Not long ago, the Rust Belt was shorthand for economic decline. Today, in at least one corner of the region, that narrative is being upended in real time.
In Central Ohio, cranes crowd the skyline and construction sites stretch across the Columbus metro, reflecting a surge of investment in advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence that is reshaping the region's identity. What was once dismissed as a fading industrial corridor is now drawing comparisons to one of the country's most dynamic tech hubs.
"It's wild. Everything is under construction. It feels like the Bay Area felt 13 or 14 years ago," Dennis DeMeyere, a former technical director at Google Cloud who plans to launch an AI-powered manufacturing company called Autonomous Production, told The New York Times.
Over roughly the past 15 years, the Columbus area has steadily built momentum in advanced manufacturing and AI, fueled by a mix of public funding, private investment and workforce development initiatives.
Education and training have played a central role in that transformation. Congress approved $9.5 million for the Ohio Center for Advanced Technologies, according to an announcement from Columbus State Community College. The region has also invested in collaborative training infrastructure such as the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Columbus, which opened in 2011 and is shared by Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus, Ivy Tech Community College and Purdue College of Technology.
At the same time, the area has emerged as a major data center hub. There are 138 data centers in and around Columbus, according to Data Center Map, with multiple facilities operated by major players including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta and Vantage.
Large-scale industrial and defense investments are adding to the region's growth. Ohio awarded $310 million last year to defense contractor Anduril for a 4,000-worker advanced manufacturing facility roughly 16 miles southeast of Columbus, according to ABC affiliate WSYX. The $1 billion plant will produce autonomous military drones, and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey has said he is buying a home nearby, according to The New York Times.
Big Tech is also expanding its footprint. Meta is developing a facility to train advanced AI models, while Intel is building a $28 billion semiconductor fabrication plant designed to produce high-end chips, the Times reported.
Policy support has helped accelerate capital inflows. Writing in early 2023, Brookings Institution researchers Mark Muro, Lavea Brachman and Yang You pointed to the CHIPS and Science Act as a catalyst for multibillion-dollar investments flowing into the region. Venture capital has followed. Mark Kvamme, a former Sequoia Capital partner who relocated to Ohio in 2011, has promoted the state as an investment destination and now runs a private fund that has reportedly raised $647 million to back local companies. One of those investments, Eagle Wireless, produces electronic cellular components that had previously been largely manufactured in China.
A combination of incentives and local coordination has helped smooth the path for development. According to industry participants, grants, relatively low taxes, lighter regulatory hurdles and a collaborative approach among local stakeholders have made it easier to move projects forward.
Even so, the rapid pace of growth is not without friction. Community pushback has begun to surface, including a statewide campaign to restrict the expansion of large data centers, underscoring the tensions that can accompany such a swift economic transformation.
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