You need to be paying attention to Ohio tech: July 2026

Ohio tech news hasn't taken a summer vacation.

In just the past few weeks, a major California biomanufacturing company announced it is moving its headquarters from San Diego to Southwest Ohio. An electric aircraft manufacturer picked Springfield for a nearly 2,000-job factory. A Ukrainian drone maker selected Northwest Ohio for its first U.S. operation.

That's before getting to the $70 million investment to mass-produce 3D-printed jet engines, the $267 million BioTech expansion with 350 new jobs, or the first Ohio-built autonomous fighter jets rolling off a production line in Pickaway County. That site, Anduril's Arsenal-1, will eventually employ 4,000 Ohioans.

Ohio startups are raising big dollars, too, across areas like autonomous manufacturing, space technology, medical devices, financial software, and next-generation data storage. This all comes as a new $300 million state workforce initiative and a different $115 million skilled trades academy are being built to help train the people these projects will need.

Physical AI. Advanced manufacturing. Life sciences. Aerospace and defense. Nuclear energy and AI infrastructure.

Billions of dollars are being invested across these industries, resulting in new companies, new hubs, and thousands of jobs.

This is work in areas critically important to America. And it's being built in Ohio.

It is also why Ohio's first No. 1 finish in CNBC's Top States for Business ranking feels less like a victory lap and more like the latest sign of where the state is headed.

That's the story of this edition: capital, deals and jobs.

Founders are raising big rounds in Ohio. Companies are moving their headquarters here. Global businesses are choosing our state for their next factories. And for the first time, an Ohio university has planted a physical flag in San Francisco... not to just send our startups west, but to bring the dollars east.

As I like to say, you need to be paying attention to Ohio tech.

Here are some of Ohio's recent tech and innovation headlines....

Ohio No. 1: Tops CNBC's 'Top States for Business' ranking for first time

Logistics dominance and aggressive site development pushed the state to the top spot after years of coordinated economic strategy. Semiconductors, energy and AI infrastructure are accelerating Ohio's position as a national hub for industrial-scale innovation.

Ohio gains center stage in military tech as Anduril wins historic Air Force fighter program

Central Ohio will build the Air Force's next generation of semi-autonomous "robotic wingmen" as the FQ-44 Fury and Lattice mission autonomy software move from rapid prototyping into full production at Arsenal-1.

First Ohio-built Fury rolls off Anduril's Arsenal-1 line in Pickaway County

The semi-autonomous fighter took 126 days to assemble on a line that opened three months early and can produce up to 150 aircraft a year. The 143 workers hired in under 12 months are the first of an eventual 4,000 on site.

Electra picks Springfield for hybrid-electric aircraft factory, adding 1,975 jobs

The EL9 Ultra Short puts hybrid-electric aviation on a real manufacturing track. Blown-lift technology lets the aircraft take off and land in 150 feet.

NSF backs $160 million NEO-SMART Engine to remake Northeast Ohio manufacturing

A Case Western Reserve–led coalition of more than 70 partners landed a coveted NSF Regional Innovation Engines award, unlocking up to $160 million over 10 years to wire AI, automation and robotics into the region's industrial backbone.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals plans $267 million Ohio expansion, adding 350 jobs

The multi-city expansion is the regional execution of Hikma's $1 billion onshoring strategy, positioning the Ohio Discovery Corridor as a firewall against critical U.S. drug shortages.

Biomanufacturing firm Resilience relocates HQ from San Diego to Southwest Ohio

The move to Blue Ash cements Southwest Ohio as a million-square-foot hub for sterile injectables and advanced packaging, tying corporate leadership directly to the company's expanding West Chester network.

Beehive Industries bets $70 million on Southwest Ohio to mass-produce 3D-printed jet engines

Backed by a $29.7 million Air Force contract, the company is targeting 8,000-plus engines annually for military drones and creating over 200 jobs — compressing defense manufacturing timelines from years to months.

