The TEAM TN Engine will power digital innovations essential to advanced mobility through use-inspired R&D (URD) strategies focused on ten technologies: Onboard intelligent applications, transportation network analytics services (public and private), vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems, transportation network systems and sensors (public and private), energy and transportation integration services, vehicle grid integration services, short and long-range LiDAR (light detection and ranging), 6G wireless technologies, and cyber security services.

Our Engine is fueled by a strong and increasingly collaborative mobility R&D ecosystem in our colleges, universities, and at ORNL, where more than 300 investigators conduct mobility and mobility-adjacent R&D estimated at more than $300M annually.

TEAM TN stakeholders are qualified and ready to advance these technologies, representing an estimated $1.8 trillion market opportunity for the state.  

• De-risk technologies and create minimum viable products (MVPs)
• Increase the number of invention disclosures filed and licenses executed in our public R&D portfolio
• Engage Tennessee firms in the R&D enterprise
• Develop entrepreneurial talent across Tennessee education institutions—from high school through technical and community colleges and four-year universities
• Support innovation platforms, including shared testbeds, to advance the development and demonstration of MVPs

TEAM TN will use the following strategies, aligned with its 10 technology focus areas, to strengthen tech-based economic development and support high-tech startups.

• Increase the number of startups launched and supported by TEAM-TN partners
• Grow the number of experienced entrepreneurs in TEAM-TN’s startup ecosystem
• Build accelerator programs for pre-revenue/revenue and growth phase companies
• Strengthen Tennessee’s entrepreneurial culture through community-focused entrepreneurship training

The mobility of capital is a crucial factor in the success of high-tech startups, especially in the rapidly evolving mobility and mobility-adjacent markets. The creation of a robust capital stack will help companies scale, attract talent, and bring innovative solutions to the market.

• Create the TEAM-TN Investment Fund to make pre-seed, seed, and Series A investments in Startup Generator firms
• Expand Tennessee’s capture of SBIR and STTR funding
• Create the TEAM-TN Investor Association to strengthen and diversify the capital stack and promote partnerships between industry leaders, investors, and startups
• Increase the number of Tennessee-born or -incubated startups exiting through initial public offerings (IPOs) or acquisitions

TEAM TN will reinvent the state’s workforce development initiatives, particularly in the growing advanced mobility value chain. These initiatives leverage the talent, insights, and capabilities of all TEAM-TN stakeholders, foster multi-sector collaborations, and will help learners in all ICT programs develop AI skills increasingly essential to the AI-driven global economy.

• Increase the number of Tennesseans completing ICT programs at all levels
• Increase support for the reskilling and upskilling of ICT workers
• Provide jobseekers with wrap-around services essential to their engagement in the mobility and ICT workforce, ensuring that more Tennesseans have access to good jobs
• Provide learners enrolled in ICT programs with the opportunity to develop AI competencies