When places rally their capital and networks around local economic development, remarkable progress can occur.
In July 2025, we wrote about the O.H.I.O. Fund (the “Fund”), a capital vehicle focused on investing in place. The Fund is a long-term, multi-sector fund that reinvests in Ohio, largely on behalf of Ohio families, family offices, individuals, and companies. Ninety eight percent of its committed capital comes from Ohio investors.
When the Fund launched, it felt like an exciting, ambitious experiment. Today, it feels like a proof point – well ahead of schedule. At the time, the Fund’s long-term aspiration was to aggregate over $500M in capital in three years; it has now raised over $693M in just over two years (as of September 2026). The Fund has deployed $315 million across 48 investments in companies, real estate, infrastructure, and funds. The Fund has also generated $81 million in returns for its investors.
Meanwhile, Ohio has been named the top state for business by CNBC and has attracted marquee next-generation investments, including Intel’s $28 billion semiconductor complex, Honda and LG’s $4 billion battery plant, and Anduril’s $1 billion Arsenal-1 facility. Ohio’s unusually coherent economic development system has helped create the conditions for these successes.
This article first appeared in The New Localism on September 24, 2026.