Parts of upstate New York are receiving federal Tech Hub designation.
The Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region is now being recognized as a national tech destination known as the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub. The region beat out hundreds of other applicants to become one of only 31 designated Tech Hubs. The Hubs will be able to apply and compete for funding. The Tech Hubs Program will invest between $50 and $75 million each in 5 to 10 of the designated Hubs. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Tech Hub will be a big boost to local, state, federal and global economies.
“There is no greater national spotlight, no greater open-for-business sign than this one, which says we’re a Tech Hub and we are becoming the Semiconductor Superhighway,” Schumer said.
He said the new Tech Hub distinction will ultimately draw attention to the resources of upstate New York.
“When I created the Tech Hub Program, guess who I had in mind: Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester, cities with enormous talent but no one was going to pay attention to them unless we force the federal government to pay some attention,” Schumer said.
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said while there may have been initial apprehension about the partnership, coming together is what will allow upstate communities to continue to grow.
“Ultimately we did come to the table,” Walsh said. “And guess what we figured out. We have a whole lot more in common than we didn’t and we brought a whole lot more to the table together than we did separately.”
In addition to the new Tech Hub, Schumer said I-90 will become the “Semiconductor Superhighway of America,” tying together chip factories and tech industries like Utica’s Wolfspeed to the Hudson Valley’s Onsemi.
