Startups + VC
Led by The O.H.I.O. Fund with backing from Khosla Ventures, the NASA-alumni-led startup will use one of the state's largest-ever seed rounds to accelerate certification and scale Cleveland manufacturing for its waterless acoustic fire suppression systems.
Energy
The funding will expand year-round electric-bill aid, raise grants to as much as $500 and broaden eligibility for qualifying AEP Ohio customers. The initiative connects Ohio’s fast-growing data-center footprint with direct support for households facing utility-payment challenges.
Corprorate Innovation
The shift from BuckID swipes to QR-code boarding gives eligible Buckeyes one less card to carry and offers a local example of how mobile identity tools are expanding beyond campus buildings into the systems that connect students and workers to the city.
Startups + VC
The annual fundraiser backs YBI’s free entrepreneur services, from business counseling and funding access to advanced manufacturing and technology resources. Four regional finalists will pitch live for cash awards before an audience expected to top 750.
Cleveland
Sponsoring the Cleveland event alongside Big Kitty Labs, the Burton D. Morgan Foundation hosts an equity-free graduation event. Beyond founder pitches, the afternoon features a fireside chat with top executives exploring how to build the next billion-dollar business right in Ohio.
Artificial Intelligence
The proposal would redevelop part of the former Portsmouth uranium-enrichment complex, pairing a major local grant fund with statewide AI-tool credits for Ohio college students while committing to fund its own grid and water infrastructure.
Capital + Deals
The proposed transaction would place Joby’s defense aircraft and autonomy programs within Resonant’s Dayton operation, combining its electric propulsion technology with RF sensing, mission systems and low-observability expertise.
Healthcare
Backed by Ohio State’s medical, cancer and pharmacy assets, the new effort will pair AI with clinical and genomic data to speed the path from research to patents, startup formation and clinical trials—an added push for Central Ohio’s life-sciences sector.
Startups + VC
Powered by AI claims processing and an in-person Central Ohio workforce, Priyang Shah's health startup helps employers cover out-of-pocket costs for dual-income families. Backers include Y Combinator and First Round Capital, alongside local investor North Coast Ventures.
Cleveland
The Cleveland-based nonprofit venture development organization, has added two executives to its leadership team, naming Terri Bradford Eason as its first chief revenue officer and Daniel Brown as chief services officer.
Startups + VC
Columbus-built “physical AI” is moving from pilot to production in U.S. Navy shipyards, as HII signs a multi-year, performance-based automation deal worth up to $900 million — including a long-term, $600 million allocation that will be engineered out of Central Ohio.
Startups + VC
Generative AI solved the code-creation problem, but legacy CI/CD systems are choking on the output. As autonomous agents take over the developer stack, serial founders Dan Manges and Tommy Graves are scaling the infrastructure needed to validate AI-generated code at machine speed.