Upstate New York businesses looking to tap into or expand their presence in the semiconductor industry will get a boost from $11 million in federal and state funds.
The U.S. Department of Treasury awarded New York State $9.45 million for the Semiconductor Growth Access Program, a state-run effort. Empire State Development, the state’s economic development arm, will provide $1.5 million in matching funds.
The Semiconductor Growth Access Program will provide dedicated legal, financial, business planning and accounting technical assistance to targeted businesses, to help them plan for growth and access capital for upgrades and expansions, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office. The program will cover the I-90 corridor from Buffalo to the Capital District.
A combined $11 million in federal and state funding will build on upstate New York’s semiconductor industry development plans.
The semiconductor industry is in the spotlight in upstate New York after Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse teamed up to win $40 million in “tech hub” funding from the federal government. The state is providing an additional $8 million in funding for the tech hub, which operates under the SMART NY-I Corridor banner.
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One of the tech hub’s elements is the Supply Chain Activation Network, or SCAN, which the University at Buffalo is managing on behalf of Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. SCAN’s focus is will identifying opportunities in the semiconductor industry for companies in those three regions. The Semiconductor Growth Access Program is designed to build on SCAN’s work.
“Small businesses across upstate New York want to enter the booming semiconductor industry, but they can’t do it alone,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader who championed the legislation that created tech hubs. “This major $9.4 million in federal funding will help provide critical technical assistance to boost effort to make it happen.”
Empire State Development will administer the program in conjunction with the region’s tech hub, the Mohawk Valley Economic Development Growth Enterprises Corp. and the Capital Region Center for Economic Growth.
Hochul said the $9.4 million in federal funds “will be critical as we work to connect underserved and very small businesses with the resources they need to succeed.”
One of the signature semiconductor projects planned for upstate New York is Micron Technology’s chip fabrication plant, planned for outside of Syracuse. The Syracuse Post-Standard recently reported that groundbreaking for that project has been pushed back to November 2025. Initial plans called for a groundbreaking this summer, before it was delayed to spring 2025.
