Would require a major change in both fauna (more domesticable animals) and flora (domesticable plants) in the Americas. Empires are built not on philosophy or even on iron, but on the backs of beasts of burden and peasants who can grow a large surplus of carbohydrate-rich food. Not that that's impossible, mind you, but it would require getting very familiar with American environments and altering them from the base of the food web up, millions of years ago, without destroying the evolution of camels, horses, and dogs (if you want those in the Old World).
I feel compelled to point out that even if civilization develops in the Americas at the same time and along a similar scale to Europe's, there is no guarantee that their technology will advance as fast. Trade would be difficult, requiring the crossing of thousands of miles of ocean and/or jungle for different civilizations, and this will slow the spread of innovations. However, a further spread of innovation could still be possible, especially if a maritime culture develops. In my timeline the American Stinky Pig, I had the Mochihican people become Polynesian analogues moving across the Pacific coast, and this allowed the Andes and Mesoamerica to trade useful tech such as writing and the wheel.