Ohio Third Frontier Drives Business Development in Dayton | Ohio Business Development Coalition | Blog

Ohio Third Frontier Drives Business Development in Dayton | Ohio Business Development Coalition | Blog

Dayton’s radio frequency identification (RFID) business boom is the result of significant funding from the Ohio Third Frontier. Since its inception, the Ohio Third Frontier has created or commercialized more-than 500 companies and has attracted $3.5 billion in private investment to Ohio, a 9:1 return on investment. This is the state’s largest-ever commitment to high-tech job creation, further illustrating Ohio’s commitment to business development and economic progress.

Dayton’s recent 30-acre Tech Town development is anchored by the Dayton RFID Convergence Center business incubator and the Institute for the Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology (IDCAST). The convergence center, which opened last month in Tech Town’s $6 million, 35,000-square-foot Creative Technology Accelerator building, is being called the world’s first business incubator for start-ups in the field of radio frequency identification technology (RFID). IDCAST was born out of an Ohio Third Frontier award for $28 million to the University of Dayton and partner organizations in academia, industry and the military to create Ohio jobs and technology innovation in the sensors industry.

Additionally, IDCAST received $3 million in Ohio Third Frontier funding in May to create the Center for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Exploitation to be located at the Air Force Center for Rapid Product Development in Dayton. The project will account for at least 45 new jobs this year alone, and a steady stream of new investment and technological innovation is expected as the incubator program takes flight.

Business development opportunities like those found at Dayton’s Tech Town, the RFID Convergence Center and IDCAST would not be possible without the support that Ohio provides through the Ohio Third Frontier. It’s this kind of innovation that is helping to make the Dayton region a global hub for the development of technologies in the RFID industry.