SSTI Digest

The vision and strategy for a National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), a key part of the R&D program set out in the CHIPS and Science Act, was released this week by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The paper, A Vision and Strategy for the National Semiconductor Technology Center, describes the center’s mission, core programs, and other features. While the paper refers to it as a center, it is expected to consist of a headquarters facility and an integrated network of NSTC-affiliated technical centers with locations geographically distributed to leverage existing capabilities. It will also start an investment fund that enables future innovations in early-stage companies and will create programs that strengthen and expand the semiconductor workforce. 

Late last week, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) released “Tech Hubs Program Fact Sheet,” which provides some information on where the Tech Hubs program is headed. However, the sheet leaves many questions unanswered and raises new questions about how the program will be administered. The program, authorized in the CHIPS and Science Act at $10 billion, received $500 million in funding to date. EDA indicates it will use $15 million for strategy development grants and the remaining funding for at least five implementation awards. Questions about the sequencing of applications, rural eligibility and timeline were not addressed in the information EDA put out, and SSTI’s request for clarification on these points went unanswered as of press time.

Venture capital (VC) activity continued to decline in the first quarter of 2023, according to data from Pitchbook-NVCA Venture Monitor Q1 2023. Total deal count declined, with exit count and venture-growth also slowing, and angel and seed activity hitting a 10-quarter low. The difficulties facing the market grew with tensions from the continuation of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and high inflation rates.

Pitchbook reports a total observed deal count of 2,856 across angel, seed, and VC with a total deal value of $37 billion, the second lowest quarter deal value since Q3 2018, which was $35.1 billion, and lowest deal count since Q1 2013, which was 2,460. 

The European Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement to strengthen Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem, a deal designed to double the EU’s global market share in semiconductors from 10% to 20% by 2030. The agreement is projected to mobilize more than $47 billion (€43 billion) in public and private investments, with $3.6 billion (€3.3 billion) coming from the EU budget.

The agreement — which still needs to be finalized, endorsed and formally adopted — contains three main lines of action:

Mark your calendar for Sept. 6-8 to join us in Atlanta for the 2023 SSTI Annual Conference!

Attendees will have the chance to share best practices and problem solve with colleagues who share your passion for innovation. There will be opportunities to explore funding sources to help take your projects to the next level, learn about the latest trends and topics in the innovation economy, and more!

Save the date now and stay tuned for additional information on registration and this year’s agenda.

A study titled Incubators, accelerators and urban economic development,[1] published in the Urban Studies Journal last year, found positive impacts on employment and access to capital for participants.

Technologies developed by West Virginia University and the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks that extract and separate rare elements and critical minerals from acid mine drainage and coal waste, will each receive $8 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.

According to West Virginia University Today, the grant is part of the Investing in America agenda under the Biden Administration. Project lead Paul Ziemkiewicz notes that it is meant to lead to the design, construction and operation of a pre-commercial demonstration facility for separating and refining rare earth elements and critical minerals.

The U.S. Census Bureau in February released a new experimental data product designed to better measure the business dynamics of innovative firms (BDS-IF). The new Business Dynamics Statistics of U.S. High Tech Industries provides measures of business dynamics for what the Census classifies as high-tech and non-high-tech industries, defined by science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupation intensity. A Census analysis on the data reveals that high-tech industries are concentrated in five coastal metro areas.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently unveiled a new strategy aimed at improving and increasing access to work experiences for young people. Emphasizing the need for a comprehensive vision to address the challenges young people face in accessing education, training, and meaningful work experiences, the Youth Employment Works strategy represents the first national youth employment strategy in over two decades.

A new Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) release shows that over the past five years of available data (2018-2022), nationwide per capita personal income increased by 21.64%, rising from $53,786 to $65,423, with an average yearly percentage change of +5.04%. While personal income grew 23.39% during this period, from around $17.67 trillion to $21.80 trillion (+5.41% per year on average), this article will focus solely on per capita personal income, examining both nationwide and interstate trends from 2018-2022 with an emphasis on uncovering the impacts of the pandemic.

EDA is now accepting applications for its $4.5 million FY 2023 STEM Talent Challenge to support programs to train science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) talent and help fuel regional innovation economies. The competition will provide funding for programs that help build a robust STEM workforce in emerging and transformative sectors such as aerospace, aeronautics, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, among others. 

Last year's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) reauthorization included a new requirement that participating agencies work to identify foreign connections of applying companies. Certain types of connections to “countries of concern,” which include China and Russia, could result in the small business being prohibited from receiving federal funds. The U.S. Small Business Administration has now published a template for disclosure of foreign relationships that will be part of the latest SBIR policy directive and that all agencies will be expected to use. The template is available for public comment through May 3 in the Federal Register.