedIn started in a living room and garage in the early 2000s, moved between several small offices in Palo Alto and Mountain View, before establishing official headquarters in Sunnyvale in 2013 where it remains today. The company also continues to expand offices in nearby Mountain View.
Headquarters Location Details
Here are some more details on LinkedIn’s current headquarters complex in Sunnyvale, California:
- The main headquarters office is located at 1000 West Maude Avenue in Sunnyvale.
- This campus totals approximately 390,000 square feet of office space.
- The 12-acre site has 5 office buildings, a fitness center, sports facilities, and food services.
- Building 1 is a 3-story, 120,000 square foot building completed in 1998.
- Building 2 is a 3-story, 118,000 square foot building completed in 2000.
- Building 3 is a 4-story, 134,000 square foot building completed in 2001.
- Building 4 is a 2-story, 8000 square foot building constructed in 1981.
- Building 5 is a 2-story, 10,000 square foot building built in 1981.
- LinkedIn occupies all the office space in these 5 buildings.
- The campus was previously occupied by Sun Microsystems prior to LinkedIn.
- LinkedIn fully renovated the buildings after moving its headquarters here in 2013.
- The campus is located adjacent to the Shoreline Amphitheatre music venue.
In addition to the Sunnyvale headquarters, LinkedIn also has offices at multiple buildings along Stierlin Court and Logue Avenue in Mountain View. This includes 227,000 square feet at 2029-2031 Stierlin Court and 263,269 square feet at 400 Logue Avenue. The Mountain View locations help provide additional space as LinkedIn continues expanding its workforce and operations.
Nearby Corporate Neighbors
LinkedIn’s headquarters in Sunnyvale and offices in Mountain View are surrounded by many other high-profile technology companies. Here are some of LinkedIn’s notable corporate neighbors in the area:
- Google – Their corporate headquarters is located just 6 miles away in Mountain View.
- Apple – Apple Park, their new headquarters campus, is located 9 miles away in Cupertino.
- Facebook – Their headquarters is located 19 miles away in Menlo Park.
- Netflix – Their corporate offices are 12 miles away in Los Gatos.
- Symantec – Their headquarters is less than a mile away, also along Maude Avenue in Mountain View.
- Intuit – Their headquarters is located 3 miles away in Mountain View.
- Logitech – Their US headquarters is less than 2 miles away in Newark, California.
- Nokia – Their US headquarters is 2 miles away, also along Maude Avenue in Sunnyvale.
- Samsung – Their semiconductor office is less than a mile away in San Jose.
The Silicon Valley area where LinkedIn is located has one of the world’s highest concentrations of high-tech companies and startup activity. This cluster of major technology companies allows for a very collaborative environment and talent pool to draw from.
Benefits of the Location
LinkedIn’s location in the heart of Silicon Valley provides many advantages for recruiting talent and collaborating with other businesses:
- Access to skilled technology workers. The concentration of tech companies gives LinkedIn a large pool of skilled labor to recruit from.
- Ability to partner with other tech companies. Proximity fosters partnerships on technology initiatives.
- Vibrant startup ecosystem. The area has a culture of innovation that promotes new ideas.
- Central location with good transportation. The HQ has easy accessibility for the Bay Area workforce.
- Desirable amenities for employees. The region offers attractive lifestyle options, weather, and activities.
- Brand benefits of being in Silicon Valley. Helps promote LinkedIn’s image as a leading tech company.
- Opportunities for acquisitions. Allows LinkedIn to stay connected to emerging startups to potentially acquire.
In addition to these advantages, LinkedIn’s headquarters location also provides executives with quick access to the venture capital firms on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park. This allows them to readily obtain additional funding and financing for company growth and expansion.
Alternate Locations Considered
While LinkedIn seems happily established in the Silicon Valley area long-term, they likely evaluated some other regions and cities when previously deciding where to locate their headquarters. Here are some other locations they may have considered:
- San Francisco – A major technology hub, but limited office space and higher costs.
- Seattle – Strong talent pool with Microsoft and Amazon, but less startup activity.
- New York City – Major business center, but further from Silicon Valley collaborators.
- Austin – Growing tech hotspot, but limited labor pool at the time.
- Boston – Education and biotech hub, but higher taxes and costs.
- Denver – Attractive lifestyle, but smaller tech talent pool.
- Los Angeles – Entertainment industry focus, less startup activity.
While these and other cities have their benefits, Sunnyvale and the surrounding Silicon Valley area clearly provided the best match in terms of technology talent, industry collaborators, startup activity, and desirable benefits for employees.
Transportation Access
LinkedIn’s headquarters has convenient access for both employees commuting to the offices as well as visiting customers and partners. Some details on the transportation options:
- It is a short drive from several major highways including Route 101, 237, and 880.
- The Sunnyvale Caltrain station is 2.5 miles away, providing rail access to San Francisco.
