Virginia's true technology appeal is easy to spot. We have the best education system in the nation, one of the highest concentrations of technology talent in the country, and a common-sense business environment that enables and encourages companies to improve and iterate. business traveler The magazine called Virginia “East of Silicon Valley,” alluding to both intellectual (one of the nation's strongest technology talent pipelines) and physical (the world's largest data center market) factors. “Virginia is a world-class hub for technology talent, multi-sector collaboration and innovation,” said Dr. Prem Natarajan, Chief Scientist and Head of Enterprise AI at Capital One Financial Corporation.
CompTIA's September 2025 Tech Jobs Report ranks the commonwealth third in the nation for tech jobs, behind California and Texas, which have more than three times the population of Virginia. In 2024, M&A advisor WebAcquisition ranked the Washington, DC metropolitan area, which includes Northern Virginia, as the 12th best startup ecosystem in the world, between Shanghai and Amsterdam.
These honors and rankings are the result of decades of strategic investments that have brought Virginia to the forefront of the global technology industry. Part of this investment includes the $1.1 billion Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP), launched in 2019 and designed to increase the number of bachelor's and master's graduates in computer science and related fields by at least 30,000 over its 20-year lifespan. Higher education institutions use TTIP funding to advance research, facilities, and programs dedicated to expanding and sustaining a robust and innovative technology workforce.
TTIP's biggest beneficiaries, George Mason University and Virginia Tech, are set to receive up to $400 million from TTIP, and both are establishing facilities near the National Landing area, which has seen a surge in technology investment since Amazon announced it as the site for its second headquarters. Virginia Tech's Innovation Campus is home to the Advanced Computing Institute, which aims to foster partnerships between the technology industry and the federal government, allowing graduate students to tackle global challenges through hands-on collaboration.
George Mason opened the Hughes at Mason Square complex in 2024, bringing together academics, students, industry professionals, and entrepreneurs in a collaborative environment. The university recently hosted a ceremony to celebrate the opening of its new Energy Exploration Center and began offering Virginia's first public AI Master of Science degree. Hughes at Mason Square also includes access to the Business Incubator, another environment where Virginia's innovators can shine.
In addition to these university facilities, the commonwealth will launch a new Virginia Invests Initiative in 2024, led by the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, designed to expand investment and growth opportunities in Virginia-based innovation-driven startups and entrepreneurial ecosystems and stimulate $250 million in private investment.
Virginia's technology ecosystem consists of more than federally-led and university-led research and development. Virginia's accelerators and incubators, leading companies, and the strategic and thought leaders who direct them also play an important role in the state's technology strategy. And the wealth of growth-oriented small businesses is driving growth in the Commonwealth's technology sector. Virginia remains committed to growing our reputation for technology and providing an environment where technology companies can solve today's most pressing problems through our workforce, talent, education, and quality of life.
