SSTI Digest

The Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE) recently released a report, Advancing Together: A Unified Strategy for Scaling Midwest Quantum Talent, outlining a regional strategy to expand the quantum workforce. The Illinois-Wisconsin-Indiana region could see as many as 191,000 quantum jobs by 2035, according to a Boston Consulting Group analysis for the CQE. More than 70% of those jobs will be available to people who do not have graduate degrees, and nearly one-third will be open to those with associates degrees or technical training. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the launch of California’s first solar-covered canal, a pilot project that seeks to generate clean electricity, keep water from evaporating before it ever reaches a farm or a faucet, and, if scaled further, help strengthen the state’s water infrastructure to withstand a hotter, drier future.  

On April 13, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun announced that the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) is committing $15 million to a new venture capital initiative designed to attract high-tech Israeli startups to Indiana. The investment is part of the "Iron Nation–Indiana" partnership, a $60+ million initiative aimed at creating a "strategic bridge" to connect Israeli technology firms with Indiana's industrial and research ecosystem. The funding will come from the IEDC’s 21st Century Research and Technology Fund. 

SC Launch Inc., the investment affiliate of the South Carolina Research Authority, was named in PitchBook’s 2025 Global League Table for the Southeast region. The ranking award is attributed to SC Launch Inc.’s acceleration in investment activity during recent months. Since July of 2025, with a significant increase in the last quarter of the year, SC Launch Inc. has invested almost $4 million in 12 high-growth startups from across the state.  

A new $123 million fund will work to recruit up to 45 chemistry researchers and their teams to Indiana universities over the next five years, betting on the premise that building research talent is a prerequisite for the state’s broader life sciences ambitions. “The researchers recruited through the fund will bring together an unmatched cluster of multi-disciplinary expertise to develop platform technologies necessary to enable the reshoring of life science manufacturing and work to tackle industry-informed grand challenges,” stated BioCrossroads’ CEO and President, Vince Wong.  

The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) is now doing business as the CEOs of Indiana Corporate Partnership. The CICP brand will soon feature the new identity, including marketing materials and a redesigned logo. The legal name, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, will remain unchanged. 

New federal data shows that Case Western Reserve University is the nation’s fastest-growing top-tier research institution. This year, the university’s R&D spending surged 37.5%. It is opening a new $300 million science hub later this year. 

Mar 26, 2026 

On March 17, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun revealed a new tax credit initiative aimed at creating 100,000 high-wage agriculture and life sciences jobs over the next decade, with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) committing $1 billion in tax credits toward those jobs. The initiative stems from an executive order from Braun last year directing Indiana’s 15 economic regions to submit formal growth plans to boost economies, per capita income, and educational attainment. To qualify for the credit, jobs will have to pay 125% of a county’s median annual wage. 

The proposed Biomanufacturing Excellence Act of 2025 would establish a single National Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Center of Excellence within the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). H.R. 6089 was introduced by Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) with bipartisan cosponsors and paired with a Senate companion bill (S. 3188) led by Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Ted Budd (R-NC). It authorizes $120 million in FY 2026 for NIST to conduct a competitive process to select one non-federal entity to build and operate the center. Eligible applicants include public-private partnerships, institutions of higher education, and multi-institution consortia. Because only a single awardee will be chosen, the proposed legislation likely sets up what is likely to be a stiff competition among many states which have made life sciences and manufacturing key elements of their innovation strategies.

Technology-based economic development organizations work with economic development professionals throughout the U.S. to help build their local innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems. Sometimes, bringing in outside expertise with established networks to R&D and finance can accelerate the local capacity to support innovation-driven startups. gener8tor, a venture capital and startup accelerator founded in Wisconsin, is one such example of external partners supporting TBED capacity building anywhere.

Two recent research reports, one from Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) and another from Ivy Tech Community College, in collaboration with TEConomy Partners, LLC, focus on credential shortages that are keeping many jobs that don't require a bachelor's degree unfilled.

The U.S. Department of Commerce recently announced the third major R&D facility as part of its CHIPS for America program. This new facility will be located at the Arizona State University (ASU) Research Park in Tempe, Arizona. It will host the world’s first 300mm front-end semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging research center, allowing researchers and industry leaders to develop cutting-edge materials, devices, and packaging solutions.

After a busy election season that saw gubernatorial elections in 36 states, newly elected and re-elected governors delivered their annual State of the State addresses, kicking off new programs and reviewing the conditions of their states. SSTI reviews the speeches every year and covers news of new developments and initiatives the governors have highlighted as they relate to the innovation economy. New programs are laid out here in the governors own words as excerpts from their State of the State or budget addresses. Not all governors delivered a State of the State, and some that did may not have revealed new innovation-related initiatives and so are not included in our coverage. Common initiatives among the governors that touched on innovation included an emphasis on workforce, education and broadband; water issues for Western governors; and, clean energy.