The NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub – which encompasses the Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse region – was selected as one of 12 Tech Hub award winners in the nation, bringing $40 million in federal funding to the region. 

Proponents say the funding will further position the region as a semiconductor center for the world.  

The funding announcement is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in Rochester by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer who said the highly competitive federal investment will help the region build out its workforce training initiatives, strengthen existing manufacturing and innovation, and help attract new supply chains.  

“With this major investment, the feds are shining a national spotlight, and confirming what I have long known, that America’s semiconductor future runs through the heart of Upstate NY along the I-90 corridor,” Schumer said.  

The multi-region consortium beat out nearly 400 initial applications in the first phase of the Tech Hubs competition and was one of 31 proposals selected in October for the federal Tech Hub designation from the U.S. Economic Development Administration which allowed the consortium to compete for the new round of funding. 

The $40 million in Tech Hubs funding will go toward specific component projects that aim to solve the growth challenges the region would otherwise face over the coming decade.

The component project efforts will be led by Monroe Community College, the University at Buffalo and Syracuse University, all of which will be coordinating across the region to bolster workforce training initiatives, help elevate local supply chain companies and create a collaborative ecosystem for semiconductor R&D commercialization.  

According to the proposal, by the end of the decade, 25% of all chips produced in the United States will be manufactured within 350 miles of this Tech Hub, with no other region in the nation accounting for a greater share of microchip production. 

The application was led by three designated conveners, one from each region: Buffalo Niagara Partnership in Buffalo, ROC2025 in Rochester and CenterState CEO in Syracuse. 

[email protected] / (585) 653-4021 

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