SSTI Digest

May 21, 2024, 3:00 p.m. ET Ecosystem mapping facilitates clear communication about the resources, support programs, and key players available to entrepreneurs and innovators in a region. For TBED organizations, it is also a valuable tool for identifying potential partners, facilitating referral networks, and uncovering new strategic opportunities. However, keeping these maps current and reflective of a region’s growing and evolving economic landscape can be a challenge. In this TBED Community of Practice webinar, experts from EcoMap and SourceLink will demonstrate how they approach developing ecosystem maps tailored to your region, as well as strategies to keep these tools up-to-date and seamlessly incorporated into your daily operations. This webinar will provide the actionable insights needed to integrate ecosystem mapping into your organization’s strategic toolkit. Speakers: Sherrod Davis, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, EcoMap Technologies Maria Meyers, Founder, SourceLink Casey Nemecek, Program Director, SSTI Register Now

Traditionally, a scientific discovery's commercial potential is gauged after significant R&D. However, a recent paper by Duke University researchers Roger Masclans-Armengol, Sharique Hasan, and Wesley M. Cohen (2024) proposes a new method for assessing the commercial potential of scientific research before it's fully developed. Using a large language model to analyze scientific findings, the researchers predicted the likelihood that a discovery will lead to marketable products or processes. A large language model is a type of artificial intelligence that analyzes large data sets to make predictions. The researchers validated their method through several means. They tested the model by comparing its predictions with a holdout sample, a common technique to validate machine learning models by splitting data into training and testing sets where some data is withheld during the model fitting process. Next, the authors analyzed how well their new method aligns with the technology transfer process at a major university, tracking how research progresses toward commercialization. Additionally, they examined how the method compares to companies' use of academic research from…

Rev1 Ventures, an investor startup studio in Columbus, Ohio, that combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporations innovate, recently released its 2023 Startup Impact Report. The report notes the entrepreneurs they supported last year raised $390 million in capital with 34 raising pre-seed capital, 16 seed capital, and 19 early-stage capital. The clients generated $192 million in revenue and created or retained 1,013 jobs.  Rev1 invested $6.4 million in 17 companies in 2023 and supported a variety of startups, “including enterprise SaaS technology creating efficiencies in insurance and real estate, advanced technologies in green energy and life science disruptors with novel therapeutics for genetic diseases with no current cure.” Additionally, Rev1 reports the companies it has supported over the last 10 years have surpassed $5 billion in total economic impact in Ohio.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) Stage One winners. Each received $50,000 in prize awards for impactful and inclusive approaches to foster a thriving, collaborative national innovation support ecosystem to advance small business R&D. The SBA press release announcing the winners stated that “GAFC Stage One winners are organizations with ecosystem-building activities, including recruitment of new partners and strengthening existing alliances among stakeholders (including public, private, nonprofit, and academic partners), that aligned their submission with one of the following GAFC Theme Areas” of national and economic security; domestic manufacturing and production; and, sustainability and biotechnology. The 2024 Stage One winners are in 41 U.S. states and territories, including Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The following SSTI members were among the 60 Stage One Winners: National and Economic Security Ind.: Central Indiana Corporate Partnership  Md: Association of University Research Parks (AURP) Miss.: Innovate Mississippi Neb.: Invest…

Data center electricity consumption is expected to triple in just eight years, according to a recent report from the Boston Consulting Group. They project the tripling to occur in both the amount of electricity consumed (~130 TWh in 2022 to ~390 TWh in 2030) and its share of total U.S. electricity consumption (2.5% in 2022 to 7.5% in 2030). Of that ~260 TWh increase, BCG attributes ~70TWh to the electricity demands for generative AI. The impact of this demand is being felt in some regions of the U.S. For example, “Data centers in central Ohio are gobbling up vast amounts of electricity so fast that American Electric Power expects demand for power to double between 2018 and 2028,” according to a recent Columbus Dispatch article (subscription). PJM Interconnection, which oversees the flow of electricity in all or parts of 13 states, including Ohio, released its 2024 PJM Load Forecast Report in January 2024. A related press release notes, “Total annual energy use throughout the PJM footprint is expected to increase nearly 40% by 2039, from 800,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) to about 1.1 million GWh.” The release notes, “Rising energy demand in the region PJM serves is…

Which should be more valuable for an economic development minded investment program? Company A, which yields a 2x return on investment and has a technology that reduces carbon emissions and energy use, Company B, which returns 12x to investors through an impressive IPO but contributes more to climate change, or Company C, which returns 3x and the climate impacts of its technology and production process aren’t as easily measured so remain unknown.

