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

Ohio’s innovation economy is growing—and you can see it in where companies are investing, who’s hiring, and how technology is showing up in everyday life.

In recent weeks, Bayer selected Ohio for a $2.2 billion biotech manufacturing campus. Miamisburg’s Accelevation debuted on Nasdaq at a $3.9 billion valuation. And Westerville-based Vertiv closed a $1.45 billion acquisition to expand its ability to power AI data centers. Different businesses, each showing the scale of opportunity here.

The hiring tells another part of the story. Path Robotics has more than 50 openings in Columbus. Anduril now employs more than 300 people at Arsenal-1, with a commitment to create 4,000 Ohio jobs by 2035. British tech consultancy Neptune North plans to bring 75 jobs to a new Columbus hub. There’s work ahead to turn those commitments into paychecks, but the foundations are being built.

Ohio’s universities are helping shape what comes next. Wright State is now hosting the Air Force Research Laboratory’s AI autonomy team, extending a partnership that has already brought more than 60 Air Force researchers to campus. Ohio State broke ground on Timashev Technology Tower, while Case Western Reserve opened a $300 million research hub. These are investments whose value will grow through the people, companies and ideas they support over time.

Google and OpenAI are investing in Ohio’s people and communities. Google is funding welding training and early STEM education at in Ohio schools. OpenAI and SB Energy are committing $6 million to expand child care access in Pike County. Why? A parent needs reliable child care to take a job. An employer needs trained people to fill one. These investments help make the broader growth possible.

On our roads, driverless trucks are moving freight in Marysville. Drones are delivering dinner in Kettering and monitoring bridge construction in Cincinnati. Ohio startups are helping surgeons plan procedures and child care centers find qualified teachers. The practical test of technology is whether it solves a problem. Across Ohio, we’re seeing it put to work.

No single announcement tells the whole story. Together, these developments show the breadth of what Ohio is building... and the opportunities that come with it.

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....

Air Force AI autonomy team sets up on Wright State’s campus

Wright State is now hosting the Air Force Research Laboratory’s AI autonomy team, a digital transformation unit and Air Force Institute of Technology programs, the latest step in a partnership that already put more than 60 Air Force researchers on campus.

Path Robotics is hiring for more than 50 Columbus roles in physical AI

The AI welding company now employs more than 300 people with plans to scale.

Stack Health raises $21 million Seed Round to shift small businesses from group insurance to individual coverage

Alex “Fro” Frommeyer’s Columbus startup is betting that fixed employer allowances, employee-owned plans, and local care-navigation tools can give small businesses an alternative to escalating health-plan renewals.

Google funds on-campus welding training and early STEM at Hamilton Local Schools

Grants totaling $75,000 let 125 high school students train on new welding equipment without leaving campus and keep a free K-3 afterschool science program running. A separate $30,000 sponsorship paid for Thanksgiving meal kits for district families last fall.

Ossatura Labs wins Tech419 Pitch Competition

The startup earned $10,000 to advance technology that helps surgeons plan fracture repairs using medical imaging and physics-based simulation.

Driverless electric trucks are now moving freight daily in Marysville

Two cab-less trucks with no one aboard now run scheduled routes between EASE Logistics warehouses, with remote operators watching off-site. The data they collect will help Ohio and Indiana decide how automated freight scales across their interstate systems.

Anduril surpasses 300 employees at Ohio’s Arsenal-1 campus

The defense technology company is building the workforce behind a planned 5 million-square-foot manufacturing hub, with commitments to create 4,000 Ohio jobs by 2035. The expansion comes as the company prepares to add an ALTIUS 600 drone production line alongside existing Fury aircraft operations.

Park Place Technologies scores IT hardware health with AI built on 35 years of repair data

The Cleveland company’s new ParkView Asset Intelligence platform rates servers, storage and network gear from 0 to 100 and benchmarks each device against similar hardware, so IT teams can decide whether to refresh, repair or retire it.

Columbus-based Aplos Data earns Palantir’s top partner designation

The Ohio firm will help bring Palantir’s data and AI platforms to new customers nationwide, expanding beyond implementation work for existing users. Its projects include a fuel-distribution application that monitors thousands of diesel tanks, predicts replenishment needs and places orders.

