Peter Frosch, President & CEO, GREATER MSP
In an interview with Invest:, Peter Frosch, president and CEO of GREATER MSP, discussed the organization’s transformative initiatives in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, including pioneering efforts in MedTech 3.0, sustainable aviation fuel, workforce development, economic revitalization, and shaping a sustainable and innovative future.
What have been the top milestones and achievements for the organization over the past year?
GREATER MSP is revitalizing existing and building new industries that address national and global challenges. A prime example is our work to create and advance Minnesota MedTech 3.0, a new strategy to lead the future of medical and health technology. This ambitious effort is co-owned by major industry players including Medtronic, Mayo Clinic, Medica, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Health Partners and research leaders such as the University of Minnesota.
MedTech 3.0 will accelerate new cures and treatments with a view to containing costs through innovation and collaboration. This strategy leverages AI, machine learning, and big data within the healthcare sector. It also involves strategic collaborations between payers, hospital systems, university research, and medical technology companies. Previously, interactions among these entities were sporadic, but now they’re strategically aligned due to shared innovation goals.
A significant project of Minnesota MedTech 3.0 is the “NorthStar Data Alliance,” which amalgamates a century of patient data from large health institutions into one portal where entrepreneurs can access the data to create new solutions and new companies. We’re also implementing new approaches to ensure start-ups have the capital they need to scale, and creating a new joint-talent effort focused on recruiting and training thousands of additional workers in the healthcare delivery roles our hospitals need most.
Since launching Minnesota MedTech 3.0, we have received strong global interest and are now actively working with partners and potential partners in Japan, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Currently, 250 people across 50 entities are collaboratively working to implement this strategy. It’s an entirely new venture, and it’s incredibly exciting.
What initiatives does the organization have in place to strengthen its impact across the different industries you target?
In addition to MedTech 3.0 in the health sector, GREATER MSP is working to expand the semiconductor industry in the state. In our market, there are 14 semiconductor-related companies, including suppliers, that have been around for more than 40 years. These companies, though not as large as Intel or Samsung, have recognized the need to collaborate.
We are helping these companies, including Polar Semiconductor and Skywater Technologies, secure hundreds of millions of federal dollars through the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act and matching funds from the state of Minnesota. An important part of this work is designing and implementing a new demand-driven model for developing the workforce these employers need to grow. This included identifying their hiring needs over the next five to seven years, which could exceed 5,000 new, good paying jobs.
We aligned more than a dozen educational institutions around the plan, including the University of Minnesota, Minnesota State, community colleges, and community-based organizations. During a recent visit, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo recognized our innovative approach as one of the best solutions she’d seen in the country.
Encouraged by this success, we are now applying the same demand-driven approach to the MedTech sector and exploring how to replicate this model in biomanufacturing, finance, and insurance.
How is GREATER MSP adapting to the challenges presented by the economic environment?
The economic landscape, particularly in the housing market, presents unique challenges and opportunities. Migration trends in America have shifted, largely because many are reluctant to relinquish their 2.9% mortgages.
The GroundBreak Coalition is a major effort to increase homeownership rates and moderate the cost of renting by increasing housing production at all levels of affordability and by improving access to mortgage financing, especially for communities of color. This effort involves dozens of public, private, philanthropic and nonprofit partners. To date, we’ve aligned more than a billion dollars against our bold set of goals, which includes creating 45,000 new BIPOC homeowners.
We are focusing on preparing individuals to be mortgage-ready, offering mortgages that come with high integrity standards, down-payment insurance, and financial cushions for emergencies like home repairs. This approach ensures that new homeowners, especially first-time buyers, are financially secure and less likely to lose their homes.
We plan to scale this initiative, starting with dozens, then hundreds, and eventually thousands of individuals and families, creating valuable new assets throughout the community.
What are some new initiatives related to sustainable aviation fuel that GREATER MSP is involved in?
GREATER MSP launched an effort called the Minnesota Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Hub in August 2023 with an aim to decarbonize air travel and create 40,000 new, good jobs across the state. It all began when Delta Airlines asked for help to build a new clean fuels industry that would help the airline achieve their net-zero emissions by 2050. As of 2025, the Minnesota SAF Hub is recognized as a global leader and powered by a growing coalition that includes Xcel Energy, Ecolab, Bank of America, Airbus, the state of Minnesota, farming and environmental groups, and many others. Together, we are building an industrial-scale value chain to supply MSP International Airport with hundreds of millions of gallons of low-carbon, market-affordable sustainable aviation fuel.
Are there any recent laws or regulations that might have a big impact on the local economy?
The state of Minnesota created two strategic investment funds poised to drive growth in new economy industries: the Minnesota Forward Fund (worth $400 million) and a new $100 million Green Bank to secure and match federal funds for key economic growth endeavors. Notably, the Forward Fund has already succeeded in securing federal semiconductor funds.
Additionally, the U.S. Defense Department’s BioManufacturing Institute, BioMADE, is headquartered and growing here in Minnesota. This initiative focuses on producing various products using bio-based inputs. The state is co-investing with the federal government to build BioMADE’s first pilot scale commercial facility.
What are your expectations for GREATER MSP in the next few years?
Moving ahead, advancing the MedTech 3.0 strategy is a high priority for GREATER MSP, and I believe it will have global significance. Another key focus is spearheading a transition to a clean and green economy with major efforts like the Minnesota SAF Hub and emerging scopes of work with industrial decarbonization, bio-manufacturing, protein sustainability and regenerative agriculture. We see huge global markets over the horizon for genuine solutions to climate change and we’re committed to leading. A bit contrary to the political conversations that surround all of us today, GREATER MSP’s work is motivated by values but not constrained by any particular ideology. We are in the innovation business, and innovation needs lots of space to work and find its way forward.
Another important innovation underway in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region is the GroundBreak Coalition. This is about channeling the power of capitalism to take solutions to scale with the intentionality of community development in how change benefits people, families and communities in places. It’s the kind of effort many across the country have long said is needed but none have ever fully attempted. After several years of building a new mechanism to drive a generation of investment, GroundBreak is about to begin deploying capital. I’d encourage everyone to watch this space; it’s going to be exciting.
