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Long concentrated geographically, venture capital also is growing more concentrated in a small number of larger deals, as SSTI has reported in recent Digest issues. In fact, deals under $100 million—not a small figure in itself—have fallen by 71% according to SSTI’s analysis of PitchBook data. Even more troubling is evidence showing deals under $100 million are moving to later-stage investment and away from early-stage companies.

When Daniel Pelaez took a job with the Town of Southbury, Connecticut Public Works Department after his first year at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, he learned lessons that, a few years later, would become the basis for his startup, Cyvl. Daniel spent a season on the public works road crew fixing issues flagged by residents or found by the road foreman.

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.

The federal student loan landscape is undergoing its most sweeping restructuring in decades. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025 and the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED's) proposed regulations, the definition of “professional degree” is being reinterpreted, sharply reducing the number of students eligible for the higher federal loan caps reserved for professional training.

With fewer than 1,000 Initial Public Offerings in any year, the most common exit strategy for investors in early-stage innovation firms is to find an acquisition opportunity. For the broader economic goal of encouraging innovation because it drives growth and societal progress, when large firms acquire smaller, innovative companies, does it promote innovation, or does it primarily help dominant players thwart possible competition and consolidate market power?

On Nov. 17, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael  announced a trimmed-down list of six Critical Technology Areas (CTAs) as priorities for R&D and demonstration. Eight areas were dropped or incorporated within the new list.  

Disaster relief is not directly within the purview of technology-based economic development organizations. Nonetheless, disasters frequently impact the partners and constituents of TBED organizations and exacerbate the social determinants of economic growth. Therefore, teams of people from TBED organizations frequently choose to step up and step out of their economic development sphere and engage in societal recovery from disasters.

Just 19% of the approximately 25,000 census tracts potentially eligible for Opportunity Zone (OZ) designation are “More likely to attract OZ investment, with larger impact,” per the Urban Institute’s new OZ Designation Tool.¹ The majority (68%) of potentially eligible tracts were found to be “Less likely to attract OZ investment,” while the remaining 13% were determined likely to attract capital regardless of OZ designation.

This week’s 2025 off-year elections resulted in two new governors, solidified legislative Democratic majorities in New Jersey and Virginia, and the approval of significant ballot measures in California and Texas. While the gubernatorial campaigns centered on affordability and tapped into an electorate’s concerns about state and national economies, they also kick off speculation on the 2026 midterms.  

College is often the time when students discover which career path they want to pursue, through coursework, internships, and hands-on experiences. New research examining state minimum wage increases, however, shows how budget pressures can disrupt access to these formative opportunities and ultimately affect who enters STEM careers.  

As the first group of Tech Hub awardees approaches the end of their first year of implementation funding, hubs are gathering their consortia to share progress and chart next steps. As part of SSTI’s work with the Technology-based Economic Development (TBED) Community of Practice, program director Casey Nemecek attended the annual consortium meetings for two hubs in October: the Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub and the Nevada Tech Hub. 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) recently issued three new FAQs for the State Small Business Credit Initiative 2.0 (SSBCI) program. These FAQs clarify and reiterate the timeline for the end of the Capital Program, and the deadlines by which participating jurisdictions must request disbursement of any remaining allocated Capital Program funds.

In summary:

Note: The research careers for this year’s triple winners support the underlying arguments for public involvement in technology-based economic development. Well-designed and sustained public-private regional innovation initiatives—the work of SSTI and its member organizations—can make a positive difference for local competitiveness.  

With federal R&D investments unlikely to keep pace with inflation or international competition based on the administration’s budget request, cuts to existing research grants, and Congress’s inability to pass a budget, business R&D investments become more critical for sustaining the competitiveness of regional innovation economies.

The Q3 2025 investment data is in, and trends of fewer deals and more dollars continue.