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Federal Program Aims To Jump-Start Secondary 'Tech Hubs'

It might not be "Squid Game," but the federal government's place-based economic development competitions have regions fighting to win funds nonetheless. 

In May, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) began accepting applications for the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program and its $10 billion of authorized, though not yet fully available, funding. The Tech Hubs program is meant to identify regions — likely areas that would be considered secondary or tertiary real estate markets — that demonstrate the potential for growing into "globally competitive" tech centers within the next 10 years. 

The EDA is targeting semiconductor manufacturing, robotics and biotechnology among other likely areas of investment. 

With $500 million already funded, the program's first phase will designate 20 or more regional consortia comprised of economic development agencies, government entities, educational institutions and other stakeholders as Tech Hubs. Designation will allow these consortia to apply for an expected $50 million to $75 million implementation award in the second phase of the program. 

Consortia will also be able to apply for strategy development grants, which will award each region's lead organization approximately $400,000 to $500,000 to be used pursuing Tech Hub designation in the future, or Phase 2 implementation awards if their consortium secures designation this round.

The program follows the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, which last year awarded $1 billion in grants to 21 coalitions around the country under a similar regional development goal. New York won two awards, including $25 million for its advanced manufacturing cluster in the western part of the state, while southwest Pennsylvania secured $62.7 million to help build a cluster focused on robotics and autonomy.

There are two pieces necessary to transform a region into a tech cluster, according to Creighton Armstrong, a senior managing director for government services with JLL. It starts with education to develop a workforce for companies to hire. "I really think it's driven around the university, with the opportunities available and the employees that a company can hire," Armstrong said. "If you're a company looking to relocate from one part of the country to another, that's a big part of what you're looking to achieve."

The second piece is securing one big name to act as a growth magnet. Armstrong pointed to the development of a massive semiconductor plant near Phoenix as one example, where manufacturing firm TSMC has a huge development just outside the city. 

"They put their stake in the ground and now their suppliers are coming," he said. "You want to create these regional hubs where you get good interaction between the suppliers and the main company that's going to inspire and potentially start new companies and new innovation. But it has to be done in a thoughtful way, where you aren't pricing out the suppliers."

The TSMC project is expected to secure billions of dollars of incentives from the federal government under the CHIPS Act semiconductor manufacturing incentive. The Tech Hubs program, while smaller in terms of available funding than CHIPS, will apply to a more diverse range of industries. By spurring development in markets that are "on the edge of glory," regions that were until now dormant may see an explosion of activity, Alejandra Castillo, assistant secretary of commerce for economic development, told tech news site technical.Ly. 

Depending on the size of the funding secured, that activity could play out over different scales. 

"It's hard to see Build Back Better prompting a major transformation in all regions, but it could happen in some, and clearly in the immediate vicinity of activity there could be neighborhood or central business district or tech center activity," said Mark Muro, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Meanwhile, he said, the "Tech Hubs regions, to the extent that they are built out and fully funded, which they are not now, could be that kind of transformative investment." 

This is where commercial real estate professionals get involved. 

Programs like Tech Hubs present an opportunity for local brokers already within these sidelined markets, as well as a chance for brokers from big cities to expand their businesses, according to Ben Shapiro, a New York-based vice chairman with Newmark. "New York City is still supply-constrained. I think brokers understand that, and the good ones are going to understand how to succeed in that market, but if there's business to be done for a semiconductor research plant in Buffalo, we're going to go where we can help our clients perform the best."

Much of the real estate activity resulting from these incentive programs could be flex industrial space, Shapiro said. "We're seeing a lot of demand for 'maker space' and lab space, whether it's dry lab [laboratory space focusing on computers as opposed to potentially hazardous chemicals] or traditional lab space." 

Economic development agencies, like those that coordinate bids for place-based economic development programs, gain a lot from collaborating with real estate firms because of their local expertise. 

That was the case for Ben Pratt, the regional economic competitiveness officer at the Allegheny Conference for Community Development, one of the organizations that recently helped Pennsylvania secure its $62.7 million of Build Back Better funding. The funds will go to five projects aimed at improving robotics and autonomy skills and commercialization opportunities in the area, including $12 million for an accelerator called the Robotics Startup Factory and $6.9 million to help underrepresented groups launch careers in these industries.  