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a final rule to promote competition by banning noncompetes against workers nationwide. According to the FTC press release, this final rule protects the fundamental freedom of workers to change jobs, increases innovation, and fosters new business formation.The FTC estimates that the final rule banning noncompetes will lead to new business formation growing by 2.7% per year, resulting in more than 8,500 additional new businesses created each year. In Part IV.B.3.b.i, “non-competes inhibit new business formation,” the final rule details the studies it reviewed and weighted in credibility to reach its conclusion about the number of additional new businesses that would be created. It includes a discussion of each study along with justification for weighing their conclusions heavily or not. The studies given high weight included “The Impact of Restricting Labor Mobility on Corporate Investment and Entrepreneurship,” which found a 7% impact from noncompetes. Another study, Employee Non-Compete Agreements, Gender, and Entrepreneurship,” found that an average increase in non-compete enforceability decreases the entry rate by 3.2…

Pending congressional appropriations, NSF announced a solicitation  for a new set of NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines). These NSF Engines would be in addition to the 10 inaugural engines the agency announced in January. In this proposed round of funding, NSF would only accept proposals for full NSF Engines, competing for up to $160 million over 10 years. Proposers would be asked to submit a letter of intent in place of a concept outline and a short preliminary proposal. NSF would not require that proposers have an NSF Engines Development Award nor previous support from NSF or other federal agencies. Any organization that meets the eligibility requirements specified in the funding opportunity may apply. In this round of funding, tribal nations and state and local government agencies would be eligible to submit a proposal as the lead organization. Letters of intent would be due by June 18 by 5 p.m. submitter’s time. More information can be found on the NSF Engines program website. Register for the “2024 NSF Engines Funding Opportunity Webinar” on April 25, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET.

SSTI and more than 160 state and local governments, institutions of higher education, businesses, trade associations, and nonprofit organizations sent a letter to Congress asking for Tech Hubs appropriations in the FY 2025 budget. As the letter points out, “America’s economic and security needs depend on the country’s ability to remain at the forefront of technological frontiers,” and the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act envisioned a scale for this effort that would see approximately $6 billion in funding through FY 2025—well above the $541 million that Congress has provided to date. Read the full letter, add your organization’s support, and share with your regional stakeholders. 

The U.S. Department of Commerce has recently signed two non-binding preliminary memorandums of terms (PMTs) with semiconductor companies to provide direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. One company, the TSMC Arizona Corporation (TSMC Arizona), a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), will receive up to $6.6 billion to support the company’s investment of more than $65 billion in three greenfield fabs in Phoenix, Arizona. The second company, Samsung Electronics (Samsung), will receive up to $6.4 billion for two new logic fabs, an R&D fab, and an advanced packaging facility in Taylor, Texas, as well as an expansion to their existing Austin facility. In addition to the proposed direct funding to TSMC, the CHIPS Program Office would make approximately $5 billion of proposed loans—which is part of the $75 billion in loan authority provided by the CHIPS and Science Act—available to TSMC Arizona under the PMT. The company has indicated that it is planning to claim the Department of the Treasury’s Investment Tax Credit, which is expected to be up to 25% of qualified capital expenditures. TSMC Arizona is committing to build…

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have posted the position for director, Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program after the recent announcement that the previous director had left to become director of the CDFI Fund. The director “directs and controls the activities of the MEP,” according to the posting. Qualifications required include, “A broad knowledge of and demonstrated experience in manufacturing, manufacturing and industrial extension programs, and/or technology-based economic development.” The posting is open to May 8 with applicants encouraged not to wait until the last day to apply. Historically, MEP has partnered closely with the states and most SSTI members.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced its selections for $20 billion in grant awards under two competitions within the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). The three selections under the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund and five selections under the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator will, according to an announcement from the EPA, “create a national clean financing network for clean energy and climate solutions across sectors…. By financing tens of thousands of projects, this national clean financing network will mobilize private capital to reduce climate and air pollution….” The eight selected applicants have supported thousands of individuals, businesses, and community organizations to access capital for climate and clean energy projects, according to the announcement from EPA. They have committed to delivering on the three objectives of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: reducing climate and air pollution; delivering benefits to communities, especially low-income and disadvantaged communities; and mobilizing financing and private capital. They will, according to the announcement, create a national clean…