Ohio is at the Forefront of Technology Innovation

For Immediate Release: January 23, 2019 NEWS RELEASE

Ohio’s businesses benefit from a community of innovators and supporters, and $10 billion in annual research investments

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio has quickly become a leader in technology innovation, thanks to the state’s tech-savvy workforce, businesses, academia, and medical and health systems that are on the cutting edge of the digital shift. Both public and private entities take advantage of Ohio’s strong infrastructure and resources, which allow for collaborative partnerships and the formation of innovation hubs and labs to transform how they do business.

Many partnerships across the state bring together multiple stakeholders with the ability to think beyond company lines and introduce new breakthrough ideas. Coupled with significant statewide innovation investments, which amount to $10 billion annually, these collaborations are occurring at new spaces all around the state. And these often incorporate Ohio’s nationally recognized colleges and universities that yield over 11,000 engineering and engineering technologies graduates per year.

“Ohio has created a high-tech ecosystem unlike any other state where strategic partnerships are accelerating innovation and turning groundbreaking ideas into real-world solutions,” said Ted Griffith, managing director for technology at JobsOhio. “The many partnerships that have formed, and the resources the state has made available, are vital in continuing to push Ohio to the forefront of IT and digital transformation.” 

Some notable public-private partnerships and innovation resources across Ohio include:  

• Plug and Play Cleveland  Plug and Play is the world’s largest innovation platform, investing in and accelerating startups. One of just three locations in North America, Plug and Play Cleveland is focused on healthcare innovation and connects startups with corporate partners to address challenges, while investing in new technologies.  
• The Point, JPMorgan Chase and Otterbein University In September 2018, Chase announced plans, with support from JobsOhio, for a fintech R&D hub at Otterbein University’s The Point in Westerville, Ohio. The new hub has three distinct innovation spaces, where teams made up of Chase employees and Otterbein students work together on projects focused on robotics, software development, financial technology, Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity and data analytics. 
• The 1819 Innovation Hub, University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub opened in October 2018 and has already drawn corporate partners and investors like Procter & Gamble, Kroger, Cincinnati Bell and CincyTech. The lab and makerspace provides a place for industry and companies to work directly with students and faculty on their business and technical challenges.   
• America Makes America Makes in Youngstown, Ohio, is the nation’s leading public-private partnership focused on innovation in additive manufacturing and 3D printing. With more than 200 participating companies, members conduct technology research, discovery, creation  and innovation processes with the goal of accelerating the nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness. 

Substantial research and innovation investments across Ohio have also resulted in programs like the Entrepreneurial Service Provider Program (ESP), powered by $1.5 billion in investments from Ohio Third Frontier. The program has driven the formation of multiple ESPs like Rev1 Ventures in Columbus, CincyTech in Cincinnati, NextTech Ohio in Toledo, and JumpStart Inc. in Cleveland, which have helped to spark dozens of successful startups across the state.  

These advantages, along with a robust network of incubators and major venture capital and angel funds, have also helped Ohio become recognized as a top destination for tech workers by Smart Asset and the only state with two cities on Forbes’ list of the top 10 rising cities for startups.

For more information on Ohio’s growing technology industry, visit: www.jobsohio.com/industries/technology.

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About JobsOhio JobsOhio is a private nonprofit corporation designed to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention and expansion efforts. JobsOhio works with six regional partners across Ohio: Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth, Columbus 2020, Dayton Development Coalition, REDI Cincinnati, Regional Growth Partnership and Team NEO. Learn more at www.jobsohio.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

For more information, contact:

Matt Englehart, JobsOhio

(614) 300-1152

englehart@jobsohio.com