The U.S. Economic Development Administration has awarded “Build to Scale” grants totaling $36.5M to 50 companies including nonprofits, state government agencies, higher education and other organizations that center around entrepreneurship from 26 states. Out of all 50 that were chosen, New York is home to four grantees receiving a total of $2.7M including Upstate Capital Members FuzeHub and Launch New York, as well as The City University of New York and Cornell University. The list of organizations that were selected for “Build to Scale” is comprised from two competitions: the Venture Challenge and the Capital Challenge.
The purpose of this program is to improve the health of the entrepreneurial ecosystem across the United States, as well as strengthening regional innovation hubs across the country. The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, Alejandra Y. Castillo said, “Investing in scalable startups and creating access to capital will yield more economic opportunities and support the next generation of industry-leading companies. This is the type of vital work that President Biden’s build back better agenda promises to continue to support.”