EDA Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs)

Who qualifies

• For prime applicant (consortium lead): must be a nonprofit, university, economic development organization, or government entity — not a for-profit business
• For consortium membership: for-profit businesses including SMBs may participate as consortium partners alongside universities, governments, and nonprofits
• Proposed hub must focus on a critical and emerging technology sector (semiconductors, AI, quantum, biotech, clean tech, cybersecurity, space, etc.)
• Consortium must demonstrate regional comparative advantage in the target technology area
• Non-federal cost share required from consortium members
• For SMBs seeking subgrants: each hub consortium sets its own subgrant eligibility criteria — contact your regional hub directly
• 31 designated Tech Hub regions announced Oct 2023 — being in a designated region increases access to future consortium subgrants

Hard requirements

• Must be incorporated
• Funds intermediaries, not businesses directly

Can my company get Tech Hubs money?

Not by applying to EDA. The law lets only consortia apply for Tech Hubs awards, and EDA says it cannot make Tech Hubs grants to individuals. A business still benefits in three ways: as a member of a designated hub's consortium, as a user of the programs a funded hub runs, or as a subrecipient or contractor paid from one of the hub's funded projects.

Every consortium must by law include "industry groups or firms in relevant technology, innovation or manufacturing sectors," so hubs need companies at the table.

How big a hub project can be

The FY 2025 NOFO capped EDA's share of each hub project by type. A company that builds or tests the hub's core technology should look first at technology development projects; a startup or supplier usually gains most from business and entrepreneur development programs.

If a hub pays you as a subrecipient, you need a Unique Entity ID (UEI) before the subaward is made. EDA says subrecipients do not need an active SAM.gov registration.

What it covers

How to apply

1. 1

   Identify if you are in or near a designated Tech Hub region

   Review EDA's map of 31 designated Tech Hubs at eda.gov/tech-hubs. If your business is in or near a designated hub, contact the hub consortium lead to express interest in participating as a partner or subgrantee. Hub leads are typically economic development organizations, universities, or industry associations.

   ~2 hrs

2. 2

   Join a consortium or engage with hub activities

   Tech Hub benefits flow to SMBs through consortium membership: access to shared R&D infrastructure, workforce training programs, commercialization support, and subgrant opportunities. Engage with your regional hub's outreach activities now — Phase 2 implementation subgrants flow through each funded hub's projects, which last up to five years.

   ~5 hrs

3. 3

   Monitor for Phase 3 or next-round competition (if not in a designated hub)

   If not in a current hub region, monitor EDA for future competition rounds. When a new NOFO releases, work with your local economic development organization or university to build a consortium application — individual businesses cannot apply as prime applicants.

   ~3 hrs

The 31 designated Tech Hubs and which ones have implementation money

EDA designated 31 Tech Hubs on October 23, 2023, and only those 31 have competed for implementation awards. In July 2024 EDA awarded $504 million to 52 projects across 12 of them. The other 19 each received a $500,000 Consortium Accelerator Award, and only those 19 could apply under the FY 2025 NOFO. On July 20, 2026, EDA announced its intent to award $169 million to six of them. That leaves 13 designated hubs with an accelerator award but no implementation award through the 2026 round.

• Implementation award, 2024
• Intent to award, 2026
• Accelerator award only

No designated Tech Hub covers this state. The next section shows what to do instead.

Hub names and states as EDA lists them. A hub listed for several states usually covers a region across their borders, not each state in full.

How to find and approach your region's Tech Hub

Find the designated hub whose region and technology both match your company, then contact its lead organization and ask which funded projects and programs take outside companies. A hub only proposes projects in its own core technology area, so a battery maker near a biotech hub is usually better served by another route.

1. 1

   Filter the hub table by your state

   Hubs funded in 2024 or the 2026 round have projects running or starting. Hubs with only an accelerator award are still building their pipeline; ask what funding they are pursuing.

2. 2

   Check the technology fit

   Each hub was designated for one core technology, which its name usually signals. If your product is outside that supply chain, its projects will have no role for you.

3. 3

   Open the hub's page on eda.gov

   EDA's designated Tech Hubs page links a profile for every hub, with the consortium lead and the hub's own website, where calls and cohorts are posted.

4. 4

   Ask three questions

   Which funded projects pay outside companies? Which programs can a company like yours use? How does a firm join the consortium?

5. 5

   Get a UEI before you need it

   EDA requires every subrecipient to have a Unique Entity ID (UEI) from SAM.gov before a subaward is made, so request one as soon as a hub project names your company.

If no Tech Hub covers your state

A Tech Hubs designation is not something one company can win, and the FY 2025 competition was open only to hubs designated in 2023. EDA also lists 18 Strategy Development Grantees that received $500,000 each for planning, in states such as Alaska, Michigan, Utah and West Virginia, on the same page as the hubs. Outside those regions, the programs compared further down this page fund single businesses directly or through local intermediaries. For EDA's other programs, see our guide to EDA grants, or see which grants you qualify for in about two minutes.

Deadline & timing

The Tech Hubs program authorized $10B over 5 years in the CHIPS Act. Phase 1 designated 31 hubs (Oct 2023). In July 2024, EDA awarded $504 million to 52 projects across 12 designated hubs (FY25 NOFO background). Future rounds depend on further appropriations. Small businesses in designated hub regions should engage with their local hub consortium now — subgrant opportunities flow through the consortium once implementation funding lands. FY2025 NOFO for the 19 designated hubs without implementation funding (for implementation projects) closed February 18, 2026. Phase 3 implementation competition timeline unknown — depends on FY2026+ appropriations.

Programs like Tech Hubs, and which ones a single business can apply to

If you want money in your own company's account, Tech Hubs is the wrong first stop: SBIR is the federal program a small business applies to directly. Tech Hubs, Build to Scale and the Good Jobs Challenge all fund an intermediary that then serves companies. NSF Regional Innovation Engines is the one regional program where a for-profit firm can lead the application, though it must be able to hire a full-time Engine CEO.

The two tracks work together: a Tech Hub region supplies partners, test facilities and trained workers, while SBIR pays for your own R&D.

Programs that stack well

• SBIR Phase I — NSF (America's Seed Fund)
• SBIR Phase I — Department of Energy
• NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
• EDA Build to Scale — Venture Challenge
• Research & Development Tax Credit (Section 41)

Related programs

This program is not taking applications today — these are

Alternatives computed from the live GrantCompass catalog on November 1, 2026 — all 170 open grant programs · filter the database.

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