INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 20, 2023) – Republican gubernatorial candidate and former Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers today released the following statement after the Department of Defense announced that Indiana-based Applied Research Institute (ARI) would receive funding from the federal CHIPS and Science Act to establish one of eight Microelectronics (ME) Commons regional innovation hubs across the country:
“Congratulations to Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons Hub, Governor Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, and ARI on their successful application to become one of eight ME Commons regional innovation hubs across the country,” stated Chambers. “As Indiana’s Secretary of Commerce, my team and I implemented a bold, strategic vision to position Indiana as a top competitor for these very investments, investments that will provide high-wage career opportunities to Hoosiers for decades to come.”
“Indiana deserves a governor who has the vision, urgency and aspiration to build an economy of the future and continue this economic momentum in support of Hoosier prosperity. With $33 billion of statewide capital investment, 30 percent higher average wages and new high-wage industries calling Indiana home, I’ve proven that with the right leadership, Indiana’s future is, and will continue to be, bright,” he added.
As Indiana’s former Secretary of Commerce, Chambers strategically evaluated the state’s economic infrastructure and determined that Indiana’s natural resources, workforce, and deep manufacturing expertise could — and should — make Indiana an important player in the semiconductor industry. So, then-Secretary Chambers launched the Accelerating Microelectronics Production and Development (AMPD) task force, the state’s first-ever microelectronics task force dedicated to bolstering Indiana’s efforts to become a leader in the microelectronics industry and leveraging the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Todd Young.
Under the leadership of former Secretary Chambers, AMPD evolved into ARI, the organization that today announced that it had secured the state’s ME Commons award in support of Indiana’s growing semiconductor ecosystem.
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