JumpStart, northeast Ohio’s venture development organization, is introducing new support services for entrepreneurs, including new accelerators for software and HealthTech startups. The three-month accelerator for HealthTech provides a deep dive into regulatory, clinical, reimbursement, and commercialization strategies.

Cleveland’s Pandata, a fully bootstrapped startup that helps organizations design and build machine learning and AI solutions, is being acquired by Atlanta-based Further, a data, cloud, and AI company focused on helping make sense of raw data.

The Ohio Angel Collective (OAC) has accomplished a lot following its launch in October 2023, including completing four deals and introducing a unique subscription model for investors. The highlights so far include more than 125 members across Ohio and 13 states, more than 150 startups engaged, and four deals funded with a fifth on the way. OAC hopes to hit 16 total deals in 2024.

With a string of major fundraising announcements, product developments, and new facility debuts, Columbus is shaping into a force in the biotechnology space. In fact, it’s among the nation’s fastest-growing biotech hubs, says Eddie Pauline, president and CEO of Ohio Life Sciences, a trade group for biotech, pharmaceutical, gene therapy, and academic organizations.

Creating an electric motorcycle company is a big undertaking in and of itself, but LAND Energy has bigger aspirations. The Cleveland company sees its swappable smart batteries as the broader innovation guiding the trajectory of the business.

Redi Health, a Columbus-based provider of digital pharma support to patients with chronic health conditions, has raised $14 million in a Series B round. Redi bridges the gap between consumer technology and clinical health and support, engaging patients with medication reminders, symptom management, diet and nutrition advice, weight and activity tracking, and health literacy and education.

Global biotech leader Amgen has opened its new cutting-edge facility in Ohio, which it calls the most technologically advanced of its kind. Amgen Ohio will bring 400 full-time jobs with $40 million in annual payroll, including roles for technicians and engineers, quality assurance, quality control, administrative, and management positions.

The University of Cincinnati received a record $314 million in research awards in 2023, a 17% increase from a year earlier, the school announced in February. Thanks to what it says are new innovations across its colleges, UC has doubled research awards since 2018.

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 March 29th.

The Ohio State University’s annual R&D expenditures reached an all-time record of $1.449 billion last year, the university disclosed in its annual report of resources available to perform cutting-edge science and creative expression research. The total represents a 6% increase over FY 2022.

Enable Injections, the leading medical technology company behind the enFuse wearable technology, is expanding manufacturing operations with a new facility in the Cincinnati suburb of Springdale. The company also is investing in its corporate headquarters in the nearby suburb of Evendale and plans to double headcount over the next 10 years.

A clean energy company spun off from Ohio State and backed by Bill Gates has raised $246 million. Koloma, based in Denver but with a lab in Columbus, has developed technology to extract carbon-free hydrogen from underground deposits.

Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted, in partnership with The AI Education Project (aiEDU), announced yesterday in Dayton the launch of an AI Toolkit for Ohio’s K-12 school districts. Inspired by AI forums with industry leading technologists, the toolkit is a practical guide for formulating policies and recommendations in light of the growing presence of AI and its many tools.

Case Western Reserve University spinoff AlensiaXR has raised a Series A round to accelerate development and delivery of its HoloAnatomy learning platform, likened to Google Maps for the human body. Students are able to immerse themselves in a 3D hologram and view the body from different angles.

Basking Biosciences, a company developing a novel therapy to treat stroke, raised $55 million from a group of investors including The Ohio State University. Every year, 15 million people suffer strokes and more than 5 million die, according to the World Health Organization.

Cleveland’s SPR Therapeutics has raised $85 million to provide patients with a non-opioid, minimally invasive pain treatment option. SPR’s SPRINT system is touted as an innovative way to treat chronic pain with short-term, 60-day treatments that deliver long-lasting results.

One tech sector that is growing but could have an even larger impact is the digital asset or cryptocurrency industry. If Ohio want to capitalize on this more than $1 trillion industry, Congress needs to pass sensible regulation to enable entrepreneurs to continue investing and creating wealth in the Buckeye State writes State Representative Steve Demetriou.

In a massive development for the healthcare sector, renowned venture capital firm General Catalyst, has announced plans to buy Akron’s Summa Health, a nonprofit healthcare system serving Northeast Ohio.

Several of Ohio’s biggest names in healthcare are teaming up for a first-of-its-kind partnership to produce and commercialize pediatric medical devices. 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 - the first of its kind in the Midwest.

Cleveland Diagnostics, a Northeast Ohio-based BioTech company, has closed a $75 million financing round to advance their early-stage cancer detection testing technology. The funds will accelerate the commercialization of their IsoPSA blood test, an innovative technology for early detection of prostate cancer.