Pratt's organization works directly with real estate partners, including one large firm he was unable to disclose. He said the primary benefit is getting access to important market intelligence, as well as an unbiased comparative view of the strengths and weaknesses of the region, using the skills and data-based approaches of the real estate community.

"We are working with commercial real estate firms and independent speculative developers who are giving us a better understanding of vacancy rates, existing leases, and triple nets for the industry clusters," he said. 

The Tech Hubs program specifically requires applicant teams to include a variety of different organizations, and that's very deliberate. Even the best brokers, university leaders, and economic development professionals are incapable of galvanizing a region into a new economic engine alone. "It's going to take the government, the private sector, the brokerage community and academia being involved, and when you look at how these regional tech hubs have formed it's usually a strong government lead and a strong economic development agency that wants to attract and retain companies to their areas, but its also going to take a strong labor force that will be driven by academia," Armstrong said.

Applications for Phase 1 designations and strategy development grants are due on Aug. 15, and recipients will be announced this fall. Those who secure designation will then have the opportunity to apply for the much larger Phase 2 implementation grants as well. For the commercial real estate brokers who may be salivating at the prospect of those funds and the resulting investment coming to their markets, there's good news. The best thing they can do to help out is simply do what they do best: talk. 

"Having that candid conversation with commercial real estate firms that can validate based off their own client experience is incredibly valuable," Pratt said. "I would argue the best regional economic development agencies are the ones that have engaged the commercial real estate firms with the most candid discussions."

Squid Game Season 2: Release Date, Plot, Cast, And Everything To Know

We may not know when Squid Game Season 2 will launch the next round of death games, but Netflix has at least announced the players entering the hellish arena. It will take us more time to recover from the gory ends of our favorite characters in Season 1 (watching Sae-byeok's gradual decline was just painful!), but we're ready to become attached to the new contestants only for them to be ripped away one by one.

When the series premiered in September 2021, it transcended language barriers and became Netflix's most-watched series ever. Squid Game had everything: a gripping premise, captivating performances, and a plot that only became more sinister as the show progressed. "I really wanted to create a story that will be immersive. And I wanted the viewers who watch Squid Game to start questioning themselves," creator Hwang Dong-hyuk told The Hollywood Reporter. "How am I living my life? Who am I among these characters, and what kind of world am I living in? I wanted these questions to be asked."

Squid Game resonated with critics as well. In September 2022, the Korean series solidified its place in the TV history books when it won six Emmy Awards, including Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Lee Jung-jae and Directing for a Drama Series for Hwang, in the process becoming the first show not in English to win these categories. We're hungry for more Squid Game like all we had to eat was a hard-boiled egg and a bottle of soda, so naturally we can't help but wonder when Season 2 will come out. 

Here's everything we know about Squid Game Season 2.

Squid Game

Netflix Squid Game Season 2 latest news

On June 28, Netflix revealed the final cast for Squid Game Season 2. Eight additional stars — detailed below in the Cast section — will be joining the ensemble. Netflix also shared that the first table read took place over the week of June 26, and that production will begin later in 2023. 

When is Squid Game Season 2 coming out? 

There's no release date set for Season 2. The first table read only just occurred in June 2023 and production won't begin until later this year, so it's likely that we'll have to wait until 2024 or later to see the second season.

Squid Game Season 2 cast

Most of our favorite characters died in Season 1. It's hard to imagine Squid Game without the likes of Park Hae-soo's Sang-woo and Jung Hoyeon's Kang Sae-byeok, but alas, we have no choice. On June 17 at Tudum: A Global Fan Event, Netflix shared a cast announcement video for Squid Game Season 2. Sure, we all knew that Lee Jung-jae's main character Seong Gi-hun, aka Player 456, would be back for a second round of death games. But this video revealed the new players also competing for their lives. 

