Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse tech hub has applied for phase-two funding of up to $54 million

The Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse tech hub has submitted its application for up to $54 million in phase–two implementation funding.

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.

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.

His office says Schumer 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 region.

Schumer has written a letter of support to U.S. Department of Commerce SecretaryGina 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,” RobertSimpson, 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.”

Phase two implementation funding would focus on key areas across all regions including workforce training led by Monroe Community College; commercialization led by Syracuse University; supply chain led by the University at Buffalo; and startup innovation led by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), 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, his office noted.

The senator said tech-hubs implementation funding would work to maximize the existing success of U.S. semiconductor facilities and related supply–chain companies in the region, by helping directly address the growth challenges it would otherwise face over the coming decade through bolstering workforce training initiatives, helping further strengthen the supply chain, spurring semiconductor R&D and manufacturing innovation, and filling in other gaps in the existing semiconductor ecosystem infrastructure.