Speaking at the statewide conference of regional economic councils, Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced a $4.8 billion research and development investment for upstate New York. A group of five big name tech companies will invest $4.4 billion over the next five years in nanochip technology research, the governor said. Additionally the state will invest $400 million in the SUNY Institute of Technology campus in Utica to help support the potential growth in the sector.

"This unprecedented private investment in New York's economy will create thousands of jobs and make the state the epicenter for the next generation of computer chip technology," Governor Cuomo said in a statement. "In the last nine months, my administration has worked to create a more confident environment for doing business in New York, and major deals like this one prove that the state is truly open for business."

The governor said the plan will create an estimated 6,900 jobs, with 2,500 of those coming in the form of high-tech jobs in the firms involved in the deal. Five international computer technology firms, led by IBM, are part of the deal that will create new opportunities in Albany, Utica and elsewhere upstate.