U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Post

Nearly two years ago, President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law, and we began developing policy for and designing the program that became Tech Hubs. Less than six months later, the U.S. Economic Development Administration was appropriated the first $500 million (just the first 5% of its envisioned $10 billion) for the program, and since then we’ve made this policy into reality. We announced the 31 inaugural Hubs—places with capacity and potential to become globally renowned not only in innovation but also in making and delivering those innovations—in October 2023. We worked with those Hubs for several months as they developed their best proposals to realize their visions, and, since the end of February, we’ve undertaken the truly difficult challenge of deciding which of those proposals to fund. We received a phenomenal set of applications across the 31 Hubs, and we have been and remain committed to accelerating growth in them all. The President has requested the next $4 billion for the program in his budget request, which, if appropriated, will enable us to continue to pursue the program’s vision of up to $150 million in initial investments per Hub and up to $1 billion in any given Hub over the life of the program. We’ve seen incredible support for the 31 Hubs: collectively, they secured $4.4 billion in contingent commitments to complement their applications. And we’ve seen incredible industry engagement: the private sector makes up more than a third of the 31 consortia’s 1,400+ members. Today, we announced $504 million of investment that we’re deploying into multiple projects in 12 Hubs. Making up just 5% of the program’s authorized level, we envision this as one of many rounds of investment across all 31 Hubs. This milestone offers an opportunity not only to celebrate this accomplishment but also to recognize the scores of amazing humans who have made it possible, inside and outside the U.S. Department of Commerce. I’m grateful for and deeply appreciate everyone who has contributed to, supported, and cared about this program, which enables us not just to lead the world in innovation but also to realize the promise of that innovation: inclusive prosperity, national security, and global competitiveness. The #EDATechHubs team is large and growing. https://lnkd.in/eY2cTaUP