Benzinga - by Natan Ponieman, Benzinga Editor.
The Biden administration has selected 31 tech hubs across the country in a move to bring innovation and tech development back to U.S. soil.
Along with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Biden unveiled the creation of a new program looking to "spur American innovation, strengthen manufacturing, and create good-paying jobs in every region of the country."
The regional innovation and technology hubs will be focused on different industries, including semiconductors, clean energy, critical minerals, biotechnology, precision medicine, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, among others.
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The implementation is part of the CHIPS and Science Act, a bill signed into law in August 2022, which appropriates $56 billion to renationalize strategically important parts of the semiconductor supply chain, in an effort to recapture business and capital lost to China and other foreign nations during the past decades.
"We invented the semiconductor," said Joe Biden in a press conference on Monday. "America invented these chips, but over time we went from producing nearly 40% of the world's chips to down to producing only 10%.”
The U.S. doesn't house the production of the world's most advanced chips, which are made in Korea and Taiwan.
Semiconductors have become a key element in national security, technological supremacy and the fight for economic leadership against China.
The program is also an effort to relocate some of the perks of innovation to smaller communities within the U.S., opening opportunities to cities outside the "few cities on the coasts" where economic growth and opportunity "has clustered for too long."
"We're creating good jobs in communities all across the country, including places where for decades, factories have been shut down, hollowed up and jobs moved overseas to find cheaper employment," said Biden.
The designated tech hubs, composed of private companies, local governments, tribes, universities, labor unions and non-profits, will be able to compete for grants of up to $75 million to boost up their research and production capacities.
The president said that as a result of the CHIPS act, semiconductor companies across the world are investing over $100 billion in bringing back development and production to the U.S. Among the top semiconductor makers in the U.S. are Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC), L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LHX), Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), Amkor Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR), NXP Semiconductors USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXPI), GlobalFoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS), Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) and Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI).
The Hubs: Is One Near You? The 31 hubs were selected among 370 applications coming from 49 states. The selected hubs span across 32 states and Puerto Rico.
Northeast:
- Rhode Island, Massachusetts: Ocean Tech Hub. Developing maritime AI and machine learning-enabled robotics and sensors.
- New Hampshire: ReGen Valley Tech Hub. Leading in biofabrication for cost-effective regenerative therapies.
- Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey: Greater Philadelphia Region Precision Medicine Tech Hub. Leading in end-to-end precision medicine.
- Maryland: Baltimore Tech Hub. Innovating predictive healthcare technologies with AI applications.
- New York: New Energy New York Battery Tech Hub. Advancing battery technology development and manufacturing.
- New York: NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub. Enhancing regional semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.
- Maine: Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub. Leading in forest-based biomaterial production.
- Virginia: Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Tech Hub. Innovating in pharmaceutical manufacturing to re-shore medicines.
- Alabama: Birmingham Biotechnology Hub. Leading in AI-driven biotechnology for drug, vaccine, and diagnostics development.
- Puerto Rico: PRBio Tech Hub. Advancing in biotechnology for the discovery, development, and supply of next-gen medical products.
- South Carolina, Georgia: SC Nexus for Advanced Resilient Energy. Leading in advanced energy technologies.
- Florida: South Florida Climate Resilience Tech Hub. Leading in Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure solutions.
- Louisiana: Gulf Louisiana Offshore Wind Propeller. Transitioning to offshore wind and renewable energy.
- Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin: The Bloch Tech Hub. Leading in quantum computing, communications, and related solutions.
- Illinois: iFAB Tech Hub. Converting corn feedstocks into customized proteins, food ingredients, and more.
- Missouri, Kansas: Kansas City Inclusive Biologics and Biomanufacturing Tech Hub. Leading in biologics and biomanufacturing for vaccines and other technologies.
- Indiana: Heartland BioWorks. Developing biotechnology and biomanufacturing for life-saving medicines.
- Minnesota, Wisconsin: Minnesota MedTech Hub 3.0. Integrating AI, machine learning, and data science into medical technology.
- Missouri: Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Energy Tech Hub. Leading in critical minerals processing for battery technology.
- Ohio: Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub. Accelerating sustainable polymer manufacturing in the U.S.
- Oklahoma: Tulsa Hub for Equitable & Trustworthy Autonomy. Developing autonomous systems for agriculture, transport, and other uses.
- Texas, Oklahoma: Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub. Enhancing semiconductor supply chain infrastructure.
- Montana: Headwaters Hub. Leading in smart technologies for industrial manufacturing automation.
- Idaho, Wyoming: Intermountain-West Nuclear Energy Tech Hub. Leading in small modular reactors and advanced nuclear energy.
- Nevada: Nevada Lithium Batteries and Other EV Material Loop. Developing a full lithium lifecycle cluster.
- Oregon: Corvallis Microfluidics Tech Hub. Leading in microfluidics technology for semiconductor and electronic cooling.
- Vermont: Advancing Gallium Nitride Tech Hub. Innovating in GaN manufacturing for wireless communication.
- Washington, Idaho: American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Tech Hub. Developing supply chains for advanced composite aerostructures.
- Oregon, Washington: Pacific Northwest Mass Timber Tech Hub. Leading in mass timber design and manufacturing.
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