Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse Region Receives Prestigious Tech Hub Designation

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer held a press conference today at Buffalo Manufacturing Works announcing that the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region has been selected from almost 200 submissions to recieve 1 of only 31 Tech Hub designations in the United States. According to Schumer, this prestigious designation from his CHIPS & Science Bill primes the region to become America’s next 'Semiconductor Superhighway'.

Workforce Buffalo is proud to be a supporting partner of this initiative as a member of the New York Semiconductor Manufacturing and Research Technology Innovation-Corridor (NY SMART I-Corridor) Consortium, and believes that this Tech Hub designation will enhance the existing assets and capabilities of our region and propel us into global leadership in semiconductor manufacturing.

According to Senator Schumer's office, "Specifically, the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub proposal seeks to propel the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse corridor by attracting new suppliers to the region, including onshoring companies from overseas, advancing research & development programs for the semiconductor industry, training the next generation of Upstate New York’s manufacturing workforce, and specifically helping ensure that underserved populations are connected to the tens thousands of good-paying jobs expected to be created in this growing industry in the region."

Joined by Congressman Brian Higgins, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, Buffalo Niagara Partnership President & CEO Dottie Gallagher, The John R. Oishei Foundation President Christina Orsi, and other Buffalo industry leaders, Senator Schumer's Tech Hub designation announcement is a celebration of not only the Tech Hub designation itself, but also the collaboration among the NY SMART I-Corridor consortium members.

The NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub proposal will now be able to compete in the next phase of the Tech Hubs Program that will award millions of dollars in federal funding to select Tech Hubs, providing a unique opportunity to bolster the Semiconductor Workforce in Western and Upstate New York. The 31 selected Tech Hubs will now compete to receive $50 million to $75 million as one of five to 10 bids to boost regional economic redevelopment.

Senator Schumer is confident that combining resources to create this 3-region Tech Hub will result in the award of this federal funding within the next few months.

“I pulled out all the stops to land this Tech Hub Designation for my great home state – making the case that bringing together these three cities and giving them the resources to combine forces would create an unstoppable engine that will rev the region’s industries to life and make Upstate NY a global center for semiconductors. With this Tech Hubs Designation highlighting the region as one of only a few in the country primed to be the next Silicon Valley in critical technology, combined with federal funding now flooding this triple threat region, America’s semiconductor manufacturing industry truly couldn’t be in better hands,” said Senator Schumer.