Ukrainian drone maker picks Northwest Ohio for first U.S. factory

UDD selected Holland in Lucas County for its first American plant, tied to the Pentagon's Drone Dominance Program. At least 300 jobs, plugged straight into Ohio's advanced air mobility ecosystem.

Youngstown drone maker lands dual selection in $1 billion DoW program

The Remora UAV was built from the ground up for low-cost mass production without special tooling, running on a 100% domestic Northeast Ohio supply chain.

Oklo's Ohio fuel deal brings advanced nuclear a step closer to reality

Advanced nuclear's biggest bottleneck may finally be easing. Oklo secured domestic HALEU from Centrus's Piketon plant to anchor a 1.2 GW campus in Southern Ohio, linking local enrichment, new reactors and surging AI data center demand in one project.

1872 launches autonomous steel factory in Cincinnati, raises $15 million seed round

SpaceX alumni are using one of Ohio's largest seed rounds to build an AI-native factory model, aiming to cut steel fabrication lead times from months to weeks with software, robotics and physical AI.

Folio Photonics raises $8 million to scale optical archive storage in Solon

The Case Western spinout is automating production of its 100-year optical discs. By cutting archive energy costs by 90%, it's going after the booming market for storing massive AI training datasets.

Dayton's Ravee Optics secures $6 million seed round to tackle satellite data bottleneck

Global and Ohio investors are betting that ultra-compact laser links can ease a growing satellite data bottleneck — and put the state at the center of the space-based data infrastructure race.

Cleveland's Auxilium raises $3.4 million seed round to scale biomaterials innovation

The oversubscribed round moves Auxilium Health's Aer biomaterial platform toward FDA clearance and first-in-human studies, preventing infection by stopping bacteria from attaching in the first place.

NeuroLife launches with $2.9 million to restore hand function after stroke

The Battelle and Ohio State spinout is commercializing a wearable, closed-loop sleeve that reads muscle signals to help patients regain grip control, with clinical trials planned for mid-2027.

CentSight launches AI finance platform, lands $1.5 million pre-seed

Veteran software operator Gerald Hetrick is going after the cost of fractional CFO services, integrating with existing accounting tools to flag cash gaps and track margins in real time.

Ohio State opens San Francisco innovation hub to connect Midwest startups with VC capital

The Third Coast Foundry gives university-backed startups a Silicon Valley foothold — direct access to investors, programming and partnerships — while keeping growth, talent and operations anchored here.

Homegrown scaling: RWX inks OH.io's first Columbus partnership

Ratmir Timashev's OH.io will run the CI/CD infrastructure startup's go-to-market engine under a revenue-share model, freeing the RWX team to focus on product. It's the platform's first deal with a local company.

Rev1 at The Peninsula nears 90 members as AI cluster grows

Spearfish, Symmitri and jakib.ai are among the additions filling the downtown Columbus hub's second-floor Scaleup Suites ahead of schedule, connecting founders directly with venture capital.

Google's $20 billion bet on Ohio: Jobs, grid innovation and a ratepayer pledge

Lawmakers in Columbus heard how the tech giant's buildout ties directly to new jobs, grid capacity and water restoration projects — with commitments aimed at protecting communities across the state.

Ohio launches $300 million 'Earn-and-Learn' initiative to tackle talent gap

Facing a projected shortage of more than 540,000 skilled workers over the next decade, the state is putting financial incentives behind hybrid work-and-education models — aiming to reach roughly 25,000 Ohioans.

Meta picks Ohio for $115 million skilled trades push behind AI infrastructure

A new workforce academy will train electricians, plumbers and fiber technicians with stipends, credentials and direct job pathways, targeting the labor gap opening up as data center construction accelerates.

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Chris Berry is the President and CEO of OhioX, a statewide nonprofit trade association, and the publisher of Ohio Tech News. He leads a growing coalition of Fortune 500 companies, startups, tech SMBs, universities, and more building Ohio's tech hub. Connect with him on LinkedIn or X.