Press Release:
After years of relentless advocacy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region has just won the prestigious federal Tech Hub designation he created in the CHIPS & Science Act, putting Upstate NY further on the road to becoming America’s semiconductor superhighway.
Schumer pulled out all the stops to bolster the tri-city region to beat out hundreds of other applications in the nationwide competition. The proposal called the “NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub” will build on the historic investments Schumer delivered that have spurred a boom in semiconductor manufacturing and innovation across Upstate NY and with today’s designation, will now be in an exclusive group of only 31 regions in America to compete for potentially billions in federal funding to transform Upstate NY as a global hub for workforce training, innovation, and manufacturing of semiconductor technology.
“Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse are officially on the road to becoming America’s semiconductor superhighway. I created this program with Upstate NY in mind, and now three of our own cities that helped build America, have not only won the exclusive federal Tech Hub designation for semiconductors but also won a once-in-a-generation opportunity to write a new chapter for Upstate NY building our nation’s future. This 3 region Tech Hub will hit the gas on NY’s booming chips industry by attracting new companies, training our workforce for tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, and bringing manufacturing in this critical industry back from overseas to right here in Upstate NY,” said Senator Schumer.
“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.”
Schumer originally proposed the Tech Hubs program years ago as part of the bipartisan Endless Frontier Act with Upstate NY in mind to help bring critical industries back from overseas in communities that have great potential to lead in new technologies and finally was able to create the Regional Tech Hubs competition in his CHIPS & Science Bill.
Schumer has been a tireless advocate for the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region proposal, personally writing and calling Commerce Secretary Raimondo multiple times to make the case that Upstate NY is best suited to help drive forward the nation’s semiconductor and broader microelectronics industries.
Schumer said that the three-region consortium beat out hundreds of applications and was one of only 31 regions chosen for the Tech Hub designation. The NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub proposal will now be able to compete for the next phase of the Tech Hubs Program that will invest between $50 and $75 million in each of 5 to 10 Designated Hubs.
Schumer secured an initial infusion of $500 million in last year’s spending bill to jumpstart the Tech Hubs competition, from which Phase 2 awards will be made. The CHIPS & Science Bill included a $10 billion authorization for the Tech Hubs program – meaning that designated Tech Hubs will be able to compete for significantly more investment based on future funding levels.
Schumer said that with this designation, the NY SMART I-Corridor will bring together the combined assets of Buffalo, Rochester,u and Syracuse to help the region become a globally recognized semiconductor manufacturing hub in the next decade, with innovation focused on improving the quality and quantity of semiconductor manufacturing and, along with it, amplifying the region’s microelectronics and microchip supply chain ecosystem. The Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse consortium includes over 80 members from across the public sector, industry, higher-ed, economic and workforce development, and labor. This includes over 22 industry groups and firms, 20 economic development organizations, 8 labor & workforce training organizations, and 10 institutions of higher learning. This application development process was led by three designated conveners, one from each region: The John R. Oishei Foundation in Buffalo, ROC2025 in Rochester, and CenterState CEO in Syracuse.
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.
Schumer has been preparing Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse for this opportunity, working relentlessly to boost Upstate New York as a global tech leader. Schumer’s tireless advocacy has resulted in billions in proposed investments from the semiconductor industry spurred by his Chips & Science Bill. In the Syracuse region alone, Micron has announced plans to invest an historic $100 billion to build a cutting-edge memory fab expected to create nearly 50,000 jobs. In Western NY, Edwards Vacuum will invest $300+ million to build a 600 job U.S. dry pump manufacturing facility to supply the semiconductor industry. With Schumer’s direct advocacy, Buffalo has already received $25 million for its growing tech industry through the American Recue Plan’s Build Back Better Challenge, laying the foundation for the Tech Hub designation they have now secured. In the Rochester region, Corning Incorporated, which manufactures glass critical to the microchip industry, has already invested $139 million in Monroe County – creating over 270 new, good-paying jobs in the Finger Lakes region.
Members of the consortium include semiconductor manufacturers and supply chain business like Micron, INFICON, Corning, Optimax, AMD, TTM Technologies, Saab, Akoustis, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Edwards Vacuum, Linde, Lifatec and SRC; business organizations like NY Photonics with 120-member companies, Buffalo Niagara Partnership, and Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association (RTMA) with 85-member companies, Buffalo Niagara Manufacturing Alliance (BNMA), and the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce; education and research institutions like University of Buffalo, University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Monroe Community College, Syracuse University, Cornell , SUNY Oswego, SUNY ESF, SUNY EOC, and Onondaga Community College; workforce development partners like Centerstate CEO, Northland Workforce Training Center, RochesterWorks, RMAPI, UNiCON, WNY Area Labor Federation, Central-Northern New York Building and Construction Trades Council, IBEW Local 43, and many more.
