Oracle Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison said Tuesday he plans to move the technology giant's world headquarters to Nashville as part of the company's increased focus on healthcare.
"It's the center of the industry we're most concerned about, which is the healthcare industry," Ellison said during the Oracle Health Summit, its annual user conference, in Nashville.
Update: Oracle’s healthcare-focused HQ move surprises Nashville, state officials
Oracle has been based in Austin, Texas, since December 2020. Ellison did not specify a timeline for the move to Nashville but said the company is building a headquarters that will feature a community clinic where it can test its software.
"We're moving this huge campus, which will ultimately be our world headquarters, we're moving that to Nashville," Ellison said during a wide-ranging conversation with former Tennessee Republican Sen. Dr. Bill Frist at the event. "We want to be a part of a community where our people want to live. Nashville is a fabulous place to live. It's a great place to raise a family. It's got a unique and vibrant culture. As we surveyed our employees, large numbers of our employees, Nashville kind of ticked all the boxes. This is where I'd love to raise my family. This is where I'd love to go to work."
An Oracle spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Oracle has made a significant healthcare push in the last few years, most notably with its acquisition of electronic health record company Cerner in June 2022 for $28.4 billion.
Integrating Cerner has been a struggle for Oracle. It has had to deal with delays in a massive EHR project for the Veterans Affairs Department and renegotiated its contract with the VA at the agency’s request. Employees were laid off in June. During an earnings call last month, Oracle CEO Safra Catz called the Cerner business a “significant headwind” and said the company was working to bring its profitability up to Oracle’s standards.
Oracle Health's main competitor is Epic Systems, which has increased its market share among U.S. hospitals in the last few years.
During his conversation with Frist, Ellison said Epic's focus is limited in how it can improve healthcare globally.
"Epic’s a great company but they automate hospitals," Ellison said. "It's very different automating [New York-based] Memorial Sloan Kettering versus a community hospital in Nebraska, let alone a clinic in a village in Rwanda. The systems you build have to have scope. They’re highly specialized on automating big hospitals."
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