Building innovation consortia is crucial to the development of high-tech industries. The construction of innovation consortia is closely related to an architect. An architect is an actor in an industry which coordinates the relationships among actors. With the government's empowerment, the architect can improve the institutional environment, create innovation networks, diffuse knowledge bases, expand and create demand, and promote the formation and operation of the innovation consortium. The development experience New York State’s nanotechnology illustrates this mechanism. The story of New York’s nanotechnology industry enlightens us that several measures might be beneficial , such as building first-class research institutions meeting the local need, reforming the intellectual property transfer system, and improving the evaluation system of research talents.