The Education Magazine
October 22, 2026
The Ohio State University has started construction on the Timashev Technology Tower, an eight-storey, 103,000-square-foot building which is meant to connect students, researchers and startups. The new facility, located in the university’s Innovation District in Columbus, Ohio, is supposed to facilitate greater collaboration between research, technology, and business.
The Timashev Technology Tower project is expected to accelerate the transition of innovative ideas from university labs to actual applications such as new software, technologies, therapeutics, and new companies. Additionally, it is part of the university’s strategy to create an interconnected network of innovation that will leverage academic research, business, and entrepreneurship throughout the state.
How Will the Timashev Technology Tower Support Students and Technology Startups in Ohio?
The Ohio State Timashev Technology Tower will provide space for the Center for Software Innovation and for innovative start-ups that have graduated from the BuildX student entrepreneurship initiative of Ohio State to assist student founders in growing their businesses. It will also offer flexible co-working spaces, offices, and opportunities for technology companies to network.
BuildX student entrepreneurship initiative of Ohio State supports student entrepreneurs at different levels and stages of their individual business development. By situating its initiatives within the Innovation District, the university will enable greater interaction between student founders, researchers, and business partners engaged in developing new products and services.
The Timashev Technology Tower is projected to host flexible co-working spaces, offices, and a shared wet lab with bench space and meeting rooms for new ventures. It will facilitate interactions between start-ups, established firms, students, and researchers. The Ohio State president Ravi Bellamkonda has targeted September 2028 as the launch date.
Ravi said,
“It will be a mix of startups, large companies, the Center for Software Innovation, students, researchers, and employees intermingling. An incredible vision of creating collisions for innovation of all different kinds.”
For students, the convergence in the projected model of the Timashev Technology Tower presents an opportunity for software, engineering, medicine, business, and life sciences to intersect. Nevertheless, the university has remained silent on programs such as internships, recruitment, and special access arrangements for students.
Why Is the Ohio State Innovation District Important?
The Ohio State Innovation District is meant to foster closer connections between research, innovation, and technology. The Timashev Technology Tower will complement the Energy Advancement and Innovation Center and the Pelotonia Research Center already located in the district. In addition, the Innovation District is home to Koloma, an Ohio State spun-off clean-energy company, Ohio Life Sciences, and Pelotonia, a cancer charity. Their presence in the district provides a critical insight into the mission of the Timashev Technology Tower.
The Ohio State University projects that the new facility will boost the number of startups in the Columbus region. At the same time, it is designed to contribute to the transformation of research findings into practical applications as well as to drive the formation of new businesses and jobs. These are the intended objectives but not necessarily the expected outcomes as of the groundbreaking of the Timashev Technology Tower.
The Innovation District will also play a critical role in facilitating technology partnerships. The university has partnered with Google to ensure that Google Cloud engineers and Google DeepMind researchers are connected closely to benefit the academic researchers and students. This is in addition to making cutting-edge artificial intelligence accessible to OSU researchers and students through its AI/health models and computational tools.
Who Is Funding the Timashev Technology Tower?
The Timashev Technology Tower is the fruit of philanthropy, the public and private sectors, as well as economic development partners. The building was made possible by a generous contribution from tech entrepreneur and OSU alumnus Ratmir Timashev and his wife, Angela. The Timashev Family Foundation has pledged its support to fund the tower and the educational programs for the Center for Software Innovation.
Ratmir emphasized,
“We want to create something special for our students so that they are prepared for this fast-changing world of AI, innovation, and life sciences.”
Ohio State identifies the state, the city, and JobsOhio as key partners supporting the Timashev Technology Tower and its vision of connecting talent, technology, entrepreneurship, and life sciences.
The OSU Board of Trustees approved the proposed name of the new facility in June 2026. This followed the gift from the Timashev Family Foundation to endow the Center for Software Innovation programs and education. The resolution adopted by the board stated that it envisioned the new tower as a multi-tenant building with research-intensive and technology-focused functions.
What Will the Timashev Technology Tower Mean for Ohio State?
The Timashev Technology Tower reflects Ohio State’s efforts to connect research, talent, and entrepreneurship, bringing startups, companies, researchers, and students together to turn academic discoveries into practical applications.
For students and entrepreneurs, key questions remain about access, occupancy, and business support programs, which will determine whether the tower fulfils its promise of advancing innovation and entrepreneurship.
The Timashev Technology Tower groundbreaking ceremony marks another step in Ohio State’s efforts to advance research, entrepreneurship, and technology innovation across central Ohio by connecting startups, university researchers, companies, and investors.
