This piece was originally published in the Arizona Capitol Times on January 24th. You can find the original piece .

As we embark upon a new decade, it’s hard to miss the technological advances happening all around us. Arizona in 2020 is a state ripe with investment in cutting-edge technology, one where entrepreneurship is thriving and the breakthroughs of tomorrow are happening right in our own backyard.

Arizona’s autonomous vehicle sector is a prime example of how our state has positioned itself to be on the leading edge of the future. After all, it’s where The New York Times said “self-driving cars go to learn.”

While it’s easy to imagine a future zipping around the state in driverless cars, what hasn’t been simple is measuring the actual economic impact of this future for our state. But economist Jim Rounds crunched the numbers and recently released a report for the Arizona Chamber Foundation on the various models and assumptions for Arizona. One thing they all point to? By leading other states, Arizona is poised to reap a disproportionate share of the billions in economic growth and investment this new industry will bring.

Rounds estimates – conservatively – that a $6.1 billion investment in autonomous vehicle research and development would lead to over 75,000 new Arizona jobs across the industry itself and in supporting industries by 2026. To put this in perspective, the growth alone in autonomous vehicle-related work in the next few years will employ more than double the number of Arizonans working in state government.

Much of this growth can be attributed to the way Arizona has uniquely positioned itself among the states to provide a welcoming environment to innovators. For example, thanks to an executive order from Gov. Doug Ducey, the Arizona Commerce Authority now houses the Institute of Automated Mobility, a team that bridges government, innovating companies, and higher education institutions to facilitate the safe development of these technologies.

Higher education is actually a critical part of this consortium. By training students for a high-tech industry poised to grow here at home, Arizona’s colleges and universities are simultaneously meeting the industry’s demand and retaining Arizona’s best and brightest.

We are investing in a workforce designed to grow with the autonomous-vehicle industry, positioning our state as the top location for additional investments by companies working in this space.

In fact, Arizona’s universities are partnering with the firms pioneering this technology to graduate engineers and software developers. That means the students we are investing in at our state universities are staying here, working here, and keeping their economic contributions here in Arizona.

But it’s not just our universities. Community colleges in Phoenix’s East Valley and Pima Community College in Tucson have developed training programs in cyber-security and autonomous truck operation that are training Arizonans directly for high-demand jobs in the workforce.

With more Arizonans taking jobs in this promising, high tech field, and companies like Waymo and Intel – which in 2017 purchased Israel-based autonomous tech firm Mobileye – expanding their research, development, and manufacturing footprints to support that growth, there is also substantial benefit to the state and local governments in tax collection over the next decade.

If we continue to support the growth of autonomous-vehicle technology in Arizona, it will yield significant resources to state and local governments that can be re-invested in priorities like education and public safety. Rounds estimates that an additional $250-350 million in taxes could be collected by 2026 in autonomous-vehicle sector growth alone, using a conservative approach to modeling the calculations. Those are substantial resources for reinvesting in our state’s priorities.

Rounds’ calculations give us a clear vision for Arizona’s economic future if we continue on the path of welcoming the forward-thinking industry. It’s an Arizona with 75,000 more people working in good-paying jobs, an Arizona training our students for the jobs of the future, and an Arizona that’s reaping the benefits of a growing, successful tax base.

But perhaps more important than any of the economic growth that Arizona will gain by being a leader is the potential impact to road safety we stand to gain. Over 800 people die in fatal car crashes in Arizona each year. Autonomous vehicle technology has the potential to bring that number down dramatically by reducing the human error that is the cause of so many accidents. It’s why groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the National Safety Council have partnered with Waymo here in Arizona. We owe it to ourselves in Arizona to welcome technologies that have potential to keep our roads safer and save lives.

As this new analysis methodically predicts, Arizona can anticipate a bright, safe, and economically prosperous future if we continue to welcome innovation and resist overregulation.

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Intel Capital, Intel Corporation’s global investment organization, announced $117 million of investments at the in Phoenix, adding 14 “disruptive” tech startups to its ever-growing portfolio of data-centered companies from around the world.

“At Intel, we’re focused on pushing the boundaries of technology to make amazing experiences possible,” an Intel Capital spokesperson said. “Each of these new portfolio companies is pushing disruptive technologies that advance key areas of focus for Intel.”

New investments continue to signal Intel Corporation’s transition into a data company, shaking up the startups’ respective industries and supporting the advancement of technology intended to improve health, convenience and quality of life for consumers.

“We’ve invested behind new applications of technology, with a shift from manufacturing to service-based solutions, such as smart health care, service robots and AI,” the spokesperson said. “Other investments include IoT, (robotics, drones, connected cars), as well as datacenter hardware and software.”

Intel Capital’s mission is two-fold: create a return on investment for Intel shareholders and support Intel Corporation’s strategic objectives and break ground on new tech.

“Intel has driven disruption for the last 50 years, changing the way we live by making compute ubiquitous,” said Wendell Brooks, president of Intel Capital and senior vice president of Intel Corporation, at the summit. “Intel Capital is continuing that legacy of disruption with these investments. These companies are shifting the way we think about artificial intelligence, communications, manufacturing and health care — areas that will become increasingly essential in coming years as the linchpins of a smarter, more connected society.”

Intel Corporation set up shop in Arizona in 1979, beginning operations in Chandler the following year. Today, the company has more than 10,000 , manufacturing microprocessors that power data centers and hundreds of millions of devices worldwide.

The company’s annual economic impact in Arizona is about $5.3 billion, according to a 2013 study by Arizona State University.

Intel Capital launched the Intel Capital Diversity Initiative in 2015 to provide diverse startups access to Intel Capital’s business development programs, global network, technology expertise and brand capital.

More than 10 percent of the portfolio is now led by entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities, which Intel Capital believes is “an essential part of making the tech industry more inclusive for everyone’s benefit,” the spokesperson said.

In 2018, Intel Capital invested $391 million in 89 companies, 22 percent of which were made in diverse companies. Four companies completed Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and 14 were acquired.

Intel Capital has invested $12.4 billion in 1,544 companies in 57 countries since 1991, and in that time 670 companies in the organization’s portfolio have gone public or participated in a merger.

“In recent years, Intel Capital has typically invested between $300 million to $500 million annually,” the spokesperson said. “At the same time, we’ve been making fewer new investments each year. Making fewer, bigger investments lets us take more meaningful stakes in companies and play a more relevant role in helping them grow and succeed.”

According to Intel Capital, the organization has paid attention to artificial intelligence (AI) for at least five to six years, including machine learning, cognitive computing and more. AI has been one of the most important areas of focus for Intel as the company sets out to “build the future” under its “virtuous cycle of growth” strategy.

This year’s investment recipients comprise a variety of unique new businesses from California, Texas, Canada, the United Kingdom, China and Israel.

“Our continued goal is to leverage the global resources and expertise of the world’s greatest engineering company, and its ecosystem of customers and partners, to help these founders accelerate growth and innovation,” Brooks said.

The 2019 Intel Capital Global Summit invited more than 600 entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and Global 2000 business leaders to spend three days networking and company-building.

Here are Intel Capital’s disruptive startups for 2019:

• (Shanghai, China)
• (Palo Alto, California)
• (Houston, Texas)
• (Palo Alto, California)
• (Cupertino, California)
• (Santa Clara, California)
• (Guildford, United Kingdom)
• (Haifa, Israel)
• (Roseville, California)
• (San Diego, California)
• (Palo Alto, California)
• (Petaluma, California)
• (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
• (Zhuhai, China)

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