Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse tech hub going after phase-2 funding

The tech hub involving the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region is now pursuing phase-two implementation funding that could total as much as $54 million. The tech hub is officially known as the NY SMART I-Corridor, which is short for New York Semiconductor Manufacturing and Research Technology Innovation Corridor Consortium. The NY SMART I-Corridor Consortium tech hub spans across the Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse regions, and involves more than 100 institutions, including assembling commitments from industry, academia, labor, nonprofit, government, and other private-sector members. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) — who secured the tech-hub designation for the three Upstate metro areas — announced the application submission. The senator said he is now launching an “all-out push” to make the project one of the program’s first implementation award winners to build a “globally leading” semiconductor cluster in the upstate New York region. Schumer has written a letter of support to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. “The Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse SMART I-Corridor region has a generational opportunity to build a globally leading semiconductor cluster as one in four American-made chips will be produced within 350 miles of the I-Corridor by 2033,” Robert Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO, said in Schumer’s announcement. “No other area will account for a greater share of domestic production, which represents a critical capacity building opportunity for the region. To meet this moment, leading civic institutions across our region have partnered to co-design solutions that will catalyze efforts through five component projects. This proposal when executed will transform our economic competitiveness for generations while also impacting more immediate national security challenges. This corridor is poised and ready to lead and we thank Senator Schumer for sharing our vision and providing unwavering support for this application.”

Funding use

Implementation funding that the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub is applying for would target specific component projects that seek to solve the “growth challenges” the region would otherwise face over the coming decade, Schumer’s office said. Specifically, the component project efforts will be led by Syracuse University (SU), the University at Buffalo (UB), Monroe Community College, and Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR). SU will work at creating a “collaborative ecosystem” for semiconductor research and development efforts for product commercialization, Monroe Community College will lead workforce-training initiatives, UB will work at strengthening the supply chain by making it easier for local firms to gain access to growth opportunities in the semiconductor industry, and NYSTAR will focus on investment in tech startups and entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth in the region. The implementation phase of the program will allow the region to expand the semiconductor ecosystem already in existence to “develop and make the future of semiconductor technology” in the Upstate region, per Schumer’s office. Schumer said the NY SMART I-Corridor project builds on the investments announced for the region in semiconductor manufacturing and research and development resulting from his CHIPS & Science Law. It’s expected that one in four American-made chips will be produced within 350 miles of the NY Smart I-Corridor by 2033.