A Cincinnati initiative is now underway hoping to make a big impact on the world. PeaceRise, an international competition designed to create solutions in the field of PeaceTech, kicked off last week at 1819 Innovation Hub on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.

Cleveland’s WAN Dynamics has been acquired by Chicago-based network-as-a-service provider Nitel, the combined organization boasting deeper technical, management, and support capabilities around its managed SD-WAN offering.

Three former employees of renowned augmented reality (AR) company Magic Leap have raised $2 million to build their own AR business in Columbus. Greg Tran, Martin Smith, and Sean Couture unveiled their company, Trace, by announcing an oversubscribed $2 million pre-seed, co-led by Rev1 Ventures and Impellent Ventures.

The State of Ohio has announced the award of $86 million in funding through its Ohio Venture Fund and Early Stage Focus Fund to Ohio based venture capital organizations. The funding comes from the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), a program from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

A new TechCred application round is now open. This latest round of the state program that helps businesses address their workforce needs by upskilling current and prospective employees is open through May 31st.

In Ohio, construction is well underway on Intel’s newest U.S. site in more than 40 years, the company said while sharing an update of progress at its 10 biggest projects around the world. Around the world throughout 2023, Intel used 145,000 tons of steel and poured more than 2 million cubic yards of concrete—32X more than for New York’s Empire State Building—to construct and expand its new facilities.

With support from a $6.95 million grant from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University are leading the Midwest Pediatric Device Consortium (MPDC) - the first of its kind in the Midwest. And this week the MPDC announced its first grant recipients, which came from over 40 applications, working to advance pediatric medical devices into clinical use.

Columbus-based RWX has raised a $7 million seed round and launched Mint, a Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) platform. RWX was founded by Tommy Graves and Dan Manges, who was the CTO of Root, a technology-powered car insurance carrier, which he co-founded in 2015 and took public in 2020 via an IPO. Graves was a senior engineering manager at Root.

Columbus-based Drive Capital has announced a strategic investment of at least $750 million in future fund commitments while also selling a minority stake in its management company. Drive says the commitment by Collective Global and Collective Global Asset Owners will advance its ability to invest in world-class technology companies across its target market in the “Driveway”, a $12 trillion region in North America between the Hudson River and the Rocky Mountains.

November 30, 2022 is a day that sent shockwaves through businesses, schools, and governments alike. It was the day OpenAI launched ChatGPT to the public. It took just five days for ChatGPT to break one million users and a revolution was born. Since then, the State of Ohio, led by Lt. Governor Jon Husted, has been at the forefront of leveraging AI to drive innovation, efficiency, and responsible adoption across government and education.

Ohio has a long and rich history in aerospace. The first wave ushered in the birth of aviation with the Wright Brothers. The second wave was space exploration with NASA Glenn leading the way. The third wave, called advanced air mobility (AAM), is now being championed in Ohio with innovations in digitization, design, and manufacturing of AAM vehicles, and new concepts for air traffic management to support this new system of aerial transportation, writes Dr. Edie Williams of Parallax Advanced Research.

Cincinnati-based EdTech platform Abre has raised $24 million in a Series A round to help K-12 schools centralize and make sense of siloed data. Abre's software serves as a one-stop-shop for data around social-emotional well-being, enrollment, attendance, intervention, academic performance, and more.

Cloverleaf, a Cincinnati-based provider of automated coaching technology, has raised $7.3 million in a Series A extension. Cloverleaf says it will use the new funding to extend its core automated coaching solution into even more areas of professional development, bringing out the best in workers and teams.

Champ Titles Inc., a Cleveland-based provider of digital vehicle title and registration services, has raised an $18 million Series C round, bringing its total fundraising to more than $45 million. Founded in 2018, Champ provides SaaS-based solutions that require no upfront cost, utilize a pay-as-you-transact model, can be launched quickly, and are continuously improved.

In just six years, Women in Analytics has gone from an Ohio State University student’s idea to a national organization supporting a community of about 8,000 data enthusiasts. And its flagship DataConnect conference is now drawing attendees from around the world to Columbus.

While residents around the state are gearing up to view Ohio’s historic solar eclipse on Monday, OhioX member AT&T is meticulously planning to ensure everyone stays connected. AT&T says the eclipse itself will have no direct operational impact on its wireless network and that it is prepared to handle more traffic than ever as customers share their solar eclipse moments.

A Cincinnati startup says artificial intelligence is changing the way brands need to manage their reputations online. BrandRank.AI is helping businesses protect and grow their brands as generative AI upends the $200 billion search engine market, influencing brand perception in key areas like trust, sustainability, product performance, supply chain integrity, and service.

Last year, Google announced it was building two new data centers in Columbus and in Lancaster, adding to its facility in New Albany. The tech giant said the expansion would inject another $1.7 billion into its three Ohio data center campuses, building on its more than $2 billion investment in the state since breaking ground in New Albany in 2019.

Cincinnati InsurTech Coterie has raised $27 million in an oversubscribed round, bringing its total funding to more than $102 million. Powered by data-backed underwriting, Coterie enables independent agents and brokers to write small business insurance in less than one minute. The company saw revenue growth of over 200% in 2023.

Intel Corporation announced it will receive up to $8.5 billion in direct funding through the CHIPS and Science Act, including for the company’s new semiconductor factories in Ohio. Overseen by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the CHIPS Act funding aims to increase U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and R&D capabilities.