Columbus, OH - Ayna.AI (“Ayna”), an affiliate of Fernweh, announced today its strategic partnership with a consortium of five esteemed research universities in launching Hybrid Autonomous Manufacturing Innovations, Inc. (“HAMICo”). This collaboration is set to revolutionize the landscape of manufacturing innovation in the US Midwest, propelling the industry into a new era of advancement.

In close association with Ayna.AI, HAMICo emerges as an entity designed to incubate cutting-edge intellectual property in the field of advanced manufacturing, sourced from the Hybrid Autonomous Manufacturing – Moving from Evolution to Revolution (“HAMMER”) Engineering Research Center. This initiative aims to significantly invest in manufacturing innovation, fostering a platform where industry, academia, and the community converge to accelerate the commercialization of breakthroughs in advanced manufacturing.

HAMICo's core objective is to streamline the cost-effective and rapid adoption of intellectual property from HAMMER within the industrial ecosystem. Operating as an intellectual property development and licensing platform, HAMICo will undertake various commercialization activities, including direct licensing, incubation, company launches, and prototyping and low-volume manufacturing employing HAMMER technologies. Furthermore, HAMICo will collaborate with diverse companies to cater to a wide array of commercial needs.

As an alliance partner of the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), HAMICo is actively establishing Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) with Department of Defense (DoD) labs and centers, reinforcing its commitment to driving technological advancements in the industrial sector.

Gaurav Batra, CEO of Ayna.AI, expressed excitement about the partnership, stating, “We are truly excited to partner with the HAMMER team to accelerate industrial innovation. Our mission to collaborate with industrial technology companies and support them in enhancing performance and health to create unrivaled ‘segment of one’ leaders aligns seamlessly with the HAMICo mandate. We look forward to facilitating the introduction of new technologies to the market and fulfilling their business potential with Ayna.AI.”

Glenn Daehn, Mars G. Fontana Professor of Metallurgical Engineering within the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University and lead Principal Investigator for HAMMER, emphasized the transformative potential of HAMMER, stating, “HAMMER promises to usher in a new era in industrial manufacturing in the United States. In launching HAMICo, we are embarking on the critical step to connect new discoveries with real-world applications.”

Nick Santhanam, Chairman of the Ayna.AI Board of Directors, underscored the broader significance of HAMICo’s work in rejuvenating the US manufacturing base, stating, “We believe this work is central to the revitalization of the US manufacturing base in the Midwest. Successful adoption of new value-added technology oftentimes is the clear differentiator between winners and losers in the competitive landscape. We are excited to embark on this journey with the HAMICo team and look forward to its contributions to the industrial economy.”

About HAMMER

Headquartered at The Ohio State University, HAMMER is a partnership with NSF and a research consortium comprised of five universities, with $26 million of federal funding for five years, operating through an alliance of over 70 technical, educational, and industrial partners, with potential renewal for another five years. The five core universities and their principal investigators are Ohio State (Prof. Glenn Daehn), Case Western Reserve University (Prof. John Lewandowski), North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (Prof. Jag Sankar), Northwestern University (Prof. Jian Cao), and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Prof. Tony Schmitz). HAMMER’s mission is to be the hub for technical, commercial, educational, and standard setting for hybrid autonomous manufacturing, providing effective programs for knowledge creation, deployment, and commercial development. To learn more, please visit: hammer.osu.edu.

About Ayna.AI

Ayna is a managed service provider that combines domain expertise, transformation capabilities, and an engaged operator model to help create “Segment-of-One” leaders in the industrial and industrial technology sector. They have a diverse team with skills and backgrounds ranging from operations to consulting to investment banking in both public and private markets. They provide a range of offerings to create the highest value tailored to each specific situation including: (1) Analytical tools and solutions for improved transparency and effective and timely decision making; (2) Support key value drivers on growth and portfolio strategy, pricing, and cost-structure optimization; (3) Drive key value drivers for capital-based management (CBM), build-operate-transfer (BOT) and end-to-end transaction management; (4) Take position in capital stack. Learn more at https://www.ayna.ai/