State Awards $20M for 100,000-sq.-ft. Downtown Hartford Innovation Center

The state is investing $20 million to establish a 100,000-square-foot artificial intelligence and workforce development center at State House Square in downtown Hartford, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Thursday.

The Hartford Innovation Center will feature collaborative labs, classrooms and project spaces aimed at helping workers, students, businesses and entrepreneurs learn how to use artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

The announcement was made during a news conference in the lobby at State House Square featuring city and state officials and local business leaders that was attended by about 70 people.

The funding comes through the state Department of Economic and Community Development’s $100 million Innovation Clusters Program, which is designed to support the growth of industries including biotechnology, financial technology, insurance technology and advanced manufacturing.

Hartford was one of three cities, along with New Haven and Stamford, selected as finalists for funding through the program in 2024. New Haven received the first award in September 2025, when the state committed $50.5 million to an innovation district focused on life sciences, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.

Hartford’s $20 million award is the second made through the program.

The Hartford center will focus in particular on the insurance and healthcare sectors, two major components of the region’s economy that are adapting to the rapid development and adoption of AI.

“Today’s investment signals our commitment to accelerating economic growth in Hartford while ensuring workers and employers alike benefit from cutting-edge innovation,” Lamont said. “This project stands at the center of our broader strategy to bring new workforce opportunities into the region and strengthen connections between communities and the state’s most dynamic industries.”

The project has attracted multiyear financial commitments from Hartford HealthCare, The Hartford, Travelers, Nassau, Google and QuantumCT, according to the Lamont administration. While the value of most of those commitments was not disclosed, Claire Burns, The Hartford’s chief marketing and customer officer, said during the news conference that her organization has committed to donating $1.5 million.

“When we think about innovating — and we do innovation labs all the time, we go to MIT, we go to Yale and we go to VidCon,” a video technology conference, she said. “With this effort, we will not have to leave the city of Hartford. … We can use local residents, local entrepreneurs, and use that talent to prepare them to meet our needs as a corporate partner.”

Jeff Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford HealthCare, said the city and region benefit from locating the AI training facility downtown.

“So we were delighted that this investment would be here, be proximate to us,” he said. “It’s going to bring more talent, more people and more capabilities to the region. For us, it’s about problem-solving. So we’re going to be able to solve more problems faster, more affordably, by having a center like this here.”

The center is envisioned as a multi-tenant workforce training and innovation facility serving workers, students and faculty, employers, startups and public agencies.

Employers will be able to work with academic partners to test new technologies and train workers to use them, while startups and entrepreneurs will have access to technical resources and corporate partners, according to the Lamont administration.

The initiative was piloted last year and currently occupies about 7,000 square feet at 10 Constitution Plaza in Hartford.

The State House Square location represents a change from plans outlined earlier this year, when city officials envisioned constructing a 100,000- to 150,000-square-foot center on a roughly 3-acre city-owned property behind Dunkin’ Park. That project had been estimated to cost between $72 million and $78 million.

Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said Thursday that he views the move to State House Square as an opportunity to reuse existing downtown space and help fill vacancies. The city will pursue other uses for the property behind Dunkin’ Park, which contains a vacant former data storage facility that is being demolished.

Arulampalam added that reusing existing space will help speed completion of the project, and also noted that it is centrally located and will be created alongside Junior Achievement’s planned $18 million learning center in State House Square.

DECD Deputy Commissioner Matt Pugliese said the fact that the project is not a new build but an adaptive reuse is important.

“We’re bringing empty space back to life in a really vibrant new way for the next generation,” he said.

The new State House Square campus will operate under a model in which major floors are leased to individual operators with their own missions and business plans, according to the state.

The center will also work with the Connecticut AI Alliance, which represents 21 higher education institutions across the state and focuses on AI research, workforce development and responsible use of the technology.

Fiscal oversight and operational management will be provided by the Trustworthy AI Network, or TWAIN, a nonprofit organization expected to launch later this year.

The Hartford award brings the amount committed through the $100 million Innovation Clusters Program to $70.5 million.

New Haven’s $50.5 million award included $10 million for QuantumCT, a statewide quantum computing initiative; $1.3 million for an early-stage startup space at 101 College St.; and $17.5 million for infrastructure improvements supporting development of a former Route 34 site. Other funding was directed toward life sciences facilities and related infrastructure.

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