US Commerce Department Funds Tech Hubs With $500M In Grants

The Biden Administration and the US Commerce Department announced a $500 million grant program to support localized Technology Hubs.

This program is part of President Biden’s wider “Build Back Better” regional program to invest in American workers and place-based economic development.

The funding for the program is part of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which allocates $10 billion toward research and development to help US companies spur technology breakthroughs.

The Tech Hubs will be funded in 31 communities around the US selected from 370 applicants in 49 states.

The recipients are broken down into eight categories including:

• Enabling Safe and Effective Autonomous Systems
• Maintaining Our Quantum Edge
• Advancing Biotechnology in Drugs and Medical Devices
• Advancing Biotechnology Precision and Prediction
• Accelerating America’s Clean Energy Transition
• Strengthening Our Critical Minerals Supply Chain
• Regaining Leadership in Semiconductor Manufacturing
• Growing the Future of Materials Manufacturing

Examples of the programs securing funding range from a biotechnology hub in Wisconsin to a predictive healthcare hub in Baltimore, and from a lithium battery research hub in Nevada to a semiconductor hub in Texas.

Several of the hubs focusing on autonomous systems will include a location in Montana centering on industrial automation research, and one in Rhode Island that will research automation in deep-sea environments utilizing AI and machine learning.

The diversity of these locations is intentional as the Biden administration is attempting to build centers of excellence outside the normal tech hubs in San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Austin, TX.

The hope is that the seeded facilities will attract high-paying jobs to these regions and spur research and development, with an added benefit for entrepreneurs wishing to start up businesses.