$10 billion in funding will go to support 20 research hubs with a third of them set to be in small or rural communities.
Little noticed in the bipartisan CHIPS semiconductor bill President Biden signed into law earlier this month are funds aimed at transforming where innovation happens in the U.S. Rather than sending money to traditional technology centers like Silicon Valley in Northern California, Seattle or Boston, the law will create technology hubs in many places, including small and rural places.
Most notably, the $54.2 billion bipartisan bill passed by Congress last month contains $39.4 billion in subsidies to try to restore the nation’s standing in the production of chips—which are used in everything from automobiles to washing machines—by encouraging companies to make them in the U.S. The law has bolstered the hopes of cities around the country—like Lafayette, Indiana, and Columbus, Ohio—because it will create jobs in their communities.
But also significant, said Mark Muro, a senior fellow at Brookings Metro, is that the law provides $10 billion over five years to create 20 regional technology and innovation hubs. And, it says they cannot be in places “that are now leading technology centers.”
Route Fifty
By Kery Murakami
AUGUST 19, 2022