The Biden administration on Monday designated 31 technology hubs spread across 32 states and Puerto Rico to help spur innovation and create jobs in the industries that are concentrated in these areas.
“We’re going to invest in critical technologies like biotechnology, critical materials, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing — so the U.S. will lead the world again in innovation across the board,” President Joe Biden said. “I truly believe this country is about to take off.”
The Lehigh Valley was not selected as one of the tech hubs, despite strong support from its representative in Congress who outlined the idea behind the Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program in legislation introduced in July 2021 and which was then merged into the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act passed last summer.
“Though this isn’t the outcome we hoped for, the Lehigh Valley’s semiconductor technology, economic development, manufacturing, labor and workforce, education, and business and nonprofit communities are stronger thanks to months of hard work and collaboration between our incredible industry leaders,” U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, a Democrat representing the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, said in a statement sent out by the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.
The tech hubs are the result of a process that the Commerce Department launched in May to distribute a total of $500 million in grants to cities.
Last year’s $10 billion CHIPS and Science Act included the $500 million to stimulate investments in new technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and biotech. It’s an attempt to expand tech investment that is largely concentrated around a few U.S. cities — Austin, Texas; Boston; New York; San Francisco; and Seattle — to the rest of the country.
“I have to say, in my entire career in public service, I have never seen as much interest in any initiative than this one,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters during a Sunday conference call to preview the announcement. Her department received 400 applications, she said.
“No matter where I go or who I meet with — CEOs, governors, senators, congresspeople, university presidents — everyone wants to tell me about their application and how excited they are,” said Raimondo.
The program, formally the Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program, ties into the president’s economic argument that people should be able to find good jobs where they live and that opportunity should be spread across the country, rather than be concentrated. The White House has sought to elevate that message and highlight Biden’s related policies as the Democratic president undertakes his 2024 reelection bid.
The 31 tech hubs reach Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Montana, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Virginia, New Hampshire, Missouri, Kansas, Maryland, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Minnesota, Louisiana, Idaho, Wyoming, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, New York, Nevada, Missouri, Oregon, Vermont, Ohio, Maine, Washington and Puerto Rico.
Philadelphia was the only Pennsylvania region chosen among the 31 designees, the LVEDC noted in a statement Monday. Philadelphia combined its application with parts of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, representing the only selection from those states.
The Lehigh Valley’s application centered on innovation in semiconductor design and production, a sector with roots in the Lehigh Valley going back more than 70 years to Bell Labs and Western Electric’s production of the first transistors in Allentown, according to the economic development agency.
“We’re disappointed that the Lehigh Valley was not selected, but we knew from the outset it would be a very competitive process and it was unlikely that more than one region would be chosen from any state,” stated LVEDC President and CEO Don Cunningham. “We’ve learned so much more about our semiconductor sector and have developed a strong coalition to help it grow. This is just the beginning of a newfound focus for the Lehigh Valley.”
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Darlene Superville of The Associated Press and supervising reporter Kurt Bresswein contributed to this report. Reach him at [email protected].