Startups + VC
Rev1 Ventures has opened Rev1 at The Peninsula, a 43,000-square-foot innovation hub in downtown Columbus. Designed for software and tech startups, the space offers Scaleup Suites and venture services to accelerate capital formation and job creation within Ohio's tech ecosystem.
Spotlights
Ohio tech leaders are shifting hiring priorities toward traits AI can't replicate. Beyond technical skills, they value high agency, curiosity, and written communication. As AI commoditizes hard skills, the ability to translate complexity and take ownership has become irreplaceable.
Startups + VC
Silicon Valley has coffee-shop density; Ohio has isolated excellence. This new curated network aims to fix that by concentrating operators who have scaled from $1M to $100M+ ARR, creating a high-stakes "brain trust" across Ohio and beyond.
Artificial Intelligence
With nearly 200,000 new businesses filed in the Buckeye State in 2025 and only 5% of workers considered AI fluent, Google's free certificate program arrives at a pivotal moment for Ohio's booming — but underskilled — small business economy.
Research
The state's flagship university posted a 6% year-over-year jump in R&D expenditures for fiscal year 2025, fueled by rising federal grants, a 10% surge in industry-sponsored research, and deepening ties with partners like Honda and Starlab Space.
Spotlights
Ohio’s economic stability, multibillion-dollar infrastructure investments, and a culture that values profit over hype are fueling tech leaders’ optimism. With strengths in quantum computing and a collaborative B2B environment, the state is built for durable, real-world innovation.
Startups + VC
SUSE plans to open source the Cincinnati-built platform and fold it into its edge computing portfolio — a major exit for one of Ohio's longest-running IoT startups backed by CincyTech and Steve Case's Rise of the Rest fund.
Startups + VC
The Solon-based manufacturer — the only Western module vendor serving both IoT and automotive — closed a $30M Series B as federal regulations force OEMs to cut Chinese connectivity components from their supply chains.
Spotlights
State of Ohio technology leader Jade Moyer is modernizing legacy systems to ensure government services are reliable and intuitive for Ohioans in crisis. By streamlining the state’s tech stack and implementing AI-driven solutions, she is transforming bureaucracy into a strategic engine.
Advanced Manufacturing
The Columbus-based welding AI company signed an MOU with HII, the nation's largest military shipbuilder, to bring autonomous welding to Navy shipyards. It's the second shipbuilding deal in a week for the startup, which has raised more than $300 million to modernize American manufacturing.
Spotlights
Forget the AI hype cycle. Ohio’s tech leaders are moving toward implementation, focusing on agentic workflows, energy infrastructure, and applied AI in regulated industries. From manufacturing to healthcare, the focus is on ROI and high-stakes deployment. Discover what’s next for the ecosystem.
Financial Services
Erebor Bank just became the first newly chartered national bank of Trump's second term — with $635 million in VC capital to finance defense-tech and hard tech, from a headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. It's the biggest bet yet on a post-SVB banking landscape.