Vertiv closes $1.45 billion acquisition of UtilityInnovation Group

New microgrid controls, onsite generation and energy storage capabilities expand Vertiv’s support for AI data centers. The Westerville-based company aims to help customers bring facilities online faster, scale power capacity and choose from a broader range of power sources as their needs evolve.

Oklo backs $4.5 million push for Ohio State undergraduate nuclear engineering major

Students could begin pursuing the new degree in fall 2027, expanding a field now offered only at the graduate level. Plans include faculty hiring, endowed scholarships, expanded reactor research capabilities and a hands-on lab for capstone projects, simulation and interdisciplinary engineering work.

VC Fest logs 665 founder-investor meetings in Cleveland

More than 400 founders and 140 investors spent two days at the Huntington Convention Center, with about 30% of the investors traveling from outside Ohio.

Ohio State breaks ground on Timashev Technology Tower in Columbus Innovation District

Shared labs, flexible offices and coworking space will give technology and life sciences startups room to grow alongside university researchers and students. JobsOhio plans a low-interest loan for the project, which will also house ventures emerging from the BuildX student startup program.

CWRU launches $2.5 billion campaign, opens $300 million Cleveland research hub

Shared laboratories will bring together 65 faculty members and 300 researchers working on batteries, robotics, advanced manufacturing and medical devices, while a Google partnership will provide AI tools and expertise. Students will gain hands-on experience alongside researchers across disciplines.

AT&T opens Akron's first Connected Learning Center at Boys & Girls Club

Students and families at the Steve Wise Club now have free fiber internet, Dell computers and digital literacy courses, backed by a $50,000 investment. The Akron site is the company's fourth in Ohio, and 50 local families also received free refurbished laptops.

Columbus startup Tandem uses technology to staff child care classrooms with substitutes

Seven years after its founding, the company runs technology-enabled credential checks, daily pay and shift booking for child care substitutes in six states, with Texas launching soon. A hiring tool released in June extends that work to permanent teachers.

Erebor Bank launches $20 million nationwide opportunity initiative, taps Marcia Fudge as chair

The partnership aims to connect Ohio’s technology and industrial growth with financing for housing, workforce training and healthcare. With Adelphi Bank as its first partner, Erebor plans to build a Columbus model for community investment before expanding across Ohio and eventually nationwide.

ODOT installs drone-in-a-box systems to monitor Brent Spence Bridge Corridor construction

Docked on the roof of Longworth Hall in Cincinnati, the aircraft can launch remotely, fly pre-programmed routes and return to recharge on their own. The Ohio UAS Center installed its first system in Springfield in 2025 before bringing the technology to the $4.05 billion bridge project.

Miamisburg data center manufacturer Accelevation debuts on Nasdaq at $3.9 billion valuation

Revenue grew from less than $3 million in 2021 to $447.8 million in 2025 as hyperscale customers bought its power and modular systems.

British tech consultancy Neptune North will create 75 jobs at new Columbus hub

The Newcastle upon Tyne, England, firm is a joint venture between Oliver Wyman and Rokos Capital Management. It plans to hire software developers, data engineers and other technology professionals by the end of 2029 to serve U.S. clients.

Bayer selects Ohio for $2.2 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing campus

The project is expected to create about 600 jobs and draw on a state-backed training center set to open in 2027, linking one of Ohio’s largest biomanufacturing commitments to a workforce strategy designed to prepare operators and technicians before production begins in 2031.

Cleveland Alzheimer’s Center secures $21.1 million NIH renewal

The five-year National Institute on Aging award will support research into early dementia risk, Lewy body dementia, atypical Alzheimer’s disease and health disparities—while helping Northeast Ohio investigators move laboratory findings toward potential new therapies.

SB Energy and OpenAI commit $6 million to launch childcare initiative in Pike County

A new $6 million Pike County program funded by SB Energy and OpenAI will subsidize eligible working families and fund grants to expand infant, toddler and nontraditional-hours childcare. Ross-Pike ESD will administer the program.

Google to help 25,000 veterans and military families build skilled trades careers

The company will fund three veteran organizations to provide pre-apprenticeships, career coaching and job placements for veterans, service members and military spouses. The announcement was shared by Google’s Ohio and Indiana data center operations lead, a 21-year Navy veteran.

TJ Chumps launches Dexa drone delivery at Kettering location

Eligible orders from the Kettering restaurant can now arrive by drone at addresses within about three miles, including parts of Oakwood and Centerville.