Cities can apply for grants as tech hubs

WASHINGTON — The Commerce Department launched the application process Friday for cities to receive a total of $500 million in grants to become technology hubs.

The $500 million is part of a $10 billion authorization from last year’s CHIPS and Science Act 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 cities — Austin, Texas, Boston, New York, San Francisco and Seattle — to the rest of the country.

The Biden administration has made it a priority to set an industrial strategy of directing government investment into computer chips, clean energy and a range of other technologies.

Officials say that being leaders in those fields will foster economic and national security, reflecting a belief that the best way to compete against China’s ascendance will come from building internal strength.

The tech hubs are meant to build up areas that already have major research specialties but lack the access to financing that could fuel stronger growth and business formation in those fields. Pockets of the U.S. already have leading-edge tech such as medical devices in Minnesota, robotics in Pittsburgh and agricultural technology in Fresno, California.

To qualify for the tech hub money, each applicant will need a partnership that includes at least one company, a state development agency, worker training programs, a university and state and local government leaders. Roughly 20 cities are expected to be designated as tech hubs, with 10 eventually receiving funding.