Pa. Must Continue to Invest in Innovation to Power Economy

Ryan E. Glenn, Director of Statewide Initiatives

Ben Franklin Technology Partners

When it comes to innovation and high-tech investments in Pennsylvania, Ben Franklin Technology Partners is the tip of the spear, delivering results year after year.

Ben Franklin creates and retains highly paid, sustainable jobs by investing in and linking early-stage technology firms and established manufacturers with follow-on funding and other resources to help them prosper.

According to the latest annual report for the tech-based economic development program, Ben Franklin clients generated $3.5 billion in revenue and secured $1.1 billion in post-Ben Franklin financing, supporting 1,630 companies and helping clients create nearly 1,244 jobs while retaining another 9,959 positions in Pennsylvania.

Our clients come from a variety of industries: robotics, computer software, hardware, and telecommunications firms; a variety of fabricated metal and industrial machinery manufacturers; and life science companies, including pharmaceutical manufacturers, biotech firms, instrumentation, and medical device companies.

Ben Franklin continues to help them take their innovative ideas from concept to startup to scale, supporting the development of 189 new patents and software copyrights, helping to commercialize 257 new products and backing the launch of 103 new processes, according to the newly released “2024 Annual Statewide Impact Report.”

The numbers don’t lie. The more we invest in innovation, the better the outcomes. In fact, the jobs Ben Franklin and its clients create are in industries that pay annual salaries 29% percent higher than the average private nonfarm salary in Pennsylvania. So, it’s clear: These investments are growing our high-tech economy, building out our entrepreneurial ecosystem, and creating the jobs of tomorrow.

In his 2025-26 draft budget, Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed $75 million in innovation investments targeting several sectors, including $50 million for startups and life science companies and $25 million for agriculture.

The $25 million for the Agriculture Innovation Development Fund is a $15 million increase from the 2024-25 budget, which successfully doled out $10 million across the state. The $50 million has two subcategories: $20 million for additional funding to startups matching federal awards and private capital investments, and a one-time $30 million initiative focused on life science companies.

The proposed budget also includes $17 million for the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, which funds Ben Franklin Technology Partners, an initiative of the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

Investments in innovation are so important to tech-based economic development that the state can and should be even more aggressive, as proposed here, because competition in the global marketplace is fierce. Our state must keep pace. Building and sustaining our entrepreneurial ecosystem is vital to the long-term health of Pennsylvania’s economy.

Ben Franklin is central to that mission. The network serves all 67 counties through four regionally based centers in Pittsburgh, State College, Bethlehem, and Philadelphia, with several satellite offices spread across the entire commonwealth.

Since its inception more than 40 years ago, Ben Franklin has boosted the state economy by more than $30 billion, generating more than 58,000 jobs in client firms, plus an additional 101,000 spinoff positions. According to independent analyses, every dollar invested by the commonwealth into Ben Franklin generates $4 in additional state taxes.

One of the reasons Ben Franklin maintains this record of success year after year is because it stays ahead of the curve, identifying emerging technologies and adopting new programs that give enterprises with the most growth potential the tools and expertise they need to succeed. What once was nanotechnology or computer science, for example, today is robotics, artificial intelligence and personalized medicine.

For more than four decades, Ben Franklin has been at the forefront of innovation, and it will continue to be the driving force in tech-related development in Pennsylvania. No matter what’s next, Ben Franklin will be there, leading the way.