Biden’s Tech Hubs Program Maps Out 31 New Locales for Innovation and Growth

The White House this week anointed 31 locales as technology hubs, positioning them as high-growth areas to pioneer innovations in future technologies such as artificial intelligence, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing. These are not the usual suspects. You might not have considered Birmingham, Alabama a tech center, but in a few years the new initiative could make the so-called “Magic City” a destination for drug and vaccine development.

The $500 million Tech Hubs program is funded by the Chips and Science Act, a measure aimed at bolstering U.S. manufacturing, strengthening the supply chain, and making the country more competitive on the world stage. The tech hubs will have an opportunity to compete for the funding, in which some, though not all, will receive between $40 million to $75 million in grants.

The aim of the program is to attract private capital to drive investment, plus draw attention to communities nationwide that are leaders in emerging technologies, according to Don Graves, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce. “We’re building off an ecosystem and strengthening an ecosystem that already exists,” Graves tells Inc. “Small businesses are a core part of the entire program. [W]e’re not just focused on the largest institutions and the largest companies, but building an entire ecosystem to support the development of that type of technology.”

Not only are the tech hubs geared toward making new jobs, but Graves says that the program can also spur more small-business creation.

The South Florida Climate Resilience Tech Hub, for example, will focus on sustainable infrastructure amid climate change, while the PRBio Tech Hub in Puerto Rico (long a pharmaceutical manufacturing center) will work on creating the next stage of drug development. Investing in tech hubs throws financial support behind groups such as manufacturing entities and research institutions, and can lead to jobs that support a hub’s mission.

Graves adds that the Biden Administration is focused on making sure that the program is creating pathways that don’t normally exist for small businesses, such as providing access to capital and technical assistance. “That’s what these tech hubs are all about,” he says. Each tech hub brings together a consortium of local institutions — including corporations, research institutions, training centers, labor unions and more — that will drive the focus, and therefore the funding, of a given hub.

Here’s the hub portfolio breakdown:

• Six will focus on advanced manufacturing
• Five are devoted to energy transition
• Five plan to improve predictive medicine
• Four will focus on semiconductor manufacturing
• Four will work on materials manufacturing
• Three will create autonomous systems and help supply chains
• Two will bolster critical mineral supply chains
• Two will maintain the country’s quantum edge

The 31 tech hubs, some of which cross state lines, reach Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Check out this White House Fact Sheet to learn more about the individual tech hubs.