Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania welcomed 40 attendees on May 8 for a public hearing of the Pennsylvania Senate Communications & Technology Committee, held at their award-winning TechVentures facility.
Chaired by Senator Tracy Pennycuick and Senator Nick Miller, the hearing—titled “Powering Artificial Intelligence’s Future in Our Commonwealth”—gathered thought leaders from the entrepreneurial, investment, academic, and healthcare sectors to explore how Pennsylvania can leverage artificial intelligence to strengthen its innovation economy.
Two expert panels contributed diverse perspectives:
Panel 1: The Innovation & Investment Landscape
- Paul Gosselin, Founder of Reviews UP and Co-Founder of Alexander Labs
- Jeff Davison, Venture Partner, Activate Venture Partners
- Wayne Barz, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Investment Officer, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania
Panel 2: Applied AI Across Industries
- Dr. Tamas Terlaky, President, Optamo LLC
- Laks Srinivasan, Managing Director, Return on AI Institute
- Dr. Charlie Sonday, Associate Chief Medical Information Officer, St. Luke’s University Health Network
During the hearing, Senator Lisa Boscola, whose district includes Bethlehem, praised the organization’s statewide economic impact:
“Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern PA has assisted in creating over 17,000 new jobs for Pennsylvania workers and retaining over 27,000 existing jobs. It also started nearly 500 new companies. This is a wonderful incubator. I am just so proud to represent it. Thank you so much for coming here to witness what’s happening.”
Wayne Barz, COO/CIO of Ben Franklin Northeast, included the following comment as part of his testimony to the committee:
“We [Ben Franklin Northeast] had three companies in to present to our development group yesterday, and all of them featured artificial intelligence in their business model and in the construct of their product. AI is poised to become a massive force in the U.S. economy, driving productivity, innovation, and economic growth at an unprecedented scale.”
Ben Franklin Northeast has realized decades of success by staying ahead of the curve and strategically funding companies that harness early-stage technologies long before they become mainstream. Today’s hearing emphasized the continuing need for workforce development, startup support, ethical AI frameworks, and smart state investments to unlock the transformative potential of AI across the Commonwealth.
To view the full agenda or watch the hearing recording, visit: https://communications.pasenategop.com/comms-050825/
