The “Minnesota MedTech 3.0” campaign won’t be getting any federal funds after all.

The effort, led by local economic development group Greater MSP, laid out a plan to “lead a needed transformation to the third frontier of the world’s medical technology industry.” The MedTech 3.0 bid called for greater cross-sector collaboration between companies working in health care, medical technology, and health insurance. Officials said the proposal would create new jobs and revitalize Minnesota’s medical device sector.

Greater MSP in February submitted the proposal under the U.S. Commerce Department’s “Tech Hubs” competition, which was largely intended to shore up domestic innovation and national security. In October, the department did formally select the MedTech 3.0 as one of 31 “Tech Hubs” across the nation. In this case, though, the designation did not come with any additional funding, but it put Minnesota in a position to take in millions of federal dollars; the Commerce Department said it would dole out $40 million to $70 million apiece to a handful of finalists.

In the end, on Tuesday, the federal government announced that it awarded a total of $504 million for 12 tech hubs; Minnesota was not one of them.

Despite failing to secure federal funding, MedTech 3.0 backers say they plan to press on, and that Minnesota could be eligible for other funding rounds down the road. In a statement issued July 3, Greater MSP officials indicated that they were prepared to carry on with or without funding. They noted that everyone involved in the MedTech 3.0 coalition “understood that 95% of the funding originally authorized for the Tech Hubs program has not yet been allocated by Congress.”

“Given that, coalition members have been preparing scenarios for implementing the strategy with and without immediate federal awards,” Greater MSP said.

The group pointed to several efforts already underway as a result of MedTech 3.0, such as the “North Star Data Alliance,” which “will interconnect data from across the nation’s leading provider, payor and medical device companies by extending the HIPAA-compliant data networks of Minnesota’s flagship health data platforms.”

Peter Frosch, president and CEO of Greater MSP, said his group is “disappointed” but “undeterred in our pursuit.”

“We will continue working to receive the next round of federal funding, but we are not waiting to act,” he said. “Working together in the months to come, we will build the country’s leading health data alliance for medical innovation, incubate hundreds of high-growth startup companies and create great careers for thousands of Minnesotans.”

In the same statement, Medtronic chairman and CEO Geoff Martha said Minnesota can still “lead the way” in medical technology. Martha has been widely credited for pushing the region to participate in the MedTech 3.0 bid.

“Advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning present an opportunity to produce smarter medical technologies that can improve the way we deliver care across the globe,” Martha said. “That’s a future worth pursuing, and it’s one where Minnesota will lead the way.”

In a call with TCB, Greater MSP spokesman Matt Lewis said that all 31 “Tech Hubs” will head to a summit in Washington, D.C., in a couple weeks to talk about the future of the program. He noted that Congress could, at any time, decide to allocate more money for the program, which could mean funding for Minnesota’s proposal and many others.

The Tech Hubs program, authorized by Congress in 2022, was a bipartisan piece of legislation, he noted.

Lewis said he’s expecting to receive individualized feedback on the MedTech 3.0 bid by the end of summer.