The Midwest “is buzzing,” driven by “a national VC industry that’s hit a record high,” and Columbus has the loudest buzz as “the top U.S. metro for scaling young companies,” according to a recent Forbes article. VentureOhio’s 2017 Venture report shows more VC funding “currently flowing through Ohio than at any point in the state’s history,” with $470 million invested in 210 startups in 2016, according to the article. Columbus-based investors raised over 70 percent of nearly $1 billion in new capital that “Ohio-based venture capital funds have raised” since 2013. National investors have noticed; Steve Case and JD Vance’s new seed fund, The Rise the Rest® Seed Fund, “will invest $150 million in startups in the Midwest with the support of a group of America’s major business leaders, including Jeff Bezos and Howard Schultz.” Columbus’s appeal includes a concentration of power research organizations such as The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, an attractive tax climate, and several Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 headquarters. For more, read the full article.
Forbes says Columbus is now the “first stop” for companies looking to move to the Midwest
