According to the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, new and expanding businesses announced more than $1 billion in new investments in the Research Triangle area this summer. 
The 30 new and existing companies announcing these investments are mostly in research and manufacturing.  The expansions will create nearly 1,700 jobs.  Some of the companies and their investments include:
IBM, data center, $362 million, 10 jobs
Merck & Co., vaccine manufacturing, $300 million, 180 jobs
HCL America, information technology, $3.2 million, 513 jobs
Patheon, headquarters and laboratory, $437,500, 150 jobs
Syngenta, agricultural biotechnology, $671,640, 75 jobs
In addition, this summer four companies (Cheminova, Medis Medical Imaging Systems, Patheon and Tryton Medical) moved their corporate headquarters to the Triangle.
Michael Walden, an economics professor at N.C. State University, was quoted in the News & Observer, about the news: “People in the know – economic developers, investors – see this region has a solid foundation for growth,” Walden said. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a region in the country that’s better suited for the future than the Triangle.”