The Summer of Tech Hubs: Innovative Capital Summit and Great American Tech Hubs Road Show

For the first time since EDA designated 31 Tech Hubs as places with the capacity and potential to become globally competitive in critical technologies in October 2023, leadership from the Hubs came from all across the country to gather in Washington, D.C., for the Innovative Capital Summit on July 22-23, 2024. 

The summit, organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Economic Development Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), and the Milken Institute, connected the 31 Tech Hubs and National Science Foundation Engines awardees with potential sources of capital to support their strategies and projects. 

More than 100 capital providers—including venture capitalists, foundations, philanthropists, and private equity firms—convened to explore new opportunities for investment and impact. The gathering manifested our goal to enable Tech Hubs to coalesce more and more diverse capital around their acceleration into globally competitive leaders in their respective technology sectors. The private sector and philanthropic partners who attended, alongside their nationwide networks, are key to unlocking not only these Hubs’ and Engines’, but also America’s potential. No other nation has the innovative, forward-thinking business and investment communities that that fuel U.S. technological and economic leadership.  

As Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo mentioned in her opening remarks, “Because of the leaders in this room, and our partners across the nation, we are redefining the way we bring together government, the private sector, workers, colleges, communities of color, and many others to not just ‘Invest in America’ using every possible avenue of funding and resourcing available. The connections and pathways to capital we’re forging here today will bring about a generational shift in how America does business.”

We asked the 31 Tech Hubs to dream big, and we know that federal investment alone will not get the flywheel of self-sustaining, accelerating growth going: we need to catalyze investors, philanthropists, and others to deploy more capital into these Hubs and Engines. Tech Hubs and Engines need engagement from these other investors that can confidently pursue partnerships with companies and institutions—and their strategies and projects—that we have vetted as having real potential for significant impact. The Tech Hubs designations and Engines awards send a strong signal to everyone that these selected regions are ready for the next level.

The summit included a special meeting with representatives from federal agencies that have committed to supporting Tech Hubs as part of the Tech Hubs Benefits of Designation initiative. This highlights the whole-of-government approach deployed by the Tech Hubs Program to offers all Tech Hubs access to a wide range of benefits, including tailored technical assistance programs, information about potential procurement pipelines for Tech Hub-produced products, and potential public and private sector financing opportunities.  

Tech Hubs will also have access to a series of convenings and networking events connecting Hubs to policymakers, industry stakeholders, and capital. Finally, Hubs will receive a preference on key EDA Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO), including Build to Scale and the Good Jobs Challenge, and all designated Tech Hubs will be able to apply directly for future Tech Hubs implementation grants. 

Great American Tech Hubs Tour 

On July 2, 2024, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo kicked off the Great American Tech Hubs Tour with a visit to the Nevada Tech Hub to announce that 12 Tech Hubs were awarded a total of $504 million to implement projects. 

Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves simultaneously visited the ReGen Valley Tech Hub in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Assistant Secretary Castillo visited the South Florida ClimateReady Tech Hub in Miami, Florida.  Senior Commerce leaders then visited the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Tech Hub in Spokane, Washington; both the Corvalis Microfluidics Tech Hub and Pacific Northwest Mass Timber Tech Hub in Corvallis, Oregon; and the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub in North Texas and Southern Oklahoma. 

EDA plans to visit all designated Tech Hubs this year to learn more about their projects, help them build strategies, identify potential additional resources including current and future funding opportunities, and celebrate their potential and successes. We look forward to partnering with and supporting all 31 Tech Hubs to build workforces of the future, enable businesses to start and scale, and produce, deploy, and deliver critical and emerging technologies. 

Click here to follow the Great American Tech Hubs Tour 2024 Blog for details about our latest visits. Follow #EDATechHubs on social media for updates.