If you’re interested in the application software industry, you might get a kick out of today’s news. In what seems like an unusual pairing, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:$MSFT) announced today that it has teamed up with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers in a $10 million partnership. The reason? To stimulate tech innovation in Wisconsin.
It is thought that this partnership is part of a trend by tech giants to connect with the U.S. Midwest after last November’s election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. Trump was supported largely by rural states that embraced his critiques of globalization and admonishments of Silicon Valley for what Trump described as an over-reliance on immigrant workers.
According to Brad Smith, Microsoft’s chief legal officer, the outreach efforts act as a way to connect with the U.S. population.
“We are probably not going to find the technology breakthrough for the future of farming in downtown San Francisco,” Smith said. ”We’re much more likely to find it in Green Bay, Wisconsin.”
Through the partnership, both Microsoft and the Green Bay Packers will contribute $5 million to invest in startups from Wisconsin.
“For communities like ours in the manufacturing belt, this is going to get us to where we need to be in order to be competitive well into the future,” Ed Policy, the Packer’s general counsel, said in an interview.
Featured Image: depositphotos/hansenn
