Field for Tech Campus Narrows as Three Contenders Bumped From Race

Three contenders have been knocked out of the race to earn a grant from the city to build a high-tech university campus. That leaves the field of applicants at four, which is a number the mayor said, though he later backtracked on citing any specific number at the announcement.

We had 27 applicants. We whittled it down to seven. I think we've old three that they're not doing to make it and that we're working with the last four, said Mayor Bloomberg according to DNA Info. Stanford is desperate to do it, I'm not exaggerating... Cornell is desperate to do it. I'm not exaggerating there. There are a couple of other schools that have a really good chance as well.

The campus bid is part of Mayor Bloomberg's push to lure startups and engineering talent to the city. Their goal is to make the city Silicon Valley's greatest competitor. Several high-profile startups have already garnered lots of attention around the city including Gilt Groupe, Thrillist, Foursquare, Tumblr and more.