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TEDCO CEO and Partners Urge Keeping Equitec and MII Funding as DLS Recommends Cuts for FY27

Education, Business and Administration Subcommittee · February 23, 2026

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Summary

DLS recommended reductions to several TEDCO programs in the FY27 allowance—particularly Equitec Growth Fund and MII extension funding—while TEDCO CEO Troy Stovall, MII leadership and regional partners urged legislators to preserve or restore funding, citing jobs, training and follow‑on private capital.

The Department of Legislative Services presented a $52.0 million fiscal 2027 allowance for the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), a decline of about $1.4 million driven by decreases in general fund support. DLS noted that certain programs are level‑funded (for example, the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund at $15.5 million) while recommending reductions in others, including reducing the Equitec Growth Fund from $5 million to $3 million and cutting or deleting some grants tied to federal match prospects and program overlaps.

Troy L. Stovall, TEDCO’s CEO, disputed several DLS recommendations and defended Equitec and regional hub investments. He said Equitec catalytic activity included roughly $11 million invested across about 23 projects, workforce training for roughly 2,500 Marylanders, supporting more than 15 startups, 400 direct jobs and construction of nine facilities. “Now is not the time to go backwards with Equitec Growth Fund,” Stovall said, urging continued support to accelerate early‑stage companies and attract private follow‑on capital.

Abhishek, executive director of the Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII), described MII’s expansion beyond five founding research universities and cited $65 million in MII awards that helped generate about $830 million in follow‑on funding and create more than 400 sustained jobs. A TEDCO guest and Baltimore Innovation Initiative awardee described a prototype to improve disability‑informed primary care using machine learning, saying the BII award aided early development and statewide deployment plans.

DLS also flagged the human relevant research fund (intended to support alternatives to animal testing) where collections have lagged the initial projection; TEDCO said it is revising program plans in light of lower-than‑expected fee collections. Analysts recommended reductions tied to fiscal constraints and program overlap with other state initiatives; TEDCO and regional partners argued some programs serve unique early‑stage commercialization functions that would be hard to replicate elsewhere.