Biden administration provides $504 million to support 12 ‘tech hubs’ nationwide

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Tuesday it is making $504 million in implementation grants available to a dozen “tech hubs” in states including Ohio, Montana, Nevada and Florida.

The money would be used to develop quantum computing, bioproduction, lithium batteries, computer chips, personal medicine and other technologies.

The government is trying to encourage more people technological innovation across the country, rather than being concentrated in a few metropolitan areas such as San Francisco, Seattle, Boston and New York City.

“The reality is that there are smart people, great entrepreneurs and leading research institutions all over the country,” the Commerce Minister said Gina Raimondo said in a phone call in preparation for the announcement. “We are missing out on so much potential if we don’t give them the tools to compete and win in the technology sectors that will define the global economy of the 21st century.”

The money comes from the Economic Development Administration of the Department of Commerce. In October 2023, President Joe Biden 31 tech hubs designated. Raimondo said the administration pushed for more funding for the program so that all designated tech hubs can receive additional resources to compete.

The tech hubs receiving funding include:

— $41 million for Elevate Quantum Tech Hub in Colorado and New Mexico

— $41 million for the Headwaters Hub in Montana

— $51 million for Heartland BioWorks in Indiana

— $51 million for the iFAB Tech Hub in Illinois

— $21 million for Nevada Tech Hub

— $40 million for the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub in New York

— $44 million for ReGen Valley Tech Hub in New Hampshire

— $45 million for the SC Nexus for advanced resilient energy in South Carolina and Georgia

— $19 million for the South Florida ClimateReady Tech Hub

— $51 million for Ohio’s Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub

— $51 million for the Tulsa Hub for Equitable & Reliable autonomy in Oklahoma

— $51 million for the Wisconsin Biohealth Teach Hub.