Kansas Common Sense
Kansas City Region Designated a Tech Hub
Oct 30 2023
Kansas City Region Designated a Tech Hub
On Monday before returning to Washington, D.C., I was in Kansas City to announce that the Greater Kansas City Region has been designated as a Tech Hub by the U.S. Department of Commerce. This announcement represents official recognition of something we have known in Kansas and Missouri for a while: the Kansas City Region and the Animal Health Corridor have the concentration of expertise, research and development resources necessary to be a global bio and medical technology hub. This designation will attract public and private resources to grow this key technology area in Kansas and Missouri, further expanding the region’s capacity for innovation in the biotech sector.
This designation is the culmination of the first phase of a two-phase program called the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program, which was established as part of the CHIPS and Science Act that Congress enacted last year. I supported the CHIPS and Science Act to give organizations in Kansas the opportunity to help strengthen our national and economic security, particularly by increasing research in key technology areas, like biotechnology. As a designated Tech Hub, the KC BioHub will be able to move on to Phase 2 of the program and compete against the other 30 designated Tech Hubs for a federal implementation award of up to $75 million. I applaud the efforts of BioNexus KC and the other consortium of members in Kansas and Missouri on a successful Tech Hubs application.
I would like to thank U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, BioNexus KC President and CEO Dennis Ridenour, Greater KC Chamber President Joe Reardon, and UMKC President C. Mauli Agrawal for joining me in making this announcement.