- The Mountain View Caltrain station is 4 miles away and connects to San Francisco.
- The Sunnyvale Metro station is less than a mile away, providing light rail access.
- There are exclusive bus shuttles provided from San Francisco and other areas of the Bay for employees.
- San Jose International Airport is just 8 miles away, providing flights across the country.
- The campus has electric vehicle charging stations and secure bike storage for employees.
- The Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) is accessible from Fremont, 15 miles away.
This combination of highway, rail, bus, airport, and local transit access makes it very convenient for both employees and visitors to access LinkedIn’s headquarters and nearby office locations.
Surrounding Area Amenities
The area surrounding LinkedIn’s headquarters also provides nice amenities for employees to take advantage of:
- Numerous hotels, restaurants, and shops are located along Highway 101 and 237 in Sunnyvale.
- Downtown Mountain View has walkable cafes, restaurants, and entertainment options.
- Downtown San Jose is just 10 miles away and offers nightlife, culture, and sports.
- The Shoreline Amphitheatre next door hosts concerts and entertainment.
- Central Park in Santa Clara offers jogging trails and recreation 3 miles away.
- The Computer History Museum is 2 miles away in Mountain View.
- The Googleplex is 5 miles away and provides cafes, gyms, and services for employees.
- The Stanford Shopping Center is 10 miles away with high-end shops and food.
For employees looking for things to do in the area, LinkedIn’s headquarters certainly benefits from Silicon Valley’s vibrant dining, shopping, and lifestyle offerings.
Real Estate Costs
Operating headquarters in the prime technology hub of Silicon Valley comes at a premium cost for real estate and office space. Here are some details on the real estate costs for LinkedIn:
- LinkedIn owns their main headquarters buildings in Sunnyvale.
- They purchased this 12-acre campus in 2013 for approximately $220 million.
- This equates to around $43 per square foot for the 390,000 square feet of office space.
- LinkedIn leases their large Mountain View office space from Google.
- Office rents in Sunnyvale/Mountain View average $4-5 per square foot per month, so around $50-60 per square foot annually.
- For LinkedIn’s 263,000 square feet at 400 Logue Ave, that’s $13-15 million in annual rent at market rates.
- Purchasing similar commercial office space would cost $600-800 per square foot, or $150-200 million for LinkedIn’s Mountain View lease.
While the costs are high compared to other regions, LinkedIn gains long-term value by investing in these prime Silicon Valley properties. The highly skilled technology workforce and potential for partnerships in the area make it worthwhile paying the premium real estate prices.
Competitors Locations
Many of LinkedIn’s key competitors are also located in the general Silicon Valley region, allowing talent and partnership opportunities:
Competitor | Headquarters Location |
Menlo Park, CA | |
Mountain View, CA | |
San Francisco, CA | |
Upwork | Santa Clara, CA |
ZipRecruiter | Santa Monica, CA |
Monster.com | Weston, MA |
Indeed | Stamford, CT |
Glassdoor | Mill Valley, CA |
As the table shows, many of LinkedIn’s top competitors are concentrated in the same Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area region. This allows LinkedIn to keep tabs on competitors and gain talent that also may be looking at local options. For competitors like Indeed and Monster further away, LinkedIn can differentiation itself through the benefits of its strategic Silicon Valley location.
Expansion Plans
LinkedIn has experienced rapid growth since its founding in 2002, and will likely continue expanding its offices and presence in the coming years. Here are some potential ways LinkedIn could expand in the future:
- Acquire additional buildings in Sunnyvale to expand the current headquarters campus.
- Purchase land in Mountain View for a new large corporate campus tailored to R&D and engineering.
- Lease co-working office spaces in San Francisco for small sales and marketing teams.
- Open other small regional offices in key LinkedIn markets like New York, Chicago, Seattle, etc.
- Establish international headquarters in cities like London, Singapore, Toronto, Sydney, etc.
- Build out a Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) headquarters office in a major European city.
LinkedIn will likely take a targeted approach to expansion, carefully selecting new locations that provide access to key talent pools and growth opportunities. But the company seems committed to maintaining a sizable presence in Silicon Valley for the long term given the area’s unique advantages.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn’s current headquarters is located in Sunnyvale, California, right in the heart of Silicon Valley. This provides LinkedIn with a strong talent pool, opportunities to partner with neighboring tech companies, and access to funding sources. LinkedIn evaluated options like San Francisco, Seattle, New York and others when deciding where to establish headquarters. But ultimately Silicon Valley provided the greatest advantages as a technology and startup hub. LinkedIn has built up campuses in Sunnyvale and Mountain View, investing heavily to secure a presence in the coveted Silicon Valley real estate market. Going forward, LinkedIn may selectively expand to other locations, but will likely maintain significant operations in Silicon Valley for the foreseeable future.