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Home / News / Business & Economy / Digital tech, AI expected to make strides in Rochester
Dr. Clark Otley (Submitted photo)
Digital tech, AI expected to make strides in Rochester
By: Kelly Busche March 18, 2021 4:21 pm
Future technology innovations, new business opportunities for the Rochester area and more were highlighted during the annual meeting of Rochester Area Economic Development Inc., which was held virtually Thursday.
RAEDI helps existing and potential Rochester-area businesses secure private and public resources, and has goals centered on job creation and business growth. This pandemic has not only influenced RAEDI's goals, but it's also helped set the region and its largest employer, the Mayo Clinic, on a path to further its technology innovations to address the changing industry and client needs, according to RAEDI.
The region is expected to make the largest strides in digital technology and artificial intelligence in the coming years — areas which Mayo has already ventured into with its Mayo Clinic Platform initiative, said Dr. Clark Otley, chief medical officer of Mayo Clinic Platform and medical director for the Department of Business Development, during Thursday's event.
Artificial intelligence powers the platform program, which also uses massive computing power and big data, to create products, services and solutions that improve health, Otley said.
This past year, Mayo also established and grew its telemedicine, virtual care visits and remote patient monitoring services once the pandemic began — and has plans to further expand and innovate in this area, he said.
"We've done telemedicine to some degree at Mayo Clinic in the past. But the pandemic really threw the gauntlet down for us and said, 'You've got to do that — and you've got to do that today or next week, at very latest,'" Otley said.
On the development front, Mayo has seen interest across all technology and health care sectors to fill the upcoming Discovery Square Two building.
"We've got diagnostic companies that want to work with us. We absolutely have health care information technology companies, prognostication companies, device companies and biopharma companies," Otley said.
The Discovery Square project has attracted businesses, which is a shared goal of RAEDI, the Destination Medical Center and Mayo.
"We all want to pursue job creation and business attraction. … The fact that Mortenson broke ground during a pandemic, knowing that Mayo Clinic and the city of Rochester could attract that kind of economic activity and scientific activity is a huge vote of confidence," he said.
When looking ahead to the next year, RAEDI will focus on leveraging funding for women- and minority-owned businesses and for businesses hoping to expand, ensuring everyone can participate in the economy, said John Wade, RAEDI interim president.
With approximately 40,000 people commuting to Rochester daily for work, RAEDI is also aiming its work outside of the major city and will focus on investment work for the surrounding neighborhoods.
"We're going to bring more people to the table, including construction [and] developers, just to sit down with us in the finance community to look at innovative ways that we can continue to retain and grow and diversify our economy," Wade said.
RAEDI spent the last year crafting its strategic plan. Working with a consultant, it interviewed, surveyed and held focus groups with more than 75 community stakeholders to garner feedback, said John Beatty, RAEDI chair.
The draft plan focuses on job creation and retention, business longevity, and sustaining infrastructure and tools businesses need to expand — all of which will be accomplished through strategic partnerships, Wade said.
"As we go forward, folks, we cannot continue to do things exactly the way we've done them before," Wade said. "I do believe that our brighter days are ahead of us."
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4:21 pm Thu, March 18, 2021 Finance & Commerce
Kelly Busche
About Kelly Busche
Kelly joined Finance & Commerce in late 2020 as an economic developer reporter. She's a 2019 graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she double majored in journalism and political science. During her time there, she worked at the student-ran newspaper, the Minnesota Daily, and eventually became the paper's editor in chief. She's held internships with APM Reports, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Star Tribune. After graduation, Kelly joined the Duluth News Tribune, covering health and business.
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