The Lehigh Valley is competing with regions from across the country to be designated as a Tech Hub by the federal government, an accolade that could boost and expand the region’s semiconductor and related industries and strengthen the supply chain in an industry critical to national security.
Tech Hubs – officially termed Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs – were created by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 to supercharge ecosystems of innovation for technologies that are essential to economic and national security. 
Up to 20 designations will be made by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. At least three Tech Hubs will be selected in each of the six EDA regions. The Lehigh Valley is in the Philadelphia EDA region, which covers East Coast states from Maine to Virginia, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“The history of the Lehigh Valley is very rich but one aspect that few realize is the role this region has played in the birth and development of the semiconductor industry,” said Don Cunningham, President and CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. (LVEDC). “We were the first Silicon Valley and still have many of the country’s leading technology firms – and some great new ones – thriving here.”
LVEDC filed the Tech Hub application on behalf of a broad regional coalition that includes tech companies, colleges and universities, state and local governments, and partners in labor, economic development, community services, and workforce development.
The Lehigh Valley already has a strong ecosystem that is making a national impact. It stems from the rich history of innovation that began with the nation’s first mass production of transistors seven decades ago in Allentown.
Semiconductor technology firms operating in the Lehigh Valley include AAYUNA, Broadcom, Cisco, Coherent, Infinera, iDEAL Semiconductor, Intel, and POET Technologies. Collectively, the industry employs about 1,500 people who are developing, producing, and assembling semiconductors that are relied on by brands such as Google, Microsoft, Meta, AWS, AT&T, Verizon, Netflix, and Nokia.
Those tech companies are supported by Lehigh Valley firms such as Air Products, Evonik, EMD Electronics, and LBN that supply components and raw materials.
Together, they are creating solutions that allow data and electricity to be transmitted faster, with less heat, in smaller hardware. Those solutions are powering the devices that Americans take for granted in their daily lives, such as computers, vehicles, home appliances, smartphones, and movie streaming services, and support the secure, efficient transmission of wireless voice and data communications.
“The Lehigh Valley is part of the nation’s semiconductor history and its present. With the investment that could results from a Tech Hub designation, the Lehigh Valley will help the U.S. to once again lead the world in the development of technologies that support national economic and security interests,” Cunningham said.
The Lehigh Valley is seeking to be designated as a Tech Hub for semiconductors, in particular where their production overlaps with advanced manufacturing and advanced materials sciences. A designation could qualify the region for $50 to $75 million in CHIPS Act funding to grow the industry so it can contribute to fostering a secure domestic supply of components for current and future communications technologies.
While most semiconductor companies are based in the U.S., most manufacturing occurs in Asia. That raises economic, national security, and supply chain concerns. The goal of the Tech Hub program is to spur domestic production to eliminate those problems.
The program will invest in regions with the assets, resources, capacity, and potential to transform into globally competitive innovation centers in approximately 10 years while catalyzing the creation of good jobs for workers at all skill levels, both equitably and inclusively.
“I’m very proud to be working with LVEDC and so many other community partners to advance this Tech Hub application, because I believe there’s no better place for a Tech Hub than the Greater Lehigh Valley,” said Congresswoman Susan Wild. “From our strong local economy and manufacturing sector, to the collaboration among our academic, workforce development, and business and non-profit communities, we are uniquely situated to host a Tech Hub and further drive American innovation and job growth. I will continue advocating every step of the way to deliver this monumental investment for our region’s economic sector.”
“The Tech Hubs program will jumpstart the growth potential of cities and communities ready to lead the global economy, simultaneously creating good jobs here at home while allowing the United States to take control of our own economic future,” said U.S. Sen. Bob Casey. “The Lehigh Valley already has a strong legacy of industry in semiconductor and 21st century communications technology, and a Tech Hub designation would build on that good work by spurring further innovation and entrepreneurship for decades to come.”
In seeking the Tech Hub designation, LVEDC wrote in its application:
“Optoelectronic and semiconductor chips and components are critical to U.S. economic interests and security. They enable high-speed wireless and fiber-optic voice, data, and autonomous communications and data center operations. The Center for Strategic and International Studies notes that ‘major U.S. defense systems and platforms rely on semiconductors. Consequently, the erosion of U.S. capabilities in microelectronics is a direct threat to the United States’ ability to defend itself and its allies.’
“Falling behind is not an option. Investment and support provided by a Tech Hub framework will enable the Lehigh Valley to reclaim a globally competitive position within the next decade that reduces U.S. reliance on foreign nations that are the primary source for these components and systems.
“Much of the semiconductor supply chain already operates in the Lehigh Valley at a small scale, providing a solid foundation for rapid growth. And our consortium has the right technology and materials science partners, including Intel, Broadcom, Coherent, Infinera, Air Products, Evonik, and EMD Electronics, as well as emerging smaller, start-up companies such as iDEAL Semiconductors, that will successfully transition innovative semiconductor technologies from labs to fabs.”
The region is well-positioned for a Tech Hub designation not only because of the number of large companies and startups, but because of their support network.