Lee Byung-hun will return as the Front Man, while Wi Ha-jun will return as Hwang Jun-ho. The latter is a pleasant surprise since the last time we saw Jun-ho, he was shot by his brother, the Front Man, and fell off a cliff. And Squid Game fans will be thrilled to learn that Gong Yoo, who appeared only for brief moments in Season 1, is also coming back. 

The video also introduces new players: Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Sung-hoon, and Yang Dong-geun all press the green button that indicates game on. We don't know anything about their characters just yet.

On June 28, Netflix unveiled the rest of Squid Game Season 2's cast. They include Park Gyu-young, Jo Yu-ri, and Kang Ae-shim. Also joining the cast are Lee David, Lee Jin-uk, Choi Seung-hyun, Roh Jae-won, and, last but not least, Won Ji-an. Here's a look at the newly announced stars. 

Choi Seung-hyun, Lee Jin-uk, Won Ji-an, Park Gyu-young, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Jo Yu-ri, Roh Jae-won

Netflix

Along with the final cast announcement, Netflix offered a look at the first table read. 

Top row from left: Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neulSecond row from left: Park Gyu-young, Park Sung-hoon, Jo Yu-ri, Wi Ha-junThird row from left: Yang Dong-geun, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Lee Jin-uk

Netflix What else to know about Squid Game Season 2

It took a long time for Squid Game to get officially renewed; the Season 2 pick-up was announced in June 2022, nine months after the series premiered. Along with the show's renewal for a second season, Netflix tweeted a letter from creator Dong-hyuk in which he confirms "a whole new round" of games is in store.

Where to watch Squid Game

Season 1 of Squid Game is available to stream.

The Future Of 'Squid Game,' More K-Dramas At Netflix

From ongoing Squid Game fever following the latest announcement of the final Season 2 cast to the explosion of reality series like Physical: 100, the Korean show craze on Netflix has shown no signs of slowing down.

At a press conference during his visit to South Korea in late June, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos noted that "a staggering 60 percent of our members have now watched one Korean title—with viewing of K-content up sixfold globally in the last four years."

Sarandos said that "over the next four years, we will invest $2.5 billion in Korea."

The Netflix chief noted that 90 percent of "K-romance viewing now comes from outside Korea," while last year's Carter film and two cult K-dramas—All of Us Are Dead and The Glory—joined Netflix's top 10 ranking in over 90 countries.

But "nothing quite beats Squid Game—the biggest TV show in history on any metric we've ever seen," he said. The series reigns as Netflix's most popular television show of all time, outranking Stranger Things and Bridgerton.

"I believe we're just scratching the surface of what's possible," in the partnership between the streamer and South Korea, Sarandos said during his visit. "It's why Netflix is investing for the long term."

Here we unpack what the future may hold for Squid Game and other Korean shows and films on Netflix.

Stills from programs on Netflix, including the shows "Squid Game" (top) and "Physical: 100" (left) and the film "Kill Boksoon." Netflix

The next few years, especially following the release of Squid Game Season 2, could see the Squid Game franchise go into full gear, from spinoffs to video games.

"The Squid Game universe has just started," Don Kang, the VP of Korean content at Netflix told Newsweek at Netflix Korea's headquarters in Seoul, the South Korean capital, back in February.

The series has already seen its first television show spinoff, which could perhaps pave the way for other versions, such as a Hollywood remake in the U.S.

Kang said the streamer was "very excited" for Squid Game: The Challenge, the reality show premiering in November. The show will see 456 players compete in a string of games (non-fatal ones, of course) in a bid to win $4.56 million, the largest cash prize in reality television history, according to Netflix.

From as early as October 2021, less than a month after the show premiered in September 2021, the streamer began looking at "different areas of potential" to explore, including games and consumer products, Netflix's VP of content for Asia Pacific, Minyoung Kim, told The Hollywood Reporter at the time.

Squid Game-inspired games have already cropped up on some gaming platforms and distribution services such as Twitch, Steam and Roblox.

During his Korea visit, Sarandos said: "Who would have guessed...That a TV show made in Korea for Koreans would cause a craze for green tracksuits [which feature in Squid Game] in America? Or push sales of Vans sneakers [replicating the white sneakers worn by the players in Squid Game] up by nearly 8,000 percent when released on Netflix? That's the power of Korean storytelling."

