Spotlights
No fluff, just the signal. We asked eight Ohio tech leaders—from CEOs to engineering deans—to share the one resource they actually vouch for. From quantum mechanics on YouTube to the psychology of team dynamics, here is the shortlist of what’s helping inspire and inform Ohio's leaders in 2026.
Columbus
Following a decade that saw $7 billion in statewide economic impact and the opening of a 43,000-square-foot innovation hub at The Peninsula, Rev1 Ventures CEO Tom Walker will transition to Executive Chairman to focus on next-generation fund strategies.
Artificial Intelligence
Ohio has secured a top national IT award for turning AI into a lifeline for the unemployed. By automating document processing and launching 15-language virtual assistants, the state has cut manual workloads by 50% and established a new national benchmark for digital government.
Ratmir Timashev is funding dedicated sales teams for 100 of the world’s best B2B software startups — built and paid for in Columbus — with a target of 2,000 new tech workers in the city within five years.
One year after Palmer Luckey promised to bring "hyperscale" defense manufacturing to central Ohio, the vision is becoming concrete reality. Arsenal-1's first autonomous jets will roll off the line by Q2—a timeline that would've been impossible just a decade ago.
The new $60M fund is backed by nearly 1,000 Midwest industrial owners and aims to modernize America’s legacy sectors. Heartland flips the VC script by using factory bosses as investors, giving startups built-in customers to solve the region's labor gap.
Ohio’s future isn’t just a concept—it has names. We narrowed triple-digit submissions to the top 25 innovators 35 and under. From AI to medtech and beyond, these leaders are bridging the gap between legacy strength and the digital frontier. Meet the 2025 class defining Ohio’s next chapter.
8,703+ smart tech leaders read our weekly newsletter. Why don't you?
Beyond the bricks of Oxford, Miami University is anchoring its future in Cleveland. By taking over the fourth floor of CedarTech, the university is bridging the gap between campus life and the Cleveland Innovation District to scale quantum computing and healthcare talent.
With over $500B in domestic biomanufacturing investment at stake, Ohio is moving to bridge the "skills gap" that often stalls major pharma expansions. By anchoring this hub in New Albany’s existing biotech cluster, the state aims to turn a local success story into a 88-county talent engine.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