That network includes labor and workforce organizations such as International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 375 and Workforce Board Lehigh Valley; institutions of higher education such as Lehigh University, Lafayette College, Penn State Lehigh Valley, Lehigh Carbon Community College, and Northampton Community College; and economic development organizations such as LVEDC, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and Manufacturers Resource Center.
A key individual partner in the application process was Sunny Ghai, a tech industry veteran with decades of experience as a director and manager at firms including Cisco, Nokia, Viavi Solutions, and Broadcom. He provided valuable insight on the Lehigh Valley’s semiconductor history and helped bring industry executives and community partners to the table.
Thirty-one companies, institutions and organizations, and governments and elected officials wrote letters to the U.S. Economic Development Administration urging approval of the Lehigh Valley’s application.
“Infinera expects that the Lehigh Valley Tech Hub can strengthen the U.S. economy and national security though a phased, risk-based approach to investments by leveraging the existing expertise in Compound Semiconductors, Advanced Manufacturing, Material Science and Advanced Communication technologies that already exist in the Lehigh and Northampton counties of Pennsylvania,” the company wrote.
“Infinera believes that to be a leader in next generation technology, an economy will not only need the fundamental building blocks of advanced technology, but the ability to combine multiple technologies, skills, resources and capabilities to make the next generation advanced technology systems.”
Intel said in its support letter that a hub would “not only help to grow Lehigh Valley’s Semiconductor, Wireless, and Network Communications businesses, but also increase our country’s global competitiveness and strengthen our national defenses. As a leader in Wireless Base Station Solutions, we recognize the critical economic and national security necessity to bringing this Networking semiconductor design, development, and manufacturing back to the U.S., and we are honored to participate in this important initiative.”
Also submitting letters were: Broadcom, Coherent, EMD Electronics, Evonik, iDEAL Semiconductor, and Olympus; Ben Franklin Tech Ventures, Da Vinci Science Center, IBEW Local 375, Lafayette College, Lehigh Carbon Community College, Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority, LVEDC, Manufacturers Resource Center, Northampton Community College, Penn State Lehigh Valley, The Literacy Center, and Workforce Board Lehigh Valley.
Public officials and local governments that submitted letters were: Allentown, Allentown School District, Pennsylvania Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger, State Sen. Lisa Boscola, State Sen. Nick Miller, State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, and Upper Macungie Township.
“The Tech Hub proposal makes a strong case that by working together as a region we can create an environment with the talent, innovation, and infrastructure that companies in these key industries need to thrive and be globally competitive,” said Nathan Urban, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Lehigh University.
“Lehigh University wants to play a bigger role in working with partners like LVEDC to expand the tech and innovation economy of the Lehigh Valley and the state of Pennsylvania,” he said. “A key part of this will be attracting, educating, and retaining the diverse talent from the region and across the globe that is needed by industries that we want to grow and thrive here. Lehigh also is looking to strengthen its partnerships with companies large and small to engage in use-inspired research around our core research strengths in engineering and science.
The communications and semiconductor sectors have rich histories in the region and some of the largest relevant firms have key presences there. From its position at the nexus of multiple technological fields as well as multiple geographic regions, the Lehigh Valley is uniquely poised to grow into a national and global leader in its target sector,” Casey wrote in his support letter.
The Lehigh Valley’s historical achievements in technological innovation is why the region is home to such a diverse semiconductor and materials science industry. Allentown is where transistors were first mass-produced, at Western Electric in 1951.
Western Electric and its sister companies and successors – AT&T Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, Agere Systems, LSI – are gone. But the progress they made for America is being continued in the Lehigh Valley by today’s firms, many of which employ engineers and scientists who worked at those legacy innovators.
Collaborating to write the Tech Hub application revealed how much the legacy of Bell Labs’ old Allentown facility still permeates the region, said Wayne Barz, Chief Investment Officer at Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
He said the process was transformative, as it reinforced that very few regions can boast of being home to so many semiconductor technology leaders and contributors such as Intel, Cisco, Infinera, Air Products, Broadcom, Coherent, and EMD.
“The power of having all that talent in a small region that has all the other assets the Lehigh Valley has certainly made me realize that we have a unique opportunity here,” Barz said. “Win or lose this designation, I’m convinced the semiconductor industry will grow in the Lehigh Valley and will positively impact the economy and security of the United States for many years to come.” 
In the application, LVEDC made the case that, with public and private investment resulting from a Tech Hub designation, the companies in the Lehigh Valley and others would be able to expand here, create jobs, and spur greater opportunity and equity in a growing and increasingly diverse region. Start-ups and emerging materials equipment and design companies would be drawn to collaborate with the talent and resources nurtured by the Lehigh Valley’s Tech Hub.
The Lehigh Valley’s location – within a day’s drive of one-third of U.S. consumers – and its proximity to chip fabrication plants being developed by Intel in Ohio and Micron in New York is another advantage that positions the region well for a Tech Hub, LVEDC said.
“The Lehigh Valley’s unique value proposition is that many elements of the advanced voice, data, and autonomous communications supply chain are already here, in the form of smaller-footprint operations of the largest companies in the sector. The small scale of these operations have significant potential for growth with investment support from a Tech Hub designation,” the application says.
(Photos at Infinera (photos 1 and 3) and Broadcom (photos 2 and 4) by Donna Fisher Photography)