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Final phase of the Pandemic Recovery for an Innovative Maine Economy (PRIME) program makes 48 awards to support and bolster Maine technology-based organizations
Augusta, Maine - Governor Janet Mills today announced $7 million in grant awards from her Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan to help Maine technology companies create jobs and strengthen Maine's innovation economy.
The awards were distributed through the third and final phase of the Pandemic Recovery for an Innovative Maine Economy (PRIME) Fund, a $39.6 million Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan initiative administered by the Maine Technology Institute (MTI). The initiative was established in 2022 through the Governor's Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan to help Maine technology companies recover from the pandemic and catalyze long-term economic growth.
View a full list of awardees (PDF).
"These Jobs Plan grants will support cutting-edge technology companies across Maine as they innovate and create new jobs, which helps diversify and strengthen our economy," said Governor Mills. "I thank the Maine Technology Institute for their partnership in investing these funds to build a stronger economy that provides greater opportunity for Maine people and their families."
"These PRIME awards will help us continue to grow a stronger, more diverse economy, create jobs, and attract new workers to our state, all of which are central to Maine's 10-Year Economic Development Strategy," said Heather Johnson, Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development.
"MTI has been honored to help deploy the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan funds to bolster our state's tech-based economy," said Brian Whitney, President of the Maine Technology Institute. "While the last of those funds have now been awarded, we are elated that voters approved a $25 million R&D bond on November 5th that MTI will administer in 2025 to further support innovation in Maine."
The final phase of the competitive PRIME Fund program, which received 134 applications seeking more than $20 million, focused its investments on businesses in the state's targeted technology sectors, which include biotech, composites and advanced materials, forestry and agriculture, marine industries, precision manufacturing and more.
By targeting these sectors, the PRIME Fund was designed to accelerate job creation and reach businesses that were largely unable to access other federal pandemic-response economic support programs. Of the 48 awards, nearly 60 percent went to firms that had not received any previous MTI or pandemic relief funding.
In July 2022, Governor Mills announced that 174 companies had been awarded $23.3 million in grant awards from the PRIME Fund to help them recover from the pandemic, invest in new products and business lines, attract new customers, and create long-term economic growth.
In January 2023, Governor Mills announced $5.6 million in awards from the second round of the PRIME Fund to 16 organizations develop programs to support Maine entrepreneurs and startups.
The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan is Governor Mills' plan, approved by the Legislature, to invest nearly $1 billion in Federal American Rescue Plan funds to improve the lives of Maine people and families, help businesses, create good-paying jobs, and build an economy poised for future prosperity. For more about the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, please visit maine.gov/jobsplan.
Under Governor Mills' leadership, Maine's gross domestic product has experienced the strongest GDP growth in New England and outperformed the economic growth of larger states like California, New York, and Virginia. Maine has experienced more economic growth over the last four years than it did in the preceding fifteen.