BIC Sees $5.2M State Investment for Tech Hub

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
03:41PM / Saturday, November 08, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Innovation Center's plans for an optics tech hub have been boosted by $5.2 million from the state.

On Thursday, the Healey-Driscoll administration and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's Innovation Institute announced over $16.3 million in funding and designated 14 state regions as "TechHubs" through the Massachusetts (MA) TechHubs Program. The awards were announced at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

The BIC received a $5.2 million transformation grant — the largest allocation — for an Advanced Optics TechHub within the William Stanley Business Park. The innovation center, established in 2020, is looking to add a 7,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing for Advanced Optics Tech Hub to its 23,500-square-foot floor plan.

Business Development Manager Michael Coakley said this is wonderful news for Pittsfield.

"The City has been working with Myrias Optics, an advanced optics manufacturer, and EMA [Electro Magnetic Applications] to be the anchor companies for the hub," he reported.

"The goal for the tech hub is to make Pittsfield the national leader in the testing and manufacturing of advanced optics."

Mayor Peter Marchetti has proposed $1 million in Pittsfield Economic Development Funds to assist the

BIC with this expansion and for Myrias Optics to establish a manufacturing laboratory at the

BIC as part of the TechHub, which is currently being considered by the Pittsfield City Council.

"The AMAO TechHub places Pittsfield at the forefront of advanced manufacturing," said the mayor in a statement. "The combination of state and local resources for the TechHub will create more job opportunities while we support entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses in this community. I continue to appreciate the investments made in Pittsfield by the Healey-Driscoll administration, Rep. [Tricia] Farley-Bouvier and Sen. [Paul] Mark."

The AMAO Tech Hub is poised to bring more than 60 new, high-quality manufacturing jobs to Pittsfield. The project would allow Myrias to relocate to Pittsfield, create over 50 new job opportunities, and invest $10 million into its work in the region. EMA would be able to continue expanding in Pittsfield, adding a dozen jobs over the next two years.

Through partnership with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, this project is hoped to extend its reach beyond Pittsfield, creating bridges to other regions of the state and investing in the next generation of industry leaders.

The state's press release said this will also facilitate collaboration along the Boston-Rochester optics corridor, develop a pipeline of talent for advanced optics manufacturing, and facilitate the growth of startups, including Myrias Optics and Electro Magnetic Applications.

"Massachusetts has always led through innovation, not just in our labs and universities, but through the strength and creativity of our people," Gov. Maura Healey said in the press release.

"The TechHubs Program reflects our belief that every region should have the opportunity to shape the future of technology and to share in the prosperity it brings."

The BIC is seeking $500,000 to expand, and Myrias Optics Inc. is seeking $500,000 to establish the manufacturing laboratory at the BIC. Both requests were referred to the Community and Economic Development subcommittee, which will meet on Monday, Nov. 10.

Funds would go toward a specialized nanoimprint lithography (NIL) lab to support the Massachusetts-based photonics company that is currently reliant on space in Austria.

Myrias Optics was born out of the UMass Amherst, and this facility is expected to "dramatically" advance the company's commercialization goals. The manufacturing lab would be modeled after the Austria facility and house NIL tooling, process engineering, and metrology operations.

By 2028, the company plans to expand from 10 to 55 employees with an average annual salary between $112,000 $127,000, and the annual revenue growth from $1 million to $33 .7 million.

The BIC has more than 50 members and 14 academic partners. It has recruited and supported Pittsfield startups through the Stage 2 Accelerator Program tailored for hard tech ventures transitioning from prototype to commercialization. This program provides mentorship and facilities, as well as connections and funding pathways.

"As the BIC continues to drive this growth, it has observed a clear shift in regional needs— from basic capacity-building to advanced research, development, and commercialization," the funding ask reads.

"Today, the demand for lab space, prototyping tools, and startup support significantly exceeds available resources."

The BIC currently has an advanced optics lab in partnership with EMA and UMass Amherst. In 2019, Pittsfield gave EMA $140,000 in economic development funds towards the purchase of a space environment testing chamber and a tax agreement that will curb the taxes EMA pays to the city from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2026.

"This funding is a big step forward in enabling the Berkshire Innovation Center and the City of

Pittsfield to plant a mustard seed into soil that has been cultivated at the BIC allowing for the next

critical step in the community’s economic revitalization and into the future," said Farley-Bouvier.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute also received $5.2 million for a Bioindustrial Manufacturing TechHub. These grants are said to support regions ready to "execute large-scale projects that enhance innovation infrastructure, promote the development of local high-growth scaling companies, catalyze technology commercialization, and foster workforce development with up to $5 million in capital funds over a period of up to three years."

Tags: BIC, manufacturing, state grant, technology,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Tina Packer, Founder of Shakespeare & Company, Dies at 87

Staff Reports 06:51PM / Saturday, January 10, 2026

LENOX, Mass. — The doyenne of Shakespeare's plays, Tina Packer, died Friday at the age of 87.

Shakespeare & Company, which Packer co-founded in 1978, made the announcement Saturday on its Facebook page.

"It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Packer, Shakespeare & Company's founding artistic director and acclaimed director, actor, writer, and teacher," the company said on its post and in a press release.

Packer, who retired a the theater company's artistic director in 2009, had directed all of Shakespeare's plays, some several times, acted in eight of them, and taught the whole canon at more than 30 colleges, including Harvard. She continued to direct, teach, and advocate for the company until her passing.

At Columbia University, she taught in the master of business administration program for four years, resulting in the publication of "Power Plays: Shakespeare's Lessons in Leadership and Management with Deming Professor John Whitney" for Simon and Schuster. For Scholastic, she wrote "Tales from Shakespeare," a children's book and recipient of the Parent's Gold Medal Award.

Most recently her book "Women of Will" was published by Knopf and she had been performing "Women of Will" with Nigel Gore, in New York, Mexico, England, The Hague, China, and across the United States. She's the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees, including the Commonwealth Award.

"Our hearts are heavy with the passing of Tina Packer, a fiery force of nature with an indomitable spirit," said Artistic Director Allyn Burrows. "Tina affected everyone she encountered with her warmth, generosity, wit, and insatiable curiosity. She delighted in people's stories, and reached into their hearts with tender humanity. The world was her stage, and she furthered the Berkshires as a destination for the imagination.

View Full Story