RIDC President Makes Pittsburgh Business Times’s 2023 Power 100 List
Earlier this week we announced that RIDC’s President Don Smith made City & State PA’s 2023 Power 100 list. We’re pleased to share that he’s also made this year’s Pittsburgh Business Times’s Power 100 list, which highlights the region’s most influential business leaders. The influencers on this year’s list are connectors, people who build bridges. […]
Creating jobs is job No. 1 for Pittsburgh region
Donald F. Smith, Jr., president of the Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC) and a member of the governor’s transition subcommittee on innovation, points to the need to expand the region’s innovation economy from R&D to commercialization and manufacturing of products. This will allow the Pittsburgh area to compete more effectively for the larger companies that […]
Major Pittsburgh region projects to move forward in 2023: PennSTART, Carrie Furnace, RIDC Mill 19 become growth engines
The coming year promises to be full of progress as major projects move forward in the Pittsburgh region. Long-dormant, former industrial sites are positioned to become centers of economic development and job creation. Article can be read in full at our Pittsburgh’s Innovation Economy content hub at the Pittsburgh Business Times (formerly named Pittsburgh’s Autonomy […]
RIDC President Named Member of the Innovation Subcommittee of Governor-Elect Josh Shapiro’s Economic Development Transition Committee
Donald F. Smith, Jr. has been named a member of the Innovation Subcommittee of Governor-Elect Josh Shapiro’s Economic Development Transition Committee. The committee will review current policies and make recommendations about how to spur innovation, grow the economy and support the creation of high-quality jobs. As RIDC’s President, Smith has played a leadership role in […]
RIDC Winter Newsletter 2022
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Pittsburgh’s Recent Federal Funding and VC and Private-Equity Tech Investment
The Southwestern Pennsylvania region is moving forward with tangible activities to help the autonomous technology sector grow and create jobs: $62.7 million in federal funding will help Pittsburgh grow its autonomy sector. And in this year’s third quarter, venture capital investment in Pittsburgh’s tech sector totaled $171.96 million across 19 local firms: Pittsburgh bucks national […]
Gov. Wolf Signs Driverless Vehicle Legislation into Law & Other Autonomy News
This new law permitting driverless vehicles on public roads is a big win for the autonomous vehicle industry in Pittsburgh and a necessary step towards commercializing this tech and remaining competitive. Pennsylvania joins over a dozen states that permit similar testing arrangements, as reported by Pittsburgh Inno. There’ve been a number of recent stories involving […]
Smith’s Viewpoint: What’s Next for that $62.7 Million?
“And now our region will be moving forward with tangible activities to help the autonomy industry grow and create jobs — not only in R&D, but in manufacturing and in an entire supply chain of industries. The spotlight is shining in our direction — every entity involved will need to rise to the challenge and […]
Pittsburgh Inno: Autonomous Technologies Trailblazing in Space
Pittsburgh’s space robotics cluster has strong ties to university talent and has received NASA funding for projects that heavily focus on autonomous systems. Article written for Pittsburgh Inno and can be read in full here.
Pittsburgh Business Times REQ: Pittsburgh Suburban Office Market Rebound
“Our industrial stuff continues to be strong, and the flex and tech flex stuff continues to go pretty well,” said RIDC President Donald Smith. “But everybody I know is still scuffling a little bit with suburban office…I think pure office product is going to be dependent on how and when people go back to the […]
Austin Business Journal: Shared Facilities Make Testing of Autonomous Vehicles More Practical and Cost Effective
Government partnerships are key to making strides in economic development, and a major project to support the growing autonomous vehicle industry has just been greenlighted in the Pittsburgh region. More on the PennSTART project happening in Westmoreland County. Article written for the Austin Business Journal and can be read in full here. Other articles written […]
Austin Business Journal: Self-driving cars, autonomous tech lead region from industrial past to innovation economy
Fast-growing companies from some of the strongest tech regions in the country are recognizing the attributes that make regions like Pittsburgh attractive. RIDC’s full article with the Austin Business Journal can be read in full here. Other articles written by RIDC for the Austin Business Journal: Robotics, AI, self-driving cars: The innovation economy requires real […]
Smith’s Viewpoint: Pennsylvania’s CNI Tax Rate Cut is Just a Start
“Our region and our state have many attributes, but there are going to be tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in potential revenue we could realize if we show the same innovative spirit and determination in our policymaking that our entrepreneurs and business leaders show every day in creating and building their […]
Which New Startups Will Bring the Next Generation of Technology to Life
The Pittsburgh region is second only to Detroit-Ann Arbor in concentration of market leaders, with more up-and-coming startups and early-stage companies being added to the roster. The latest from our Pittsburgh Autonomy Economy hub. More from Pittsburgh’s Autonomy Economy.
Boston Business Journal: Deals, Expansions, Launches, New Funding Drive Autonomy Sector
Pittsburgh is earning a reputation as a hot location for fast-growing tech companies. A total of $3.6 billion worth of capital was invested into the Pittsburgh region in 2021, part of more than $10 billion invested in the past decade. Our latest “The Autonomy Economy” article in the Boston Business Journal. More articles in the […]
Boston Business Journal: 5 Key Attributes to Look for in a Tech Region
Regions around the country are competing for the next wave of technology jobs and are trying to position themselves as the next Silicon Valley. Some are devoting substantial resources to marketing and attracting these companies, but only a few have existing ecosystems that already support a vibrant tech sector. Which regions will be most likely […]
Boston Business Journal – Autonomous Technology: Manufacturing Requires Real Estate
After R&D comes commercialization, but as real estate assets in high-cost markets dwindle and prices continue to rise, fast-growing companies in the autonomous technology field may need to look outside their hometowns to find the properties they need to test and manufacture their products. One place they should look is Pittsburgh. Our latest “The Autonomy […]
Smith’s Viewpoint: Building Economic Momentum with Next Governor
The latest from Don Smith on regional economic development penned in the Pittsburgh Business Times. “Our region is undergoing an economic renaissance, transitioning to gain national recognition as home to companies in autonomous technology, artificial intelligence, robotics and life sciences. It is also true that our state’s population growth in the past decade was the […]
Self-driving Cars Only a Fraction of Projected $1-trillion Global Autonomous Technology Market
The global market for terrestrial autonomous mobile systems alone is projected to climb to an estimated $802 billion by 2025-26, according to a joint study conducted by TEConomy Partners LLC in partnership with the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania (RIDC) and the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce with funding from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. […]
From This City’s Deep Autonomy Tech Roots Sprouts the Industry’s Future
Industrial leaders of the past built Pittsburgh into an economic powerhouse with steel. This new generation of executives will do the same with autonomous technology, making Pittsburgh once more the place to be. Article in RIDC’s new content hub “The Autonomy Economy” with Boston Business Journal. https://ridc.org/news/boston-market-the-autonomy-economy-content-hub-live/
Boston Market “The Autonomy Economy” Content Hub Live
We’re thrilled to announce we’ve launched a content hub with the Boston Business Journal; “The Autonomy Economy” is a space dedicated to showcasing Pittsburgh’s autonomy ecosystem to the Boston market as the place expanding autonomous technology companies need to be. The sector encompasses a wide range of technologies, such as robotics and artificial intelligence, transforming products […]
