Joby Aviation’s new defense collaboration with L3Harris could deepen its ties to Dayton, where it’s ramping up production of electric aircraft. With Wright-Patterson Air Force Base nearby, the region is emerging as a national hub for advanced air mobility, aerospace manufacturing, and next-gen defense innovation.

Joby Aviation is scaling up in Dayton, with plans to build up to 500 electric air taxis per year at its newly renovated facility. The site will play a key role in Joby’s push toward FAA certification and commercial launch—solidifying Ohio’s position as a leader in next-gen aerospace manufacturing.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Air Force Research Lab Commander Brig. Gen. Jason Bartolomei have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to deepen collaboration between the state and AFRL. The agreement aims to accelerate advanced research, drive economic growth, and bolster national security through innovation in AI, semiconductors, and autonomous systems.

Announced this week, Ohio's second innovation hub, Dayton's onMain Innovation Hub, will serve as a center for collaboration among the Dayton region’s government, academia, and private industry leaders.

Niobium, a leading custom silicon provider based in Dayton, has raised a $5.5 million seed round to revolutionize the field of Zero Trust Computing with its cryptography hardware. Niobium’s flagship product is a fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) hardware accelerator, which allows for computing on encrypted data, providing a mathematical guarantee of data privacy.