State Funds Support High-Tech Research

From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeighKentucky officials are touting the commonwealth’s success in helping high-tech researchers and entrepreneurs launch new businesses.Gov. Steve Beshear says high-tech researchers and entrepreneurs need state support to succeed. But what they really need to survive and thrive, is cash.“That’s why Kentucky, through the Cabinet for Economic Development and the Council on Postsecondary Education, provides a wide range of grants, investments and other funding to support research and technology commercialization," he says.Beshear says, since 2001, high-tech entrepreneurs and startups have received more than 72-million dollars in state grants. He says the money helped create 450 new companies, supplying three thousand high-paying jobs. In turn, the companies are attracting private investments and providing the state with hundreds of millions of dollars in tax receipts.At least 50 researchers and entreprenuers who received state assistance were recognized in ceremonies at the State Capitol.