Tech Hubs will Foster Innovation and Ensure U.S. Technology Dominates

In our ongoing series about the impact of the recently announced eight Microelectronics Commons (ME Commons) Technology Hubs, we explore the five greatest areas of impact. Here’s reason number two:

1. Foster Innovation

The offshoring of U.S. manufacturing, which began in the 1960’s due to increased production capacity and low-cost assembly lines in East Asia, has had an unintended consequence: the offshoring of research, development and innovation. This was expedited when China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. So, not only has U.S. chip production declined from 37% in the 1990’s to 12% currently, many R&D activities have also moved offshore, to be closer to production lines. The net impact is America is not only producing less—we’re inventing less. The Harvard Business Review reported (way back) in 2018 that, “We know from looking at strong economies around that world that a nation needs both R&D and manufacturing activities to maintain a healthy 21st Century industrial ecosystem.”

Enter ME Commons Tech Hubs. These regional centers will foster innovation by challenging industry to come up with novel and innovative solutions, propose them and, if selected, receive funding to take the ideas full circle to prototype and full-scale production. One of the stated goals of the ME Commons program is, “accelerating domestic prototyping”. This will happen as academics, government and industry come together to design cutting-edge microchips that will then go through a rapid prototyping process and, if successful, will be produced.

The decentralized approach, with Tech Hubs located in places like Indiana, Ohio and Arizona is part of the secret sauce. Tapping into regions not traditionally associated with innovation will help shine light on those who may have previously been overlooked in highly saturated tech centers on the coasts. By creating a multi-pronged approach, the DoD is also adding a helpful layer of expert vetting of technologies, so by the time the government customers take a look at a given project, its worthiness has already been thoroughly researched, saving critical time.

Don’t underestimate the power of these regional Tech Hubs to foster innovation and push America forward. As Senator Todd Young, co-author of the CHIPS & Science Act said, these hubs are meant to, “help launch innovative companies, revive American manufacturing, and lay the foundation for new jobs to jumpstart our local communities.”