Advancing the Future of Microelectronics
With a commitment of $40 million from the Healey-Driscoll Administration, the Pentagon selected the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) as one of 8 Microelectronics Commons regional Hubs in 2023. Over the past three years, NEMC, led by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech), has grown to over 330 members and received over $120 million in federal funding. An additional $60 million dollars of private/third-party co-investment has been contributed to support NEMC projects, workforce programs, and development capability and capacity. This investment works to expand domestic semiconductor research and manufacturing, strengthen the nation's defense industrial base, and support the next generation of high-paying jobs in Massachusetts.
Over the past three years, NEMC has furthered our position as a national leader in advanced microelectronics, photonics, and quantum—bringing together universities, private industry, and research institutions. Membership includes access to grant opportunities, technical and business services, working groups, and other vital resources.
The work of NEMC fully aligns with the Massachusetts SHIELD Defense Sector Initiative—a statewide effort to catalyze opportunities for economic growth, job creation, talent recruitment and retention, and technology-to-capability transition in defense.
- Supports more than 330 organizations, including commercial and defense companies, leading academic institutions, federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs), and startups concentrated in eight Northeast states.
- Strengthens domestic semiconductor production and national security value chains
- Creates high-quality jobs and workforce opportunities
- Advances national security priorities
"A grant from the NEMC Hub enabled us to acquire one of the first thermal laser epitaxy tools in the United States, opening new opportunities to develop materials for quantum information, microelectronics, and other emerging technologies. By making this unique instrument available, through a public user facility, we can extend its benefits across the region's innovation ecosystem—and its acquisition has already attracted $3 million in additional federal funding."
Dr. Julia Mundy, John L. Loed Associate Professor of the Natural Sciences and of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Building a Shared-Use Quantum Computing Facility
The Administration committed $25 million to help establish a shared-use quantum computing facility at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The laboratory will house new quantum computing hardware, providing researchers, students, and industry partners with unprecedented access to some of the world's most advanced technologies for computing and advanced sensing. With over $75 million of federally funded research MIT currently conducts on campus in quantum science and engineering, the project will accelerate discoveries in healthcare, advanced manufacturing, defense, and other emerging industries while reinforcing Massachusetts' position as the global hub for quantum innovation.
Importantly, the facility promises to benefit the broader region. Researchers and students from the University of Massachusetts and other local institutions, as well as private companies, will be able to access a rare and specialized quantum toolbox. This will broaden participation in quantum research and expand opportunities for people across Massachusetts to benefit from the immense potential in quantum.
This project also aligns with Quantum Massachusetts, a statewide initiative focused on strengthening and advancing the Commonwealth’s quantum ecosystem.
- Advances a technology space with significant implications for the fields of life sciences and defense, including drug discovery, advanced medical imaging and sensing, and secure communications.
- Creates more than 250 new jobs, including those in construction, and supply chain and professional services
- Works to catalyze the startup ecosystem for life sciences and defense industries that contribute $50 billion to the local economy
- Positions Massachusetts as a global leader in quantum computing
Strengthening Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing
The Healey-Driscoll Administration invested $3 million to launch BioNexus, a new initiative in partnership with the U.S. Army that brings together Massachusetts' world-renowned universities, research institutions, startups, and biotechnology companies to further biotechnology innovation and biomanufacturing. This investment leverages $5.5 million of federal funds through the Natick Soldier Systems Center’s participation in the U.S. Department of Defense Central Laboratory Investment Program.
Building on the Commonwealth's global leadership in the life sciences, BioNexus works to move groundbreaking research from the laboratory into real-world applications while aligning with U.S. Army DEVCOM research priorities in Natick and beyond. The initiative will strengthen Massachusetts' biotechnology ecosystem, support Army innovations on their most pressing bio-related technology priorities, create new funding opportunities for researchers and businesses, and grow the next generation of high-quality jobs in one of the state's most critical industries.
The BioNexus program has been administered by NEMC at MassTech in alignment with the Massachusetts SHIELD Defense Sector Initiative as a technology-to-capability transition effort.
- Supports biotechnology research and manufacturing
- Strengthens partnerships among universities, industry, and state-based military installations
- Advances defense innovation
- Creates jobs in one of Massachusetts' fastest-growing sectors