The Last Word: Sinclair Digital’s Farukh Aslam on Snagging an Economic Development Agreement with Fort Worth

“Any location with plenty of rooftop space or plenty of land would be an ideal location to build DC microgrids.”

Farukh Aslam
CEO
Sinclair Digital
.…on Tuesday’s Fort Worth City Council approval of an economic agreement with his company, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

On Tuesday, the Fort Worth City Council approved an economic development agreement with Sinclair Digital, the smart buildings tech startup that brought The Sinclair—a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel called “the world’s first all-digital hotel“—to downtown Fort Worth.

Under the agreement, Sinclair Digital will launch a new corporate R&D and tech center in downtown Fort Worth. According to the Star-Telegram, city tax incentives will enable the hiring of 30 to 40 new employees over the next few months, with programmers included in the new positions. Sinclair Digital expects to hire 63 people earning $100,000 on average within five years, the paper added.

Aslam was featured as one of The Future 50 in Dallas-Fort Worth in the 2023 edition of Dallas Innovates magazine.

Aslam with some of the digital tech that runs The Sinclair hotel [Courtesy photo]

Aslam told the Star-Telegram the new agreement could lead to more buzz and growth in Fort Worth’s tech sector. “It becomes a snowball effect when the word gets out,” he told the paper’s Jenny Rudolph. “Companies are expanding in Fort Worth and able to find young talent.”

Robert Sturns, Fort Worth’s director of economic development, said Aslam’s company is helping the city move toward a smart, high-tech future.

“Sinclair Digital is truly pioneering the future of smart building technology and sustainable energy, right here in Fort Worth,” Sturns told the Star-Telegram. “From a target industry standpoint, we’re looking at the full spectrum of the energy industry—from generation, to distribution, to storage, to applications—and Sinclair Digital has the potential to make a massive impact in several of these areas. They’re doing some incredible, innovative things.”

For more of who said what about all things North Texas, check out Every Last Word.

Commercial real estate developer Farukh Aslam opened the ‘world’s first all-digital hotel’ in downtown Fort Worth, developing new technology throughout. The Sinclair was the first building to replace a diesel generator and back-up power with a lithium-ion battery pack. [Courtesy photo]

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