Augment Therapy is teaming up with Niantic, creators of popular augmented reality (AR) games like Pokémon GO and Peridot, to transform physical rehabilitation. The collaboration integrates Niantic’s beloved virtual pets, called "Dots," into therapeutic exercises, offering patients a fun and engaging way to improve mobility.

Tech enthusiasts and innovators are set to descend on Cleveland for one of tech’s biggest celebrations of the year tomorrow night. The Greater Cleveland Partnership’s (GCP) 18th Annual Best of Tech Day will transform Cleveland Browns Stadium into a hub of innovation, featuring cutting-edge leaders in HealthTech, AI, and more. From a spotlight interview with tech unicorn Steve Potash to over 25 partner showcases, this year’s event is a celebration of the visionaries shaping Greater Cleveland’s tech future.

In a region with a proud history of innovation, Baiju Shah is steering Greater Cleveland toward a future of even greater possibilities. As the President and CEO of the nation’s largest regional chamber of commerce, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, Shah brings a deep-rooted connection to the region and a wealth of experience in tech and innovation to his leadership. In this exclusive Q&A with OhioTechNews.com, Shah delves into how technology and innovation are woven into the fabric of Cleveland's economy and why he believes the region is primed to lead in the clean tech revolution.

The Department of Radiology at University Hospitals (UH) was recently recognized as a leader for its use of artificial intelligence (AI). The American College of Radiology’s® Recognized Center for Healthcare-AI (ARCH-AI) is the first national AI quality assurance program for radiology facilities. The ACR recently issued this “seal of approval” for the UH Department of Radiology.

This past week, the Cleveland Clinic announced its partnership with Sports Data Labs, Inc. (SDL). SDL is a leader in AI-based collection, analysis, and distribution of real-time human data. Their aim of the partnership is to create the largest compilation of sports health data. It's just the latest in efforts that are building towards making Cleveland and Ohio a leading SportsTech hub.

NeuroTherapia, Inc., a clinical-stage company and Cleveland Clinic Innovations portfolio company, has raised $12.3 million in a Series B funding round led by Cleveland Clinic. The company, which focuses on developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, is using the funding primarily for the continued clinical development of NTRX-07, an orally available cannabinoid receptor agonist, for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Ohio’s capital budget recently granted Blue Abyss a one-time investment of $1.8 million to support the development of its extreme environment research center in Brook Park, Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted, along with members of the Ohio General Assembly, announced the investment contained in House Bill 2 on June 28th.

Blue Abyss is opening the largest-ever extreme environment training center in the city of Brook Park, Ohio. CEO John Vickers recently announced that the company purchased 12 acres of land next to the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, near the NASA Glenn Research Center to house the facility.

Cleveland Clinic, IBM, and the Hartree Centre have announced an innovative collaboration to use artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing to advance healthcare and biomedical science. “This partnership will play an important role in advancing research into the use of cutting-edge computation in healthcare and life sciences,” said Alessandro Curioni, IBM Fellow and Director, IBM Research Zurich.

With Gen-Z-like dexterity, the buoys of the Smart Lake Erie Watershed can text you real-time reports on weather, water, and wind conditions. All you have to do is ask. This initiative is part of the Cleveland Water Alliance’s goal to make Lake Erie the largest digitally connected freshwater body in the world. The buoys, though, maintain the demeanor of Dragnet’s Sergeant Joe Friday: just the facts. No emojis allowed.  

The partnership of the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom has received a philanthropic donation of up to $825,000 to support the research and development of therapeutics for Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA), a debilitating, life-shortening, degenerative rare disease, with onset typically between 10-15 years of age. There is presently no cure for FA.

Cleveland’s WAN Dynamics has been acquired by Chicago-based network-as-a-service provider Nitel, the combined organization boasting deeper technical, management, and support capabilities around its managed SD-WAN offering.

Champ Titles Inc., a Cleveland-based provider of digital vehicle title and registration services, has raised an $18 million Series C round, bringing its total fundraising to more than $45 million. Founded in 2018, Champ provides SaaS-based solutions that require no upfront cost, utilize a pay-as-you-transact model, can be launched quickly, and are continuously improved.

JumpStart, northeast Ohio’s venture development organization, is introducing new support services for entrepreneurs, including new accelerators for software and HealthTech startups. The three-month accelerator for HealthTech provides a deep dive into regulatory, clinical, reimbursement, and commercialization strategies.

Cleveland’s Pandata, a fully bootstrapped startup that helps organizations design and build machine learning and AI solutions, is being acquired by Atlanta-based Further, a data, cloud, and AI company focused on helping make sense of raw data.

Creating an electric motorcycle company is a big undertaking in and of itself, but LAND Energy has bigger aspirations. The Cleveland company sees its swappable smart batteries as the broader innovation guiding the trajectory of the business.

Case Western Reserve University spinoff AlensiaXR has raised a Series A round to accelerate development and delivery of its HoloAnatomy learning platform, likened to Google Maps for the human body. Students are able to immerse themselves in a 3D hologram and view the body from different angles.

Cleveland’s SPR Therapeutics has raised $85 million to provide patients with a non-opioid, minimally invasive pain treatment option. SPR’s SPRINT system is touted as an innovative way to treat chronic pain with short-term, 60-day treatments that deliver long-lasting results.

Cleveland Diagnostics, a Northeast Ohio-based BioTech company, has closed a $75 million financing round to advance their early-stage cancer detection testing technology. The funds will accelerate the commercialization of their IsoPSA blood test, an innovative technology for early detection of prostate cancer.

Cleveland-based Lincoln Electric has introduced a new electric vehicle charging technology that it says delivers fast charging speeds with unparalleled reliability. The Velion Level 3 DC fast charger platform is the first and only American-designed, American-made EV fast charger that exceeds the U.S. government's National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI) requirements.