Yellen to tout Biden technology investments at Virginia business incubator

Appian

20/10/2022 14:27

By David Lawder
       WASHINGTON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary
Janet Yellen is set to resume her campaign-style promotion of
President Joe Biden's economic initiatives on Friday, visiting a
Virginia business incubator to tout U.S. investments in
research, semi-conductors, clean energy and other technologies.
    The Treasury said Yellen will deliver remarks and meet with
entrepreneurs at the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp (VIPC)
in Herndon, Virginia, a booming Washington suburb near Dulles
International Airport.
    Yellen has made a series of other campaign-style speeches in
the run-up to the Nov. 8 congressional elections, touting
legislation passed over the past year, including a $1.2 trillion
infrastructure investment package, the Chips and Science act,
which offers subsidies to semiconductor production and research,
and the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which includes major
tax incentives for clean energy investments.
    Last month, Yellen made similar speeches to tout
infrastructure and electric vehicle investments in Detroit and
visited a solar power developer in North Carolina. Her remarks
in Herndon will focus on the technology, research and
innovation, which the Treasury said "are creating good-paying
jobs, boosting U.S. competitiveness and accelerating the
transition to clean energy" and spreading economic benefits to 
previously overlooked cities.
    Yellen will be joined by Senator Tim Kaine and
Representative Gerry Connolly, both fellow Democrats, and will
host a roundtable with local entrepreneurs and academics focused
on semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and other
technologies, the Treasury said.
    VIPC is the Commonwealth of Virginia's nonprofit, publicly
funded commercialization and seed-stage economic development
group, which leads funding, infrastructure, and policy
initiatives to support entrepreneurs and startup firms.
    Among recent its projects is a partnership with Leesburg,
Virginia-based Quantum Computing Inc  QUBT.O  to develop optimal
flight trajectories for drone aircraft and an investment
Richmond-based Evizia, a life-sciences startup building a tool
to help researchers visualize the human genome.
    VIPC's Herndon facility is located in the Dulles technology
corridor, which was once best-known as the home of dial-up
internet pioneer America Online, employing thousands of workers
before AOL's fortunes faded in the early 2000s.
    The area is now known for a diverse mix of software, defense
and other technology firms, including cloud computing software
firm Appian Corp  APPN.O  and cybersecurity firm Mandiant Inc.
The Washington Metro transit system is set to soon open a nearby
stop on its Dulles line called Innovation Center.
 (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
 ((David.Lawder@tr.com; +1 202 354 5854; Reuters Messaging:
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