Federal Grant Will Help Make New Hampshire A Tech Hub

NEW HAMPSHIRE — The technology industry in New Hampshire is getting a boost with a federal grant announced Monday to spur innovation and jobs in areas that already have high concentrations of these types of businesses.

The grant is part of a $500 million program providing money to 31 technology hubs touching 32 states and Puerto Rico. The money is allocated under last year’s $10 billion CHIPS and Science Act meant to stimulate investments in new technologies.

Announced Monday by the Biden administration, the grants invest in technology outside current hubs where the industry is largely concentrated — Austin, Texas; Boston; New York; San Francisco and Seattle. The 31 hubs were chosen out of about 400 applicants, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters in a Sunday conference call.

Information on the exact funding totals for each state, including New Hampshire, is being finalized and will announced soon, a representative for the Economic Development Administration told Patch Thursday. The roster of applicants and information on the winning designees will be available on TechHubs.gov in the coming weeks, the representative said.

The ReGen Valley Tech Hub, led by the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute, is one of the 2023 Tech Hubs Designees.

"The hub aims to make New Hampshire a global leader in biofabrication to produce cost-effective regenerative therapies that address chronic disease and organ failure," according to a news release.

Speaking about the hub program, Raimondo said she has "never seen as much interest in any initiative than this one."

"No matter where I go or who I meet with — CEOs, governors, senators, congresspeople, university presidents — everyone wants to tell me about their application and how excited they are," Raimondo said.

The Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program, as it’s formally known, ties into President Joe Biden’s economic argument that people should be able to find good jobs where they live, and that opportunity should be spread across the country, rather than be concentrated. The White House has sought to elevate that message and highlight Biden’s related policies as the Democratic president undertakes his 2024 reelection bid.

“These Tech Hubs will catalyze investment in technologies critical to economic growth, national security, and job creation, and will help communities across the country become centers of innovation critical to American competitiveness,” the White House said Monday in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.

The 31 tech hubs also reach Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Montana, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Virginia, Missouri, Kansas, Maryland, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Minnesota, Louisiana, Idaho, Wyoming, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, New York, Nevada, Missouri, Oregon, Vermont, Ohio, Maine, Washington and Puerto Rico.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.