Schumer announces $40 million, tech hub status for upstate NY

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer visited Monroe Community College on Tuesday to announce $40 million in federal funding for regional efforts to create a semiconductor super highway.

The $40 million earmarked will be shared between Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse, with funding focused on workforce training, supply chain and commercialization. The region is one of 12 around the nation out of a pool of nearly 400 applicants.

The funding comes with the promise that a quarter of all semiconductor chips will be produced within 350 miles of the tech hub by the end of the decade.

“This federal investment is how we accelerate this great trend, how to make sure the impacts of a major historic investment like Micron’s $100 billion project in upstate New York are built here in Rochester and grow the industry even more,” Schumer said.

More: Upstate NY’s three biggest cities win national Tech Hub competition. What does it mean?

Semiconductor fabrication facilities, or fabs, in the corridor will face a deficit of more than 10,000 jobs by 2034, according to a statement from Schumer. Local colleges and universities, like MCC, will be at the forefront of workforce training programs tailored to meet the needs of companies like Micron, Global Foundries, and their supply chain partners.

More: Biden to designate Upstate NY as Workforce Hub to support Micron. What does that mean?

The investment is designed to retain talent from local schools and higher education who have departed for other opportunities in the past, Schumer said.

“People who live here will get good paying jobs, and there will be people in other parts of the country waving goodbye to their parents as they get on the plane to Rochester to work here with all the new jobs we’re going to create,” he said.

Monroe County has long maintained a reputation as a hub of innovation, said Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, but it’s not just tied to the past, but the present and future.

“We have the talent, the resources, the scientific and manufacturing capabilities, to compete with any community across the United States and across the globe,” Bello said. “…This investment is the catalyst that has the potential to ignite that transformative growth throughout this entire region.”

Schumer’s announcement, part of a trio of stops in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, came to MCC’s downtown campus in a sixth floor robotics lab. MCC President DeAnna R. Burt-Nanna said the community college stands ready to deliver the results the county, state and nation have come to know it for.

“This announcement reflects the strength of partnerships that we have forged over decades, as well as the laser focus and tireless advocacy of all of our elected officials at the federal, state and local levels to position MCC and Monroe County … for this remarkable regional collaboration,” Burt-Nanna said.

While 12 regions will receive funding through a federal grant, the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region is the only one focused on semiconductors, which are found in vehicles and electronics.

The funds will come from the CHIPS & Science Act, a roughly $250 billion federal investment in semiconductor research, manufacturing and development. The $40 million grant will be used to educate the future workforce, scale capacity at regional manufacturing partnerships and boost startups and small-to-midsize businesses in the semiconductor industry.

“The money is secondary,” said Bob Duffy, president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce. “The designation, I think, means everything. To have … (these) three regions designated as a federal tech hub really … will bring a lot of investment power here.”

The $40 million is less than the $75 million advertised as a potential payout for the winning region in the nationwide contest. The state will add another $8 million in Empire State Development funds, officials said Tuesday after the award was announced.

— Steve Howe covers weather, climate and lake issues for the Democrat and Chronicle. An RIT graduate, he returned to Rochester after working around the state and in Utah. Share with him at [email protected].

This story includes reporting from New York State Team reporter Thomas Zambito.