stateside | HARTFORD
Yankee Ingenuity Hartford reinvents as it builds an innovations ecosystem. BY JANICE HECHT RIVERFRONT:
Hartford skyline across the Connecticut River PHOTO : © SEAN PAVONE DREAMSTIME.COM
62
QUIET CONNECTICUT. The Land of Steady Habits. Not sobriquets you’d expect to define the home state of an emerging technology hub tucked between New York and Boston. In fact, Hartford — deeply engaged in the digitized economy — ranks as the fourth-best city for tech jobs in the country, according to the Brookings Institution. A big accomplishment for a mid-sized city. The state and its capital boast a long history of ideas and inventions — from the Colt revolver to a Revolutionary War submarine to the Frisbee. The first insurance company opened here in 1810, setting Hartford on its path as the Insurance Capital of the World. Defining cultural figures such as Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, J.P. Morgan and Katharine Hepburn called Hartford home. As insurance, finance and health care drive the digital economy, this region proves a great place for people with technology skills to work, live and play. The commitment of CVS to keep its new acquisition, health insurer Aetna,
globaltravelerusa.com
MARCH 2019
in the city helps Hartford retain jobs and its status as insurance capital. And as technology transforms the insurance sector, the city looks to innovate within its legacy industries. Last year the National League of Cities and Schmidt Futures named Hartford “the country’s premier destination for insurance technology,” as part of the new City Innovations Ecosystem initiative. Last December, India-based Infosys, a global leader in technology and next-generation services, opened its $21 million Technology and Innovation Hub in Hartford’s recently refurbished Goodwin Square building, one of the company’s six new regional U.S. hubs. It will hire 1,000 workers here by 2022 and focus on insurance, health care and manufacturing clients. The new InsureTech Hub startup accelerator will transform the insurance industry with new technology to improve the customer experience and simplify policy management. In the manufacturing sector, Stanley Black & Decker’s Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence, “Manufactory 4.0,” leads the company’s worldwide automation efforts with the internet of things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, robotics and advanced materials, with the goal of bringing startups to Hartford. This May, the first-ever International Space Trade Summit in Hartford will give Connecticut’s aerospace components manufacturers — including United Technologies Corp.’s Collins Aerospace — the opportunity to partner with global companies and stake a claim in the space sector. Skilled talent is critical for employers, especially with rapid changes in technology. The state recently earmarked $2.5 million to open two technology training schools, one in Hartford, to provide hundreds of job seekers
