US starts 'Tech Hubs' funding with $500M grant

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US on Friday started funding for its "Tech Hubs" program by offering an initial $500 million grant in order to turn metropolitan areas across the nation into technology and innovation centers.

President Joe Biden administration, as part of his "Investing in America" agenda, has launched the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs competition, the Commerce Department said in a statement.

The program aims to establish tech hubs in various regions by bringing together industry, higher education institutions, state and local governments, economic development organizations, and labor and workforce partners, it said.

"The Tech Hubs program is a critical piece of President Biden’s Investing in America strategy, and will help us create ecosystems of innovation to strengthen economic opportunity in communities around the country that have historically been overlooked," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

"We’re going to do that by supercharging our existing innovation foundations, bringing together our premier research institutions with world class companies to create good-paying jobs in these communities, and ensuring the technological advances that define the next century are made in communities across America," she added.

The program was authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by Biden last August, that sets aside $52.7 billion to increase production of American-made semiconductors, address supply chain vulnerabilities by producing more goods in the US and bolster domestic scientific research.

"The President’s Tech Hubs initiative will seed the next generation of leading innovation clusters in communities around the country, strengthening manufacturing and creating good paying jobs to ensure that America again leads the world in technologies of the future," said National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard.

The Commerce Department said applications will be evaluated through a three-month window, as successful proposals have to demonstrate a region’s capabilities in its primary technological strength and innovative industry.