(BOSTON 12/20/2024) — Yesterday, Governor Maura Healey launched the Massachusetts AI Hub, a groundbreaking effort to make Massachusetts a national leader in artificial intelligence innovation. This pioneering initiative will drive cutting-edge collaboration between government, industry, startups and academia, pursue solutions to the world’s most critical challenges, and unlock economic opportunity for businesses and residents across the state.
The Massachusetts AI Hub will be established at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech), the state’s quasi-public economic development agency focused on advancing technology and innovation, and will leverage resources authorized in the Mass Leads Act to support AI initiatives and the creation of an AI Hub in Massachusetts.
“With every advance that artificial intelligence technology makes, its potential to revolutionize the way we live and work grows. Partnerships like those established by the Massachusetts AI Hub will help us harness these groundbreaking technologies for the good of everyone in the Commonwealth,” said Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury). “I’d like to thank Governor Maura Healey and her administration for bringing key government, industry, and academic leaders together to create this initiative. Together, under the leadership of MassTech, we will stay on the forefront of AI advancement and bring its economic growth and prosperity to the people of Massachusetts in a responsible and sustainable way.”
As part of today’s announcement, made during an event with leaders from the AI ecosystem at the Museum of Science in Boston, the Healey-Driscoll Administration also unveiled a partnership with the nonprofit Massachusetts Green High Performance Computer Center (MGHPCC) in Holyoke to expand access to sustainable high-performance computing that is necessary for AI innovation. Through the partnership, public and private higher education institutions, startups and businesses in the innovation ecosystem, and the residents of Massachusetts will be able to access this vital infrastructure. This partnership will involve joint investments from Massachusetts and MGHPCC partner universities that are expected to exceed more than $100 million over the next five years as it scales.
“Since the founding of our country, Massachusetts has pioneered revolutionary innovations that changed human history, from developing the first computer to creating lifesaving vaccines. Today, we are building on that longstanding legacy with the Massachusetts AI Hub,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Through the AI Hub, we will set the standard for AI development by supporting trailblazing research, attracting and retaining unparalleled AI talent, and transforming our state into the global leader in applied AI innovation, solving the greatest challenges facing our society today.”
“We have an opportunity to make our state the best place in the world for collaborative and responsible AI innovation,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “The Massachusetts AI Hub draws from our state's existing strengths, including our unparalleled innovation ecosystem, world-class universities, highly skilled talent, and revolutionary spirit, to advance transformative technologies and power economic opportunity for all.”
The Massachusetts AI Hub will serve as the central entity for coordinating and managing key assets required for AI innovation, including data resources, high-performance computer power and interdisciplinary research. Convening Massachusetts’ world-class ecosystem of talent, industry, and academia, the AI Hub will accelerate research, foster homegrown industry from our universities and colleges, deploy AI for real-world applications, and train our state’s current and future workforce.
The framework for the Massachusetts AI Hub is informed by recommendations from the state’s AI Strategic Task Force, which the governor established in February 2024 to explore how the Healey-Driscoll administration can best support AI adoption and innovation to drive economic growth. The AI Strategic Task Force, co-chaired by the Executive Office of Economic Development and Executive Office of Technology Services and Security in partnership with the City of Boston and the University of Massachusetts, and comprised of representatives from universities, industry, and local and state government including Senator Moore, presented its final recommendations to the governor yesterday. The full report is available here.
Aligning with recommendations in the AI Strategic Task Force report, the AI Hub will center on three core components:
Infrastructure: The AI Hub will expand access to the high-performance computing that is critical for developing and deploying AI technologies, enabling researchers and businesses to scale their AI projects. The AI Hub will also establish a central location for high-quality datasets, which are essential for AI development, and promote data sharing across industries.
Innovation and Talent Ecosystem: Through grants, technical assistance and other resources, the AI Hub will promote interdisplinary research and partnerships between academia and industry; entrepreneurship programs and accelerators to support AI startups; AI adoption among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and workforce development initiatives that align with industry needs, retain and attract top AI talent, and ensure that the Massachusetts workforce is prepared for the future.
Equity and Values: The AI Hub will champion and accelerate the equitable and ethical development and deployment of AI across the state economy, supporting initiatives that reflect our state’s values and providing a clear benefit to the public that it serves.
As part of yesterday’s announcement, the Healey-Driscoll administration also launched a new partnership with UMass Amherst to recruit a cohort of students to work full-time in collaboration with Massachusetts state agencies on experiential AI projects for social good. The program builds on the success of InnovateMA, through which the administration partnered with Northeastern University to deploy co-op students to work alongside state agency partners to improve the delivery of services and programs for Massachusetts residents using AI. In addition to serving as an accelerator of state adoption of GenAI, these higher ed partnerships are a successful talent pipeline for the state; the majority of the first student cohort have come to work in agencies as either interns or full-time staff members.
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