Hollywood Collaborations

Squid Game has garnered fans from all corners of the world, including Hollywood.

Back in September 2022, Squid Game writer/director Hwang Dong-hyuk said Leonardo DiCaprio is a "big fan" of the show. He teased the possibility of the Titanic star appearing in the series, saying, "Maybe if time or chances allow, we can ask him to join the games."

Asked whether Netflix could potentially begin pitching Korean works to Hollywood talent, Kang told Newsweek in February: "That would be exciting. If there's the right role, why not?"

He explained that if it's the "right approach" for a given script and if Hollywood actors want to be featured in Korean content, "and I know some of them do," the VP of Korean content said, without specifying who, "it would be a great collaboration and the start of something new."

Kang noted it would happen "only if it makes sense for the local audiences first," before laughing and pausing to add, "Well, depending on who it is."

Perhaps the next few years could also see Hollywood directors/producers deployed to work on the next Squid Game or other major Korean series or films on Netflix.

Famed Korean directors—such as Parasite's Bong Joon-ho and The Handmaiden's Park Chan-wook—have already featured in several Hollywood projects. Bong's latest upcoming film Mickey 17 stars Robert Pattinson, while Park's Oldboy film got a Hollywood remake directed by Spike Lee in 2013.

Leonardo DiCaprio seen on the red carpet at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in May (left); Lee Jung-jae in "Squid Game" on Netflix. "Squid Game" writer/director Hwang Dong-hyuk said DiCaprio was reported to be a "big fan" of the show. Netflix; Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images Continued Focus on Korean Stories

Squid Game's runaway global success may have opened a door to creating made-for-export type shows geared towards an international audience.

However, Netflix's approach towards the development of K-dramas and other content remains centered around the local audience, Kang said in February.

"What I genuinely believe is that a story has to be locally relevant first," the VP said, so "our primary focus is always local."

Referring to the Korean audience, Kang explained: "We know our stories and we know what works with our members [on Netflix]. If you try to create a show imagining you know your audience...It's very unlikely that you'll get it right" and equally unlikely to "be very authentic to your genuine creativity."

A New Generation of Korean Talent

Netflix's $2.5 billion investment in Korea will also devote funding to training programs for "the next generation of creators" both in front and behind the camera, Sarandos announced in Korea in June.

The streaming service is working with the Korea Radio Promotion Association to help talented young people gain experience in the production industry.

Noting that "we have to invest in their talent collectively as an industry," Sarandos said that between 2022 and 2025, "one in five Netflix titles in Korea will have come from a first-time writer or director."

Kang also said in February that the company is committed to "discovering new artists, directors, writers and talent."

A table piece showcasing the head of the giant doll featured in the "Squid Game" series (left) and the Netflix logo, both seen a Netflix Korea headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. The streamer said they are increasing their investment in Korean content. Soo Kim 'So Much More' Beyond K-Dramas

Kang said in February that South Korea has "so much more to offer than the traditionally known romantic comedies," with "so much more creativity to be unfolded."

The streamer is committed to showcasing a variety of content, including the "best that Korean cinema has to offer" and "crazier" nonfiction programs, following the recent hits Physical: 100 and Single's Inferno, he said.

Physical: 100, which sees contestants battle for the title of having the "ultimate physique," became one of the streamer's most popular non-English unscripted programs ever. Single's Inferno, the popular Korean dating series, was the first Korean reality show to join Netflix's global top 10 ranking last year.

And there's more to be unraveled in Korean cinema. The Handmaiden's Park was announced to be a co-screenwriter and producer of the upcoming Korean period film War and Revolt, his first-ever Netflix film, which he spoke about with Sarandos at a Q&A panel during the Netflix chief's visit last month.

During the talk, Sarandos said: "I've been in love with Korean films for many years now" and "The quality of Korean cinema is incredible and no one can keep up with it."

He noted: "We're in an age where you can see any film at the click of a keyboard. Now is the optimal, golden era for storytelling and we all need to take advantage of that."

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