Governor Healey Unveils Massachusetts AI Hub, Partnering with MGHPCC 

BOSTON, Dec. 19, 2024 -- Today, 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.

MGHPCC in Holyoke, Mass.

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.

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 state and local government, presented its final recommendations to the governor today. The full report is available here.

“The Massachusetts AI Hub will position our state and its people to be more competitive while setting the standard in how to apply AI to solve real-world problems facing society,” said Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, AI Strategic Task Force Co-Chair. “Massachusetts is moving forward with a sense of urgency given the economic stakes. By harnessing the potential of AI, Massachusetts can power economic growth for our businesses, universities and residents.”

“I am deeply honored to have served as co-chair of the AI Task Force and to have collaborated with such an extraordinary group of leaders and experts from across the Commonwealth,” said UMass CIO and Task Force Co-Chair Michael Milligan. “AI will undoubtedly impact – if it hasn’t already – every industry and every individual in the Commonwealth. By prioritizing equity and access, and developing strategies for responsible and effective AI use, we can ensure that AI serves as a force for good. We believe that these recommendations provide a strong foundation for a future where AI benefits everyone in the Commonwealth.”

“Boston is a global hub for talent that wants to do good,” said City of Boston CIO and Task Force Co-Chair Santiago Garces. “The exciting investments in computation that uses clean energy sources, and the strengthening of our AI ecosystem in Boston and the Commonwealth will contribute to the continued growth. Beyond this milestone, we will work to ensure that our workers and communities see the benefits by having access to trainings and to tools. With a plan based on values, Boston and Massachusetts will keep growing and attracting the best talent and the best companies.”

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 today’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.

Last week, Governor Healey celebrated the signing of the Mass Leads Act, a far-reaching, $4 billion economic development bill that authorizes $100 million to support the Massachusetts AI Hub. This Massachusetts AI Hub will also leverage other tools from the Mass Leads Act, such as the $1 billion, 10-year extension of the life sciences initiative; the new 10-year, $1 billion climatetech strategy; and $115 million for the Massachusetts TechHub Program for investments in key technology areas, modeled on the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Regional Technology and Innovation Program. For more information about the Mass Leads Act, please visit www.mass.gov/economic-development-bill.

About MGHPCC

The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) in Holyoke is a joint venture of Boston University, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, the University of Massachusetts system and Yale, serving more than 20,000 faculty and student researchers and educators. Resources housed at the MGHPCC enable its users to perform millions of virtual experiments each month. MGHPCC is also the first university research data center ever to achieve LEED Platinum Certification, the highest level awarded by the Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Program. It is powered by hydroelectric from the Holyoke Gas and Electric Company along the Connecticut River and the design of the facility also maximizes energy efficiency.

Source: Commonwealth of Massachusetts