ANN ARBOR – According to a new report by Bloomberg, Ann Arbor has proven itself as a rising tech hub. The financial media company ranked Ann Arbor the No. 3 “new top tech hub” in the U.S.
Boulder, Colorado snagged the No. 1 spot, and San Jose, California came in at No. 2 on Bloomberg’s Brain Concentration Index.
According to the article:
“America’s high-tech workers may still gravitate to the obvious spots, like Silicon Valley or the home of federal funding, Washington D.C. But behind them are plenty of regional college towns attracting workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. They rank among the bigger gainers on this year’s index, which tracks the highest density areas of so-called STEM workers, among other metrics.”
Ann Arbor falls under these unexpected cities that have a thriving tech scene, and -- this should come as no surprise -- are also college towns.
The University of Michigan has an undeniable connection to Ann Arbor’s success as a tech hub. From companies spinning out of the university, to incubator programs like Desai Accelerator and Tech Transfer and alums moving into the booming cybersecurity space in town, there is no shortage of talent here.
Beyond the university, Ann Arbor SPARK also incubates and accelerates businesses, acting as a springboard for some of Ann Arbor’s most successful companies.
Duo Security put Ann Arbor on the map when it was declared the city’s first unicorn -- a startup valued at $1 billion or more -- and was subsequently acquired by tech conglomerate Cisco for $2.3 billion.
A newer player is Cahoots, a co-working space launched by local entrepreneurs who want to create an inclusive, collaborative space similar to the Capital Factory in Austin, Texas for emerging and established startups.
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