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Pennsylvania’s innovation economy: powered by Ben Franklin
The technology-based economic development program serves all 67 Pennsylvania counties
Mussel Polymers, part of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s TechVentures incubator. Marco Calderon
Competition for investments in innovation and technology is fierce. It’s no wonder. These sectors will drive the economies of tomorrow and create the types of new jobs and career opportunities that top talent seeks.
As other states look at ways to grow their economy, build entrepreneurial ecosystems and create the jobs of tomorrow, Pennsylvania is way ahead of the game — and has been for a long time. For more than 40 years, Ben Franklin Technology Partners has been supporting innovation and technology companies from concept to startup to scale.
It’s a formula that works, and the numbers say it all.
Since its inception, 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, for a total of 159,000 new jobs that otherwise would never have existed. According to independent analyses, every dollar invested by the commonwealth into Ben Franklin generates $4 in additional state taxes.
Even as the state looks to build on its tech investments, Ben Franklin remains one of the most prized high-tech investment models because it demonstrates real results year after year, investing in emerging high-growth enterprises that help to power Pennsylvania’s economy and attract the best and brightest to our commonwealth.
In fact, last year alone, according to the 2023 Annual Statewide Impact Report, Ben Franklin clients generated $2.8 billion in revenue and secured $1.2 billion in post-Ben Franklin financing. The tech-based economic development program also supported 1,827 companies and helped clients create 2,493 jobs while retaining 10,588 more positions.
These clients also developed 189 patents and software copyrights, commercialized 257 new products, and launched 103 new processes to accelerate the economic and social benefits derived from growing and rapidly evolving fields such as precision medicine, health care, robotics, artificial intelligence, information technologies and manufacturing.
What makes Ben Franklin so unique and innovative, even after all these years, is how it continuously evolves, grows its networks and partnerships, and adapts its programs to expand its reach to ensure every commonwealth resident benefits and communities statewide feel the impact.
Ben Franklin serves all 67 counties through four regionally based centers in Pittsburgh, State College, Bethlehem, and Philadelphia, with several satellite offices spread across the state. This deep local connection enables the network to tailor investments and link early-stage tech firms and established manufacturers with experts, universities, follow-on funding, and other resources to help them prosper.
You simply cannot talk about innovation in Pennsylvania without talking about Ben Franklin Technology Partners.
When Gov. Josh Shapiro launched his 10-year economic development plan earlier this year as part of his proposed 2024-25 General Fund budget, he held the kickoff at Bethlehem-based OraSure Technologies, a successful Ben Franklin-backed client.
As he and his administration continued to push for the plan, they made stops at Gilson Snow in Selinsgrove, Gecko Robotics in Pittsburgh, and Burro Robotics in Philadelphia — again, all of them successful Ben Franklin-backed clients.
That’s validation of Ben Franklin’s good work beyond the numbers, and it is proof that Ben Franklin is at the center of and intricately connected to regional technology and innovation ecosystems across the state.
That is why Ben Franklin clients come from a variety of industries: 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, robotics, and medical device companies.
Ben Franklin has been a leader in nurturing the state’s high-tech entrepreneurial ecosystem and fostering sustained economic growth for decades, and we will remain the state’s hub for innovation for years to come. We are proud of the work we do, the investments we make, the success our clients achieve, and the benefits they bring to our commonwealth.
Ryan E. Glenn is the director of statewide initiatives for Ben Franklin Technology Partners