It includes a flagship facility in Syracuse ALBANY — New York State has established Empire AI as part of the newly enacted state budget, which also includes a $200 million investment to support four ON-RAMP advanced-manufacturing training centers, including a flagship facility in Syracuse. […]
It includes a flagship facility in Syracuse
ALBANY — New York State has established Empire AI as part of the newly enacted state budget, which also includes a $200 million investment to support four ON-RAMP advanced-manufacturing training centers, including a flagship facility in Syracuse.
Empire AI is described as a “first-of-its-kind consortium to secure New York’s place at the forefront” of artificial intelligence (AI) research, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul announced April 22. The ON-RAMP advanced-manufacturing training centers will seek to prepare New Yorkers for the jobs of the future, Hochul’s office said in a separate April 22 announcement. In addition, the spending plan includes a $500 million capital investment to jumpstart a $10 billion partnership for next-generation chips research.
Empire AI consortium
The consortium will leverage a $275 million state investment to create and launch a “state-of-the-art” AI computing center on the campus of the University at Buffalo. The center will be used by New York institutions to “promote responsible research and development, create jobs, and advance AI for the public good,” the governor’s office contended.
The Empire AI consortium will include seven New York–based founding institutions: Cornell University, SUNY, CUNY, Columbia University, New York University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the Flatiron Institute.
“Whoever is at the forefront of artificial intelligence will dominate the next chapter of human history — and I’m committed to seizing that opportunity here in New York,” Hochul said in the announcement. “AI will have a transformational effect on our economy and industries, and these investments ensure that we are using the extraordinary growth opportunity to benefit New Yorkers.”
The initiative will be funded by more than $400 million in public and private investment, including a $250 million state capital-grant investment, and $25 million over 10 years in SUNY funding. The project will also receive more than $125 million from the founding institutions and other private partners. They include the Simons Foundation, whose Flatiron Institute works to advance research through computational methods, and Tom Secunda, co-founder of Bloomberg LP and the Secunda Family Foundation, which provides millions of dollars a year in grants to conservation, health care, scientific advancement, and other causes.
In addition, as part of the budget, Hochul signed legislation to prioritize “safe, ethical” uses as the state continues to build its AI footprint. The legislation includes a requirement that all forms of political communication — including image, video, audio, text or any technological representation of speech or conduct — “disclose the use of materially deceptive media.”
ON-RAMP centers
The new spending plan includes a $200 million investment to establish One Network for Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships (ON-RAMP). It’s a network of four new workforce-development centers to prepare New Yorkers for the jobs of the future, Hochul’s office said.
As the state continues to attract high-tech businesses in fast-growing industries like semiconductor manufacturing, ON-RAMP centers will offer credentials and training related to advanced manufacturing and “help expand opportunities for disadvantaged populations,” per the state. The program will focus on “strategic, high-impact locations” in upstate New York.
Investing in chips research
The budget also includes a $500 million capital investment for NY CREATES’ Albany Nanotech Complex to help jumpstart a $10 billion partnership and bring a High NA EUV Lithography Center to the complex.
Hochul announced the partnership with IBM (NYSE: IBM), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, and other leaders from the semiconductor industry last year as part of the effort to establish a global hub for semiconductor manufacturing in New York.
Once completed, Hochul’s office said the new center will build on other semiconductor-related investments to make New York home to the first publicly owned High NA EUV Lithography Center in North America, support the long-term growth of New York’s tech economy, and create and retain thousands of direct, indirect, and union construction jobs.