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BUFFALO, N.Y.—A regional partnership covering areas in western New York and Rochester has been in existence for more than a year, even before the federal government passed the CHIPS Act.
Invest Buffalo Niagara CEO Tom Kucharski said that now that Congress has passed the bill, the firm is still awaiting regulations.
Now that we know what we are looking for, we are ready to submit an application.
The bill includes $10 billion to establish regional technology centers as the government encourages the expansion of the semiconductor microchip industry. Kucharski believes that with the labor force, public and private university systems, geography, natural resources and more, the region is well positioned.
“All those and then some and all private companies come together and bring a proposal that shows through the competitive process at the federal level that we have the property to name the center and make the investment in our community,” he said.
A centerpiece of the bid will be the STAMP campus in Genesee County, a 1,250-acre shovel-ready site for tech companies to build.
“We currently have six or seven NDAs with companies that we’re doing due diligence on STAMP,” Kucharski said.
Kucharski could not say whether Micron has considered a location for its new chip factory. The company is building in Central New York and could invest billions and bring tens of thousands of jobs to upstate New York.
Regardless of the CEO, it’s important to the Western New York tech hub bid and STAMP.
“If we don’t put in a big fab, we really plan to be a supplier.”
Attracting suppliers and research and development will create more jobs than having a large semiconductor factory, he said. Now they are waiting for the green light to send the application.
“I’d like to hope it happens before November and then we’ll have an election and then we’ll see what happens, but I think there’s a strong feeling that this is going to go forward,” Kucharski said.
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